Jimmy Carter to Unite Baptist

Noble, but hopeless cause. Even the BB members can't agree on everything. However, that is a strength, as people need to think for themselves and not go lockstep with any "party line".

 

One can only hope and pray for such an event. Yet through my own experience Baptists are a unique beats...whose chief attribute is stubbornness beyond reasonable levels.

 

Hey! I resemble that remark! :laugh:

Seriously, it's certainly worthy of our prayers for unity. raying:

 

Aren't we all united already? Or do we still have to deal with our distinctives?

 

I don't think it is practical or doable. But in fairness to Jimmy Carter, I do not read his motives or those of the people who have signed on to this "new covenant" as organic union. It is more about developing a common strategy, at least around some issues. I am afraid that even where there are few theological differences, there are entrenched cultures and intractable institutions that would resist organizational uniting.

I am reminded of the day I was in the office of the Director of Missions and Evangelism of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention; he had been laboring just to get people from differing Baptist affiliations who are all located in DC to meet and talk with one another, and was finding it so frustrating that he said, "If I had the power, I would declare all Baptist Conventions defunct and invalid as of today, and then tomorrow I would declare us all together in one new convention." Yeah, but it does not work that way when human opinions and positions of prestige are involved.

I hope for the best out of the new Baptist covenant, but if Southern Baptists are staying away, that is a mighty big chunk of folks that will not be on board.

 

We could call it the American (vs world) Baptist Convention - I think that name is taken?

We cant call it American Baptist .... because the SBC may object.

The Conservative Baptist are being left out as is plainly visible from the attendees

And the list gos on and on....

I have an idea we could call it the World Council of Baptist Churches!! that is providing they only use the KJV

I think I should think less

 

As you check into who will be doing the preaching and the leadership, I think it will be easy for the former president to unite them. The common denominator will a dislike for fundamentalists and biblical inerrantists.

http://www.abpnews.com/2903.article

who is preaching - http://www.abpnews.com/2895.article

 

This is very likely not going to work.

For some reason I don't trust his motives behind this. I guess part of it is, I don't agree with several things he has said, done, wrote in the last several yrs.

 

When Carter was president, he tryed to reinvent
the Federal Government. His paper reduction measures
increased the paper work load where I was.
He noted there were two many people working for
overhead for the USGovernment and not enough for
direct labor. My overhead function (re-engineering
stuff so it really works) changed to direct labor.
All that changed was the reporting method and
the number listed as overhead was reduced.
No significant change took place.

If he can't fix the USGovernment, how can he fix
Baptists? Baptists don't need fixing anyway.
My Baptist church is free to be independant from
or join which whomever it wishes. I am free
to join which Baptist church I want (joining multiple
Baptists churchs isn't prohibited but is
frowned on).

 

Jimmy Cater can't "fix" Baptists. Every Baptist must work to bring this about. These kind of statements show that this is probably impossible.

 

When Carter was President . . . yes . . .

Now---thats water under the bridge

Nowadays----I wouldn't halfway mind working on one of Mister Carter's Habitat crews---I could swing a hammer and pour concrete with him all day long----but when it comes to attending one of his Baptist renewal things----you couldn't hold a machine gun on me to get me to go---he can tear up a Baptist steel anvil with a Baptist rubber mallet!!!

His Baptist renewal is a kite that won't fly!!!

 

One time when I was working for the Billy Graham Association
at one of his movied I witnessed to a guy (male, 14 years old)
whose mother was a member of the local Church of Christ
(baptists with no musical talent ).

I called the local Church of Christ pastor and let him
witness to the youth. This is called cooperation.

I figure out of the first Million Dollars I made at the job
from which I retired that $12,000 ended up with the
SBC Mission activities and another $8,000 with the
Lottie Moon collection agency for Missions of the SBC.
That is called cooperation.

Otherwise my local church and I are independent of
other Baptists - that is called independence.

I don't join with anti-abortion groups that dance the
tune the Pope is singing - that is called independence.

I don't give any money to any TV evangelist
(I did buy a used Jimmy Swaggert record once, but just
the value of the record, nothing to Jim.)
-- that is called independence.

 

I have not the slightest notion of the competency of Jimmy C. as a young Naval officer, but from the POTUS since, the kindest thing I can say about him is that he is probably a good peanut farmer.

I am extremely suspicious of anything/anybody he endorses.

 

Well I gotta disagree with you there. He has worked tirelessly as an elder statesman, a builder of homes for the poor, and to really help bring democracy to the world. He is actually a better ex-president than he was a president IMO. I didn't vote for him, but I am proud of President Carter, a true American hero who is an ambassador of goodwill.

 

I am a disciple of a Jewish Carpenter,
not of a Georgia Peanut Farmer turned
Embasador to the World.

 

That is it in a nutshell.

Carter disaffiliated himself from the SBC in 2000, and has been frustrated by the conservative tilt of it’s leadership. In his book ‘Our Endangered Values’, Carter says that the "fundamentalist" domination of the SBC is similar to the Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise to power in Iran. One of his recent books compared Israel to Apartheid South Africa, while the Southern Baptist Convention strongly supports Israel.
This convention will be hosted by two former Democratic presidents; the wife of one of them attempting to gain the Democratic nomination for president. Special sessions will focus on racism, AIDS, and Global Warming. The participants, with representatives from American Baptist Churches (USA), National Baptist Convention, USA and others, belong to the politically left National Council of Churches.
Carter is organizing opponents of Baptist conservatives, and in that regard he will no doubt be able to claim success.

 

Aside from his noble efforts with HfH , he's a disgrace . he's done more harm to America than good since he left office ( not even saying much about his time as Prresident ) .

Before he left the SBC he said that any Southern Baptist who does not regard Mormons as our brothers in the Lord is a Pharisee . So I guess we are to disregard Galatians 1:8,9 for Carter's sake .

His faults are too numerous to recount .

 

1. What former President Carter did in office as a politician is not my beef right now. But he was DEAD WRONG and is still DEAD WRONG in saying that about Southern Baptists.

2. Frankly speaking, Carter has no theological clout with me.