Barnabas File

“As a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church, USA, you know the importance of community.”     This was the opening sentence of a letter I received from Presbyterian World Mission last month.     I smiled when I read this because (although “I have friends who are Presbyterians” as the old line goes) I have always belonged to a Baptist church.     Of course, the reason I was on their mailing list was that my wife and I provided some financial support several years ago to the daughter of friends who was working with migrants in the Southwest under a Presbyterian program.    I suppose the assumption of the letter’s composer was that you have to be part of the Presbyterian ”tribe” to support their missions program. Not true. Although I love my Baptist tribe (most days), I have found it refreshing to work across tribal lines with those of other faiths.  In my work with Pinnacle Leadership Associates, I am currently doing projects wi...

When I was a Baptist campus minister, I often attended meetings where speakers said, “Missions is what holds Southern Baptists together.”  Missions was proclaimed as the primary motivator for working together and some would even proclaim that Southern Baptist missions was “ God's Last and Only Hope” (the title of a book by Bill Leonard) to “save the world.”   Historically, missions has been a great motivator for Baptists.  The Southern Baptist Convention was born out of disagreement over who could be a denominationally supported missionary; missions was more important than one’s views on owning slaves.  “Save the missionaries” was the rallying call for the creation of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.  In churches where people disagree about everything from the style of worship to the color of the carpet, missions support has been a key unifying factor.  I am not sure this is still the case.  When church members have the freedom to choose...

If you haven’t noticed, theological education in North America is going through a “shake-out” process. I learned this week of one free-standing denominational seminary that is negotiating to become the divinity school of a college in the same denomination.  Other seminaries are combining or closing their doors.  Those that survive with find new partners and strengthen their relationships with old partners. New approaches to theological education like those being offered by Central Baptist Theological Seminary require contextualization and creativity, but they will fail without cooperation.  Healthy, flexible, and supportive partners are needed for these efforts to be successful. Partners assist theological institutions in a number of ways.  For one thing, partners—church, judicatories, other institutions—link the theological schools with potential students.  Seminaries and divinity schools are exhibiting flexibility by offering programs to edu...