Editorial: Texas Baptists need to be part of BWA

I went for a walk Tuesday evening along tower-lined Yonge Street in North York, Toronto. It was a beautiful evening. The weather was perfect.

The street was full of people from all over the world. Most were walking, like me. Some were playing chess. Some were playing table tennis. Many were seated and conversing. Some were laughing. There was so much sound, so much life.

It would be easy to think all is well in Toronto.

My walk along Yonge Street looked and felt much like these days at the Baptist World Alliance annual gathering at Tyndale University in Toronto. The building is full of people from all over the world, conversing, laughing, praying, networking. There is so much sound, so much life.

It would be easy to think all is well with Baptists around the world.

But look closer, listen closer.

All is not well with Baptists—and all Christians—in many places around the world. Yes, there is joy and celebration in the good news of Jesus and the growth of his kingdom in so many places. There is the Spirit-empowered uniting of strangers as brothers and sisters in Christ. There is also hurt and division, and it needs to be addressed.

Baptist World Alliance is a place where Baptists can address the hurt and division among us on a global scale. Texas Baptists need to be part of that. I need to be part of that.

Being a listener

One reason we need to be part of BWA was expressed Tuesday morning by Pastor Alyn Waller of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Penn.

Preaching on BWA’s annual gathering theme, “The Table of Christ: One Gospel, Many People,” Waller pointed out it is Jesus’ table, and Jesus is the one who set it and extends the invitation to it. And he is already at the table when we get there.

BWA is a place where differences and divisions among Baptists are put into perspective. At BWA, I do not come to conversations, deliberations, and shared work as the expert or the savior. I come to BWA as a guest, a brother in Christ, a listener. American Christians, Texas Baptists among them, need that experience more often.

Listening through criticism

As so many Baptist bodies have split or fractured during my lifetime, BWA is one place where differing Baptists still work together. We need to be part of that.

Some are saying BWA allows too much difference, and others have said BWA doesn’t allow enough difference. Specifically, recent criticism says BWA includes regional Baptist bodies that affirm LGBTQ persons, though these regional bodies have not stated such a position but have taken a more neutral stance in favor of local church autonomy.

Critics want to see a firm stance against any LGBTQ affirmation throughout BWA. These critics do not seem to be comforted that BWA has stated and restated its traditional position on marriage as being between a man and a woman and sex as being reserved for marriage.

I do not have an argument I think will change these critics’ position on BWA. Theirs is a settled conviction affecting their affiliations locally, regionally, and nationally. I don’t see that changing in relation to BWA.

While I understand these criticisms are an irritant to unity within the Baptist General Convention of Texas in relation to BWA, these critics should not be despised for their criticism. They should be allowed their biblically informed conscience, just as those who do not criticize BWA should be allowed theirs.

Instead, critics and supporters of BWA within the BGCT should reason together, as Scripture instructs, to determine how they will continue to be in fellowship with each other without BWA being a wedge between them.

Here again, other BWA member bodies experiencing their own differences and divisions can speak biblical and Spirit-given wisdom and guidance into the conversation among differing parts of the BGCT. But only if those differing parts of the BGCT are willing to listen to those in the BWA who possess such wisdom.

To listen, we need to be connected to BWA.

And we do need to listen.

An exercise in listening

Interestingly, as I am writing, I had my own opportunity to practice what I’m preaching.

I’m sitting in the public library in North York. A young man approached me, very politely asking for advice about a software engineering position he is seeking. I learned he is a South Korean immigrant to Canada, and his visa status has slowed the hiring process.

He thought I might be in the same industry, software engineering, and could give him advice. He also thought I was Canadian. I think it’s my laptop and the clothes I’m wearing. Not really, but I don’t know what else about my appearance gives off a “Canadian software engineer” vibe.*

Believe it or not, this does not happen to me every day. So, I was cautiously curious. I leaned in to hear what exactly he was seeking advice about, and we ended up having a brief and pleasant conversation. When he left, I gave him my contact information and said to let me know how it turns out.

I’m not the hero here. I’m not an expert in listening or a savior to those I encounter. What I am in this moment is aware that listening means I have to set aside my own agenda and what I need to get done. It means I need to be open to what God wants to accomplish in situations I didn’t go looking for.

BWA is an occasion for and a master class in those kinds of situations. Texas Baptists need to be part of that. I need to be part of that.

BWA enlarges us

We are enlarged just by hearing Baptists from around the world tell of their struggles and their triumphs. We in Texas and the U.S. are not alone nor are we superior in our struggles and triumphs.

BWA enables us to do more than just hear. BWA also affords us the opportunity to listen and to join alongside our brothers and sisters around the world in the work of communicating the good news of Jesus in word and in deed. Texas Baptists need to be part of that. I need to be part of that.

* When I rejoined my family later in the morning and told them about my conversation in the library, my kids said it was my backpack that gave off the “Canadian software engineer” vibe. Good to know.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher, and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.