Neville Callam is awesome
And that is a scientific fact. A Jamaican pastor, a theologian, an active ecumenist in the Faith and Order Commission for the World Council of Churches, Callam was recently elected the first non-white general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. Here's a snippet from an interview in the November '07 issue of Baptists Today, where he clarifies a much misunderstood doctrine:
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Q: Baptists cherish autonomy, though it can be difficult. How does one lead a worldwide alliance of autonomous Baptists?
NC: In the Baptist movement there is an appreciation for the autonomy of the congregation. But I'm afraid autonomy is not always properly understood.
Autonomy is not about power. Autonomy is about competence to discern what the Spirit is saying. So to say a Baptist church is autonomous means that, gathered together in a meeting, that group is competent to discover how the Holy Spirit is leading. And what the Holy Spirit is leading is always consistent with what the Bible is teaching.
I prefer to talk about "Christonomy" rather than autonomy. The rule of Christ among the churches...and if the rule of Christ exists within all the churches, we discover a number of commonalities and discover how to move forward together.
So I have no displeasure serving as a leader within the worldwide Baptist movement because there is a responsibility on me and on the councils of the Baptist World Alliance and on all the churches and Baptist communities to discover what the Spirit is saying. We are on a journey to discover where God is leading us...It is easy to serve in that context.
***
Now if you got a problem with that, take two doses of John Howard Yoder's Body Politics and place a cold compress on your forehead.
Diggin' radical catholicity...
***
Q: Baptists cherish autonomy, though it can be difficult. How does one lead a worldwide alliance of autonomous Baptists?
NC: In the Baptist movement there is an appreciation for the autonomy of the congregation. But I'm afraid autonomy is not always properly understood.
Autonomy is not about power. Autonomy is about competence to discern what the Spirit is saying. So to say a Baptist church is autonomous means that, gathered together in a meeting, that group is competent to discover how the Holy Spirit is leading. And what the Holy Spirit is leading is always consistent with what the Bible is teaching.
I prefer to talk about "Christonomy" rather than autonomy. The rule of Christ among the churches...and if the rule of Christ exists within all the churches, we discover a number of commonalities and discover how to move forward together.
So I have no displeasure serving as a leader within the worldwide Baptist movement because there is a responsibility on me and on the councils of the Baptist World Alliance and on all the churches and Baptist communities to discover what the Spirit is saying. We are on a journey to discover where God is leading us...It is easy to serve in that context.
***
Now if you got a problem with that, take two doses of John Howard Yoder's Body Politics and place a cold compress on your forehead.
Diggin' radical catholicity...
Labels: Baptists
Chris,
Your recent posts about "Baptist catholicity" are quite encouraging. What an odd couple of words to put together!
Posted by
iconodule |
Sunday, December 16, 2007 8:50:00 PM
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