A New Baptist Covenant - Update

On January 12th, I posted an article from the Baptist Press about the meeting that many Baptist leaders had with each other and with former Presidents Carter and Clinton. Many have read this and my article in the February Sabbath Recorder and decided that I am in favor of all that is written and pressing forward on the issues. Nothing could be further from reality.

I was simply forwarding information to all SDB's as to some issues that were going on that might affect you at some point. To not report this and keep you in the dark would be a disservice to you all and it is better to know what is going on.

If you want to know my feelings on these matters they are as follows.

In an email sent to me...Dear Friends, I want to again thank all of you for participating in last Tuesday’s historic meeting at The Carter Center. I hope you feel as good as I do about the progress we have made the last few months. The press coverage has been generally good, with the exception of a seriously flawed story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. At the end of this message I have included links to some selected stories from around the country in case you have not seen these.
I have already heard from several of you, but please remember to send me information about how you can best participate in our preparations for the celebration. Also send me the names of other people who you believe need to be involved.
Jimmy Allen and I will be meeting next week in Atlanta. We will be working on committee appointments over the next couple of weeks. I will share more developments with you as they unfold.
Bill Underwood

My Response...

Dear Bill,

I would like to personally thank you and your staff at Mercer University for the great job of hosting the NABF. Your colleagues are wonderful to work with.

I am waiting to see who else lends their name and efforts to our cause before I volunteer for any duties connected with the celebration. I do this not because of the Presidents' involvement but because the lack of involvement from others that would show that our efforts are not drawn along party lines. The show of unity between the various Baptist groups is unprecedented. However, we show that same sense of unity among all Baptists no matter the political boundaries. I think we are close, and you would know better than me, so I will wait to hear of these other prominent names.

Again, thank you for all your efforts.

-and-
Dear North American Baptist Leader, Bill Underwood and David Goatley have asked me to contact you about Nominations for those who would be willing to work on the five committees that are preparing for the 2008 New Baptist Covenant Celebration. Your input is needed immediately. With the event less than a year away there is a lot to do and very little time. Please offer your own name or the name of others on your staff or in your group to serve on the committees listed below. To save time, you should ask those you nominate if they would be willing to serve before you submit their names and contact information.

I will still wait! It is not because of critics that I do this but rather from being prudent in my decision. I cannot and will not recommend to the SDB's that we go forward until we have all the facts around this possible celebration in a more concrete structure and design. I agree that this is a unique opportunity and would feel better about make a decision now about going forward if President Carter and Clinton were not affiliated with the cause at this time. Their connection simply conveys the wrong message to those looking at this for the first time. It is not a political event, so why have the political ties?

No SDB's, I am not going soft on you, rest assured I am representing you the best way I know how!