New Baptist Covenant Update

The New Baptist Covenant was celebrated in Atlanta Georgia on January 30 – February 1, 2008. There were between sixteen and twenty thousand participants seeking unity in Christ. The gathering demonstrated racial, theological and geographic harmony as they prayed, sang, listened to sermons and attended workshops focusing on ministry to the lost in this world. Participants broke down a 163-year-old wall that separated Baptists since U.S.

Baptists parted company over slavery more than a decade before the Civil War.

The unprecedented gathering brought together African-American, Anglo, Asian-American and Hispanic Baptists. They participants represented over 30 Baptist conventions and organizations. The North American Baptist Fellowship, the regional affiliate of the Baptist World Alliance were involved with Bill Underwood, President of Mercer University and former U.S. president, Jimmy Carter in launching this first time event. "For the first time in more than 160 years, we are convening a major gathering of Baptists throughout an entire continent, without any threat to our unity caused by differences of our race or politics or geography or the legalistic interpretation of Scripture," said Carter.

As women and men of numerous races sat side-by-side through sermons and hugged and laughed in hallways, they embodied a dream-come-true for Baptists who dreamed of racial reconciliation. “The convocation has fulfilled the prophecy of Martin Luther King Jr.” Bill Underwood said. “Forty-five years ago, a native son of Atlanta, a Baptist pastor, shared with all of us his dream: One day, on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners would be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood." Underwood continued, "Today, here on those red hills of Georgia, Baptists have come together to take a step in the long and difficult journey toward achieving Dr. King's great dream. After generations of putting up walls between us-separation, division by geography, by theology, but most of all division by race-a new day is dawning. … Today, we all sit down together at the table of Christian brotherhood and sisterhood."

Bill Underwood

"The New Baptist Covenant is a public witness to our common commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed," explained North American Baptist Fellowship, NABF President David Goatley, who is also Executive Secretary of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention.

David Goatley

"Never before have Baptists on this scale sought to cross the boundaries we choose to live behind-ethnicity, ideology, and theology. Never before have Baptists on this scale sought to explore ministries of this impact. Never before have Baptists on this scale come together for cooperation and collaboration for mission ministry impact.” "We are at the threshold of great possibilities," Goatley said.

There were many speakers on the subject of reaching out to who Jesus described as the “least of these”. Topics were centered around the passage in Luke 4: 18-19. We learned what the Bible says about “Peace with Justice”, “The Poor”, “What About the Children”, “Respecting Diversity”, “Welcoming a Stranger”, “Feeding a Hungry World”, and “Setting the Captive Free”. They also heard from two former U.S. presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, former vice president, Al Gore, US Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa, and author John Grisham.

Historian Walter Shurden, recently retired director of the Center for Baptist Studies at Mercer University and one of the early organizers of the convocation, said the event could become "a major step in racial reconciliation and gender recognition of Baptists in North America." "It's the most significant Baptist meeting in my life, after playing in the Baptist yard 55 years or so," he said. "I've never been to a Baptist meeting where there was the equality as well as the presence of multi-racial, multi-gender participation.”
"It bears the marks of the ministry of Jesus."

However, there are many wondering where we go from here. Stay tuned to further developments.