This is Part 2 of a Gloriscope news summary about New Baptist Covenant, an unprecedented gathering of 14,500 Baptists from 30 Baptist denominations in Atlanta, Georgia, in late January 2008. We give details about the importance, purpose, participants, activities, achievements, and planned follow-up of this historical event.

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Published 10:35pm, Feb 02, 2008 in Minneapolis - London 4:35am 3/2
Buenos Aires 2:35am 3/2 - Jerusalem / Johannesburg 6:35am 3/2
New Delhi 10:05am 3/2 - Beijing / Manila 12:35pm 3/2 - Sydney 3:35pm 3/2

“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit –
just as you were called to one hope when you were called –
one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all”
(Ephesians 4:4-6 NIV)

By Gloriscope staff

Basic facts about New Baptist Covenant

New Baptist Covenant was a meeting of U.S. Baptists from 30 Baptist denominations from all over the United States. Some 14,500 people attended at least part of the gathering. The gathering took place in Atlanta, Georgia, from January 30 through February 1, 2008. The co-chairs of the gathering were former President Jimmy Carter and William D. Underwood, president of Mercer University in Atlanta.

What was the chief promise of New Baptist Covenant?

The chief promise was that the participants would see a racial, geographical and theological diversity of Baptists at a single place and time, with a common commitment to Christian humanitarian goals.

What was the purpose and nature of New Baptist Covenant?

The main purpose of the gathering was to mend fences and to build bridges among various Baptist denominations. The gathering did not have a purpose of creating a Baptist “super-convention” or “super-association.” The organizers said they were not interested in control structures.

Buddy Shurden, one of the speakers at the gathering and the founding director of the Center for Baptist Studies at Mercer University, said that the gathering was not an effort to FORM something together but to SAY something together, namely to say “what we ought to be doing together, to say something to the nation and the world about what Baptist people ought to be.”

Jimmy Allen, program chairman of the gathering, said that this gathering was not a centralized movement. “We’re not an organized structure. We’re stimulating and reflecting a movement of God that is bigger than us,” he said.

A second main purpose of the gathering was to find common areas or causes in which Baptists of different denominations could cooperate in future. President Carter said that one of his hopes was that the participants would identify specific programs of cooperation and then meet to see how to find ways to cooperate in such programs.

What was the spiritual purpose of the gathering?

“New Baptist Covenant is a public witness to our common commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed,” said David Goatley, president of the North American Baptist Fellowship.

“I would like to believe this is a result of the movement of the spirit of God in the religious community that has moved us to respond to what we believe is a central claim of the kingdom of God,” said William Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, as reported by Baptists Today Blogs.

It was clear throughout the gathering that participants wanted to glorify Christ with their meeting. President Carter said that the spiritual mission of the gathering was to focus on the teachings of Jesus. He said that the idea was to get Baptists to imitate Christ

The focus of the gathering was humanitarian, in the spirit of Matthew 25:35-39 and Luke 4:18-19.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of the sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  (Luke 4:18-19 NIV)

The participants were focused on the Spirit of God present in Christian ministries of helping the poor, releasing the captives, giving sight to the blind, and making the oppressed free.

Black pastor Charles Adams of Hartford Baptist Church in Detroit preached a high-energy sermon on setting the captives free and that all who believe have their freedom in Christ by the grace of God.

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This story is part of a series of news stories on New Baptist Covenant published by Gloriscope February 2, 2008.

• Overview: New Baptist Covenant: A turning point in Baptist unity?
• Part 1 — New Baptist Covenant 2008: Why it was a historical event
• Part 2 — New Baptist Covenant 2008: Its promise and purpose
• Part 3 — New Baptist Covenant 2008: Its topics and activities
• Part 4 — New Baptist Covenant 2008: What did it achieve?
• Part 5 — New Baptist Covenant 2008: What is next?

NOTE: The official website of New Baptist Covenant is at http://www.newbaptistcelebration.org

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TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!

Published in the U.S.A. Copyright © 4T4C News Corp. 2008. All rights reserved.