American Baptists Called to Take on 'Radical New Form' of Ministry

By Audrey Barrick, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, July 03, 2007

WASHINGTON – American Baptists from across the nation concluded their biennial meeting Monday with a call for "a radical new form of ministry and mission."

A. Roy Medley, general secretary of the American Baptist Churches USA, noted that the denomination – the second largest Baptist group in the nation – has come through a time of conflict and division and urged the gathered Baptists to move into the second century following the biennial theme "Arise and Shine."

"It is morning in our midst, American Baptists," said Medley at Monday's concluding business session at the Washington Convention Center. "The dawning of our new century is bringing with it power and light."

The 1.5 million-member ABCUSA has been wracked over biblical authority and matters of scriptural interpretation, particularly homosexuality, which have led to the departure of several member churches and the exodus of an entire regional group, the Pacific Southwest, from the denomination last year.

The region's board of directors, at the time of the severance, said "deep differences of theological convictions and values" between the Pacific Southwest and the ABCUSA are understood as "irreconcilable."

A 1992 resolution approved by the denomination opposes homosexual conduct but some ABC conservatives have said the wording and enforcement of the motion are not strong enough.

Now in its 100th year, ABCUSA has been called by Medley to "a righteous reboot."

The reboot includes an emphasis on mission, social ills and New Life 2010 – a denomination-wide vision of 1,000,010 new disciples of Christ; 1,010 new church plants; and the vitalization of a multitude of caring ministries by the year 2010.

"The United States is one of the world's most urgent missional challenges. Christendom has been eroded and is increasingly regarded as a failed project," said Dr. Edmund Gibbs, Donald A. McGavran Professor of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary's School of Intercultural Studies.

Expressing hope that New Life 2010 will transform ABCUSA by its mission and sense of call, Gibbs stated, "We must re-imagine the church as ever-multiplying clusters of believers, each one shaped by its mission context, coming together with an intense sense of call to mission in worship style, in elements of ministry, and in the call to ministry in the community."

Earlier, the denomination passed a statement of concern calling American Baptists to "reaffirm our unique identity and unite to accomplish our mission" and "to share our unique story with others" and to seek ways to identify themselves as American Baptists. ABCUSA's June 29-July 2 biennial meeting and centennial celebration had kicked off with a joint worship service with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, revealing a new collaborative effort to bridge divides among Baptists and partner in mission works and serving as witnesses for Christ.