Profiles in Ecumenism: Rev. Ted Beam, UMC

The quote that began an earlier post was by Rev. Ted Beam:  "If churches can work together to build a house, why can’t we get together to evangelize the world?" 

Beam is currently Pastor of Petrie Memorial United Methodist Church in Elkton, KY.  He has also been involved in many international missions.  He is known for being a strong supporter of ecumenical relationships, especially when it comes to joint evangelization efforts.  I had the opportunity to talk with him about his approach and philosophy this past July.  These are some of his methods and guiding principles for working together between Christian denominations.

Go and Make Disciples of All Nations (Matthew 28:19)

 

Pastor Beam takes seriously the New Testament call to go and make disciples of all nations. He sees that there is a limited amount of joint evangelization—which also results in less overall evangelization—because Christians disagree on some things. By not working together to evangelize, Christians are hamstringing themselves from realizing one of their primary commissions.

In Beam's view, "most of us disagree on secondary matters; we should want to work cooperatively on primary matters."  He explains further:  "Paul was not sent to baptize but to preach the Gospel—even baptism is secondary.  The death, burial, resurrection of Jesus is of primary importance." 

Creation as Model of Collaboration

As a young minster, Rev. Beam got involved in a group working as missionaries in Venezuela.  Quite unexpectedly, he was thrust into the spotlight and had to give a keynote address to the group strategizing how to unfold a missionary plan.  His plan, 'how to reach the city in 7 years," centered on ecumenical collaboration: "When churches work together, miracles, healings and conversions become commonplace." 

The Revelation of God in Creation provides the roadmap to follow for Beam:  "God has built creation to do that very thing:  A team of horses mathematically can pull more than the sum of it's parts; Canada geese flying in formation can move 70% further than flying alone."  Through teamwork and synergy, there is a compounded effect that otherwise cannot be realized except through a collaborative community effort. 

 

It may be worth pondering that both diversity and unity play a role in achieving this end result.  If a town is being approached by missionary groups from 5 different denominations, for example, it is understandable that the reception to the excitement of Christianity may be lukewarm when the people presenting it are themselves so divided.  However, when all these groups join together, they bring different charisms, skills and approaches that when combined intensify each other.  The strength is not either unity or diversity but rather unity in diversity.

 

Refreshing Realism

Pastor Beam offers this insight:  "I am Pastor of a Methodist congregation.  Some of our members are Episcopal.  Others are Lutheran," he said.  What he means is that the theological beliefs of his congregation's members would have them align with different denominations—that is to say, if church membership were solely a matter of doctrinal belief:  "They choose a congregation because that is where they connect to God and make meaningful connections to each other, not because they always agree with the doctrine." 

A common assumption in popular culture is that membership in a church denomination assumes that a person is aligned with the beliefs of that group.  That definition is woefully incomplete, as Avery Dulles pointed out in his groundbreaking work Models of the Church.  The congregation which Rev. Ted Beam pastors is a living witness to that, but his congregation is far from unique in this regard.  Many churches seem to go out of their way to disguise this fact.  They seem to circle the wagons and portray a monolithic image of the group's composition, seeing disagreement as a weakness instead of a testament to the robust diversity of the membership, their array of religious experiences and their creativity in describing what that means.

There are many reasons for this.  An individual may not feel like it is their place to promote their individual views, which could come across as disrespecting the longstanding tradition of their denomination to favor their own self-oriented universe.  Clergy may feel this pressure a lot.  One has to also wonder, however, if this could come across as either a form of dishonesty or unhealthy groupthink.  Pretending there is uniformity denies the vibrant diversity and personality of the members, a fact which could actually edify the stature of that group.  Uniformity may make the group less appealing to newcomers who find value in membership but who are not willing or ready to change some of their views.

I come across this stereotype a lot when I talk with non-churchgoing people.  I have a strong respect for people who refuse to join a church if it seems like they would have to surrender their personality or intellectual faculties to get a membership card.  While they may feel they have rejected Christianity, I hope they do not mind that I think that the Holy Spirit must be really strong in them to be so rooted so as not to bend just to join a group.

 

Two by Two

 

One of his favorite activities is to join together with other local pastors and go door-to-door through town spreading the Gospel.  They walk two-by-two on both sides of the street at the same time.  It conveys a powerful witness of the unity of the Body of Christ.  "There is a Nazarene and Church of Christ pastor on one side of the street and a Baptist and a Methodist pastor on the other side, knocking on doors."

Having a non-competitive stance toward Christian collaboration is central to Pastor Beam's evangelization efforts.  "After 23 years of doing this, I have not gotten even one new member in my congregation," he recounted.  "Other churches have received new members."  This is quite a track record to show he practices what he preaches when it comes to being uncompetitive with other Christians denominations.

Still, there is a lot of work to be done.  Out of 29 churches in his zip code, only 4 were working together in this way.

 

"When it comes to us pastors, none of us has a corner on the market.  To be faithful to our calling, we need to be faithful together.

Authentic Relationships

While he participates in joint ecumenical projects like the one above, he affirms that it always works best when it is the fruit of true friendship.  “Authentic ministries will come out of authentic relationships,” be says.  He prefers a dinner with a family than a common worship service, but he will do both.  He makes an effort to befriend other pastors.  He has participated in ecumenical gatherings of strangers and finds the talks "guarded."  They do "official" projects together such as write statements or lobby the government.  However, "when pastors are friends, it is less official but more effective," he believes.  A pastor gathering over pizza worked very well in this regard while he was living in another town in Kentucky.

He views Christian togetherness as not just the fruit of evangelization but also the means to get there.  Pastor Beam is committed to reclaiming community aspects of Christianity.  Community is not just the means but also the end of evangelization.  Pastor Beam finds evangelizing so much more difficult in the USA due to the individualistic nature of our culture.  "It's an uphill climb," he says.  "Competition, free enterprise and an overall feeling of suspicion are dominant.  In the USA, people think that everyone is a leader."

Historically, salvation was often seen as a community endeavor.  He cites Acts 16 (see above picture).  Beam remarked that it was not until Martin Luther that salvation was seen as a purely individualistic enterprise.  Community conversions still work very well in many non-westernized countries.  Tribal people often convert en masse when the leaders convert.

In fact, he underscores the importance of using the existing cultural infrastructure in other ways in missionary work.  He cites the books Peace Child and Eternity in their Hearts, both written by Christian missionary Don Richardson.  These books demonstrate that there are themes of Christianity and arrows pointing to the Christian God within the myths, stories and values of non-Christian cultures.  The job of a Christian missionary is not to forcefully eradicate a culture and replace it with another, but rather to show the people the God who has been revealed to them already—albeit in a less clear way, according to Beam.

Another way to tap into the existing community infrastructure right here in the states is this:  Before selecting outreach opportunities to help the local community, Pastor Beam first establishes key relationships of trust.  He networks with the police, school principals and the local superintendent.  He invites them to pray with him.  He asks:  Where should his church go?  Where is the need?  In one such instance, there was a community with increasing rates of domestic violence.  That begun a process which ended with his community teaching literacy to people in prison—ministering to the offenders and helping them build self-confidence and a feeling of self-empowerment.  These were key, as domestic abuse offenders often act out of a sense of powerlessness and a lack of self-confidence.

He concluded with a few thoughts on Pope Francis.  He appreciates that he is "not sweeping misbehaviors under rug."  This kind of leadership, combined with his overall charisma, are "making Christianity and Jesus look good again."

Zero-Sum Ecumenism

The success or failure of a relationship often has everything to do with the attitudes and assumptions we bring to the table before we even interact.  Relationships between people of different Christian denominations—or between any diverse people—can be doomed to failure if we approach them from a zero-sum mindset. 

What is a zero-sum mindset?

It is when a person subconsciously thinks: If I affirm you and your tradition, then by consequence I reduce me and my tradition by the same amount. 

 

The cartoon below reflects these same sentiments in a different way:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nakedpastor/2009/12/cartoon-can-you-canoe/

It seems like a frustrating scenario for both parties to be paddling against each other.  The net result is that neither party goes anywhere—it would seem that the takeaway message is that each would be better off working independently.  Perhaps this is simply a choice and not an inevitable outcome of ecumenism.  While supporters of Christian unity may be quick to shake their heads at a cartoon like this, it may be worth recognizing that it has value.  It reflects a potential pitfall that we can all fall into.  If nothing else, it reflects a real concern in the minds of many, concerns that deserve to be voiced.

The problem with this zero-sum mindset is inherently expressed in the term itself:  Everything always adds up to a complete zero.  Your differences and my differences cancel each other out when put together.  The resulting logic is that the only way for any interaction between two people to be fruitful, one person needs to change their beliefs, practices and ultimately change who they are to be more in line with the other.  It leaves few options for contact:  People either clash, neutralize each other, conform or simply avoid each other altogether.  Those become the only possible outcomes when diverse groups come together.  Your unique qualities call into question the validity of my unique qualities and we end up either fighting to establish who is right or living at a polite distance in an awkward tension. 

We may not realize all of this consciously, but if we truly carry a zero-sum mindset then that is ultimately what we are saying.  It could be argued that this is a depiction of where many communities today stand—filled with churches of many denominations keeping a quiet distance from each other.  We have agreed on what we can agree on, and we simply do not know what to do with the differences left that we cannot find a way to converge into some kind of agreement.  Some choose to ignore those differences.  Some choose to downplay them or even assimilate with others.  However, acknowledging true differences and still being in some sense united is something that often eludes us.

This is a challenge for Christians who take seriously the missionary call to go out and spread the Good News.  Can they do it in such a way that does not turn interesting, wonderful people who are already reflecting God's wonder as Creator into some kind of carbon copies of themselves?  Dare I say it—is this ethnic cleansing in a different form?  It is often heavy handed to make that kind of a comparison, but it is hard not to ask that question as yesterday marked the 70th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.  The comparison between some traditional forms of missionary conversion and genocide were raised by Katherine Wilson of the Frank Zeidler Center for Public Discussion when I heard her talk at the Wild Goose Festival last summer.  We are at risk of violating one of the deepest revelations of the Christian tradition—the dignity of the human person. 

Relationships, collaborations, joint efforts, and even dialogue can be seen as a complete loss this way.  It is easy to see why people who would avoid ecumenical progress when it seems like the potential for loss is huge and the gains so small.

So is that it—are we just doomed?  Is the quest for Christian unity simply an exercise where the only inevitable outcome is that one side ultimately will assimilate and eradicate the unique aspects of the others?

Are there other options?

In short—yes!

Over and over again, Scripture promises abundance when we cast aside our worries and reach out to God.  Zero-sum ecumenism is fear in disguise.  Remember, it is based on the assumption that nothing good will come out of  ecumenical interactions.  That assumption could be flat out wrong.

It can be valuable to explore the mystical dimensions of the Christian tradition and practice a dose of contemplative non-attachment.  It can be hard to recognize the good in someone else if our identity, self-worth and pride is rooted too heavily on our specific theological conclusions.  We would be better off rooted in the awe and wonder of the Mystery of God.  There is nothing wrong with being a people of conviction as long as those convictions do not turn into false idols keeping us from delving deeper into the Mystery of God and reaching out to others in charity and solidarity. 

The subject of attachment in religious traditions is a tricky thing and deserves at least a post by itself.  It is enough to say here that a tradition by its very nature has a history and a familiarity that goes along with it.  The trick is to honor the tradition without being attached to it and risk missing the God it points to.

For example, I love the old wooden pews in the church where I grew up.  I love the country feel in the yard outside.  I love the way the sun would steam in through the stained glass windows.  All of these can evoke and raise my consciousness to God.  A long tradition has identified these as good qualities for a church to have.  However, it becomes a problem if I were to say that the only legitimate religious experiences are those in old, country churches with wooden pews and stained glass windows.  In that case, I would be making a false idol out of my personal experiences, linking my identity to these fleeting items of this world rather than to what is eternal.  I would be fighting tooth and nail over them as if my life depended on it—and in a sense, it would if I have attached my very identity to these markers—and making it difficult to recognize the Revelation of God elsewhere.  This is the false self that Jesus told us to deny so that we can find the Kingdom within which is eternal.  It is silly actually—an eternal soul not realizing its nature staking its claim on something as fleeting as so much confetti.

Endless liturgical battles play out along these lines, as well.  Some people find a worship service with guitar music difficult to accept compared to other instruments which have been in use for longer periods.  The nastiness of these debates can be astounding.  Are they just attached to something familiar, or are they really cautioning to introduce change slowly so as not to risk losing a tradition that has been refined over a long time?  Some folks are so dug in to their viewpoint that "cautious change" does not seem to be an option for them at all.  If they have attached their false ego self to something like organ music instead of guitar music, then organ-led services will end up affirming them—their group or their viewpoint is being represented so therefore they feel validated.  The problem is that what is being validated is their false self, the very one Jesus told them to deny because it obscures their view of the eternal.

Pope Francis warns against this:

"And when a Christian becomes a disciple of the ideology, he has lost the faith: he is no longer a disciple of Jesus, he is a disciple of this attitude of thought."  He adds:  "Already the Apostle John, in his first Letter, spoke of this. Christians who lose the faith and prefer the ideologies. His attitude is: be rigid, moralistic, ethical, but without kindness."

In Saffron Cross, Baptist minister Rev. J. Dana Trent shows us new calculus—God's math is not our math when our difference enhance rather than diminish us.  Through her interfaith marriage to a Hindu monk, she discovered that her own Baptist faith had been deepened, that is, after a rough period of struggle and discernment. Her marriage forced her to evaluate, dig deeper and see her own tradition from a different perspective.  The view was not always easy but at the end of this turmoil she found herself renewed in her faith on a higher plateau.

Longtime friend of Glenmary, Rev. Carroll Brownlow Hastings was a pioneer in Baptist-Catholic dialogue (pictured at left with Glenmary President Fr. Bob Berson at right).  As an official liaison to Catholics with the Southern Baptist Convention, "he made lasting friendships, from Catholic bishops to the monks at the Conyers, GA, monastery, and helped countless others understand and appreciate the Catholic faith, even as he helped them understand Baptists, who he admitted, "are the confusion and amazement of all the Christian world." Although he garnered a deep affection for what he learned about Catholic faith and practice, he noted that paradoxically the experience profoundly deepened his own commitment to and admiration of Baptist principles. "

In fact, I have heard testimonies like these so many times it is bordering on cliché.  People will say that when they begin dialogue with people from a different faith tradition, at first there may be moments of excitement or skepticism.  Those moments often pass away into an inner roller coaster ride with their own beliefs swinging back and forth like a pendulum.  However, if they hang in there long enough, they often say something uncannily similar to:  I am a better __[my original faith tradition]__ for having gotten to know __[others from a different faith tradition]__ in a meaningful way.

An Exchange of Gifts

An alternative to zero-sum ecumenism begins with a couple of thoughts that seem contradictory at first:  Yes, I am rooted in my own beliefs and tradition.  So are you.  I can assume that both me and my tradition bear some responsibility for the divisions among Christians—divisions which contradict the will of Christ.  This humility may orient me in the right way to begin dialogue.  Perhaps God is sharing gifts with you that I can be better off to learn about.  You may as well benefit from hearing about what God has worked in me and my tradition. 

This "exchange of gifts" that Pope John Paul II referred to is a new standard for ecumenical relationships.  It goes something like this:

I have something to learn from you and you may have something to learn from me.  We both share a full witness of what we believe God has revealed to us and our respective traditions, including all the messiness, confusion and conflicts we may find.  We stand committed to working to fulfill Christ's prayer for Christian unity, even though we do not know where this may lead or what the outcome may be like.  We do not seek to change each other, only to continue to testify until we understand why each of us has arrived at her or his respective beliefs and practices.  We listen in patience and kindness as 1 Corinthians illustrates.  We rely on the Holy Spirit to work in us as we seek that Scriptural ideal of unity in diversity.

Perhaps that is all that can be said right now.

All kidding in the above meme aside, we actually do know that is going to happen.  In his famous address to Copeland Ministries, Pope Francis said it best with the following:

"A famous Italian author named Manzoni, once wrote in his novel, of a simple man amongst the people, who once said this, "I've never seen God begin a miracle without Him finishing it well." He will complete this miracle of unity."

Interfaith Marriage: 'Saffron Cross' (2013) by J Dana Trent, a Book Review

“Being married to a Hindu priest has made me a better Baptist.”

The above statement flies in the face of conventional wisdom.  Are not interfaith marriages supposed to water down the faith and cause people to lose focus? 

Yet that statement was spoken in full confidence by Rev. J. Dana Trent, an ordained Baptist minister and author of Saffron Cross:  The Unlikely Story of How a Christian Minister Married a Hindu Monk.  She gave an engaging talk at the 2014 Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, NC.

I recommend Saffron Cross for anyone struggling with the promise and peril of relationships between people of different faith traditions—whether it is between Christian denominations or even different religions altogether.

Rev. Trent suggests that interfaith relationships do not just present obstacles to endure, but they actually provide opportunities to grow in sensitivity, faith and understanding.



"Fred and Dana at Binkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, NC."
Photo by Franklin Golden http://jdanatrent.com/photos/

She begins her journey with a profile on eHarmony.  She was very surefooted and took for granted that her ideal partner would have similar spiritual views.  She concluded her book a very transformed person.  In her words:  “I checked eHarmony boxes in my pajamas, bossing God around about what I would and would not accept in a partner.  Now I’m married to a former Hindu monk, so the joke’s on me” (page 143). 

Her path was not an easy one, however.  There were many ups and downs along the way.  It is never easy when “our core beliefs are threatened,” as she pointed out in the talk—or at least, when they seem threatened.

In the beginning, she tried to change her husband-to-be.  Despite years of seminary education and a mature spirituality that would have respected differences, fears and old prejudices from somewhere inside of her initially took over.  She tried to “save” him, scheming ways to get him baptized—even though that coercive approach was contrary to her own theological views.  Some impulse from deep down showed its face.

There were other times when she leaned in the opposite direction and wanted to throw out Scripture—a difficult place to be for a Baptist minister, no doubt.  She teetered on the brink of abandoning her faith tradition.

The pendulum swung back and forth until she hit a breakthrough.  She referenced in her talk a “Holy Spirit moment” in her life.  She reached a point when she realized it was “not my God or his God . . . it was just God.  God with a capital “G” . . . God is not containable.”  She had come full circle but at a higher plateau and rediscovered the 'Awesome God' she had come to know in her Baptist upbringing—a God that was even more awesome than she had previously imagined but which was still consistent with what her Baptist faith announced.

“I was forcing God (and Fred) into my cozy little Baptist box.” (p. 48).  It was through getting to know her eventual husband that she came to discover and appreciate that Hinduism is a “legitimate way to God . . . steeped in sacred scripture, ritual and authenticity.” (48). 

Based on her journey, she offers the following three places where interfaith relationships of all kinds—marriages or friendships—can foster growth.  In her words, Interfaith relationships . . .

1.       help us face our own fears and prejudices

2.       help us face our own spiritual doubts

3.       are a lens to understand how others view God

She suggests that these are crucial skills not just for interpersonal relationships but for anyone living in the 21st century, as our world is growing closer through the rise of technology.

“Our biggest fear is that when we open ourselves to others’ understanding of God, we will jeopardize our own path.  And yet, the opposite is true.  The Holy Spirit breaks free from our human-made constraints and moves fluidly among us, crossing our unnecessary lines drawn in the sand” (142).

Other couples in interfaith relationships in the audience at the Wild Goose Festival shared their experiences.  One couple pointed out that it is good to be realistic about possibilities—there are some blessings as well as difficulties that come.  In their experience, a mixed marriage is not all good or all bad.  An interfaith marriage can be a tremendous place to nurture broad perspectives about the world while at the same time sacrificing intensity for a particular mode or tradition.  This can be especially true in raising children.

While interfaith marriages may not be in the future for everyone, the living experience of Rev. Trent and her husband Fred—both ordained in their respective traditions and very serious about their faith lives—offers a road map for others who may follow.  She paints a portrait of tremendous growth that can come whenever any two people of different faith traditions marry, grow in friendship or even have a single conversation. 

In light of Rev. Trent’s account, it is worth pondering whether interactions and relationships between different traditions are not just a curious option for some of us but whether they are absolutely necessary for all of us to grow—to truly live out the Gospel mandate to be not afraid, seek out those who are left out while inherently respecting the innate dignity of every human person in their uniqueness along the way.  These relationships may be a natural extension of the need to practice faith in community rather than in isolation.  Building a world for ourselves surrounded only by like-minded folks may rob us of the tension needed to wrestle with our doubts and emotional unfinished business.

“I dove, baptism-by-fire style, into an integrated Christian-Hindu life.  I visited physical and metaphorical spaces of pain and change… Fred gave me the greatest gift this side of heaven:  a Hinduism that brought me back to Jesus” (p. 143).   Being married to a “devout Hindu has helped me to be a better Christian," she said.  “It has deepened my Christian walk.”

It is clear that Rev. Trent and her husband take their religious life seriously and are very intentional about working out potential issues head on.  The next challenge for the young couple may be raising children in an interfaith household. 

A closing image is something Rev. Trent offered during her talk at the Wild Goose Festival:  When it comes to interfaith relationships, “you have to hold them delicately.” 

The First and Final Frontier of Christian Love

“If churches can work together to build a house,

why can’t we get together to evangelize the world?”

—Rev. Ted Beam, Pastor of Petrie Memorial United Methodist Church, Elkton, KY

 

Churches of different denominations working together on acts of charity and justice is often the first thing that comes to mind when people think of ecumenism.  Indeed, some of the most longstanding and compelling witnesses of ecumenism have happened in those arenas.

The word "evangelize" comes to us from the Greek meaning: "To announce the Good News."  Some would say that joint acts of Christian service are indeed true acts of evangelization, as they give witness to the solidarity of all people sharing a common mission to love one another as commanded by Jesus (Matthew 22:37-40).  When people are so overwhelmed by God's gift of love that their proverbial cup overflows (Psalm 23), compelling them to share that gift of love with others and in thanksgiving to God with all the blessings spilling out from them, they fulfill this new commandment to love God and love their neighbors as themselves.  They announce the Good News with their hands and feet through their deeds, demonstrating that their lives have been transformed in light of it.

Still, it is a curious situation when groups of Christians share the fruit of their discipleship together but proclaim the source of that discipleship separately.

 

Pope Francis has reminded us lately:  "Divisions between Christians wound the Church and wound Christ. The Church – he said – is the body and Christ is the head."  He asks:  "Are we resigned, or even indifferent to this division? Or do we firmly believe that we can and we must walk together towards reconciliation and full communion?"

Indeed, John's Gospel offers an important twist on Jesus' commandment:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

(John 13:34-35)

This is a daunting challenge.  Jesus is speaking both to his disciples and about his disciples here.  A sign of true discipleship—perhaps even the truest sign—is whether Christians can love each other.  The most difficult challenge is often loving those closest to ourselves.  This includes not just those in our local parish community but also different denominations of Christians worldwide.  2,000 years of amazing Christian service work juxtaposed against bitter divisions in the Body of Christ itself attests to this difficulty.

John's Gospel is often not the immediate "go to" book for social justice activists looking for a passage to embolden their efforts.  All too often it is seen as focusing on internal relationships between disciples and less on those excluded and marginalized.  It is not easy to coax Christians who may have become all too comfortable in cozy church fellowships to turn their attention and reach out to the whole world with this passage.  However, it is usually a mistake to attach a simple interpretation to anything in John's Gospel.  This passage is deeply challenging when held up against the fractures in Christianity. 

 

 

 

 

Scripture offers many ways to understand love.  The famous passage above from 1 Corinthians is a favorite wedding reading.  It takes on a very different challenge when seen as a checklist for ecumenism.  Love is not just tolerance, but a full blossom of patience, kindness, humility and honoring and forgiving each other.  Can Christians protect, trust, hope and persevere in their relationships with other Christians?  Jesus calls us to love one another, and this is what love looks like according to Paul.

 

Evangelizing together is an ideal way to demonstrate this kind of love.  It would show trust and a hope held in common.  Christians would protect each other and persevere together.  We would honor each other by trusting each other to proclaim the Gospel.  We would take time to understand each other in patience.  We would be slow to anger and rich in kindness, like the God we follow (Psalm 145:8). 

 

At the beginning of this piece, Rev. Ted Beam asks a question which points to a glaring inconsistency in the Christian witness.  Yes, they will know we are Christians by our love, according to John's Gospel.  Rev. Beam's question subtly suggests a way that this love might be expressed:  This is a love which draws Christians together to go out and share the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The kindness, patience, trust and humility that Christians would need to manifest in their relationships with each other in order proclaim the Gospel together would become the witness that the world would see.  The medium becomes the message.  The Way shows itself to also be the Truth. 

 

Perhaps it is better to preach the Gospel through our deeds, using words only when necessary.  Love may be the only thing pure enough to reach beyond our fuddled words and understandings.  However, our inability to preach together in words gives witness to our lack of investment to listen to each other in patience and kindness, out of which a common language and a sympathetic ear would emerge to guide this common mission to proclaim the Good News.

Distinctly Baptist, Distinctly Ecumenical

I had the opportunity this past July to sit down and talk with Southern Baptist minister Dean Anderson.  He is Pastor of Trenton Baptist Church in Trenton, KY, a small town in south, central Kentucky near the Tennessee border.  He is the author of Sacred Trust: Sermons on the Distinctive Beliefs of Baptists.  The book is the fruit of his doctoral work—what does it mean to be Baptist?

Anderson is a long-time collaborator with Glenmary's Fr. Frank Ruff.  To him, it is not ironic to be so invested in reclaiming what is distinctively Baptist and also so open to ecumenism.  Those are not mutually exclusive goals to him.

As I do in most of my interviews with faith leaders, I asked the question which is the guiding mantra for our Commission on Ecumenism: 

How do we enhance understanding... reduce alienation... and foster reconciliation between Catholics, Evangelicals and other Christian denominations?
 
Healing Racial Divisions
 
Anderson started off by saying that the “biggest division is between the races.”  He talked extensively about reconciliation between black and white Baptists in Trenton and shared obvious joy at the changes that have taken place in his community.  Some of those divisions have only begun to be transcended.  As recently as 1999 (before his time as pastor), a black gentleman was discouraged from membership in the white church.  The man was a former soldier, a vocation strongly respected by the community, but that was not enough to melt the ice. 

Twelve years ago, Anderson took a chance and invited the local Baptist minister and choir to his church for preaching, singing and food afterwards.  It was a huge success.  “You can see the walls come down,” he shared.  This was "a small town where everybody knew each other," yet there were strong barriers along racial lines and few interactions in public.  After the churches started coming together, people would greet each other in town and at the grocery store.  “There was a whole different spirit in town.”  Anderson and his choir have also been invited to the black Baptist church in a likewise manner.  Since then, the two churches have kept the tradition going and repeat it at least once a quarter.  They also do ministry projects together, such as a food giveaway, and the pastors substitute for each other when they need a Sunday off. 
 
A Catholic Country Pastor Creates Ripples
 
“It’s been a blessing getting to know Fr. Frank Ruff,” Anderson said.  “I saw his passion for Jesus, leading people to Jesus. Most people [here] have no personal relationships with Catholics."  Anderson sees this as a crucial step in building ecumenical understanding.  "There are so many myths and oversimplifications."  His advice was clear:  “Get to know people like Fr. Frank, that’s what helps.” 

 
"A generation or two ago, there were strong anti-Catholic feelings in this part of Kentucky.  The younger generations are realizing the similarities," he said.
 
Anderson echoed what I have heard other leaders from different denominations say recently:  This is a time for grassroots, local relationship building more than lofty documents from the top-down.  There is no substitute for the direct, personal engagement of people of different faith traditions getting to know each other, seeing each other's passion for the faith and watching their life witness.  "Effective, long-lasting cooperation is [better than] a statement that passes from everybody’s awareness."
 

Fr. Frank participated in an ecumenical Thanksgiving service at Trenton Baptist Church.  "A Catholic priest gave a sermon on gratitude from our pulpit, and it was just wonderful," Anderson recounted.  “I would not hesitate to agree with or 'Amen' everything he said.  This is a giant step toward Christians loving each other."  That ecumenical Thanksgiving service began as a joint effort of the local Methodist, Presbyterian and white Baptist churches.  It has since grown to include Assembly of God, black Baptist and Catholic churches.

Anderson also would not hesitate to say that there are differences between Catholics and Southern Baptists and that the differences do matter.  However, "we have to also remember that we have so much in common, which is greater and more important than differences."  He describes a balance:  "We can run the risk of over-valuing or under-valuing our differences.  Those differences should not hinder Jesus' prayer or keep us from cooperating." 

Anderson cautioned that ecumenical and interfaith collaborations should be discerned on a case-by-case basis.  He cited Revelation 13:18—"This calls for wisdom."  He is conscientious about the impression ministerial collaborations can make.  Working together does not necessitate agreement, but sometimes the disagreements are too strong for a partnership.

"That All May Be One" (John 17:21)

The best way to approach Jesus' prayer for unity, according to Anderson, is to start with the right attitude.  He outlines the following principles:

* "Have an openness to support and understand each other."  This sounds deceptively simple at first.  It does not assume agreement or even support, but it does require a true openness and willingness for that to happen.
 

* "Work toward the kind of spirit where Christians are non-competitive:  It is a gain for all faiths if a new family in town joins the Methodists, Baptists, any denomination, for example."

* "Pray by name for the other churches in town."  He gave an example of how he does this during his own services:  "I pray that the Father will bless them, use them and grow them to build His Kingdom."

* "Do joint ministry projects."  An example he gave was a collaborative effort of local churches which put a VHS tape copy of The Jesus Video Project in every mailbox in Todd County.  While he does not know what concrete gains may have come from this, the effort did spurn a story in the Hopkinsville newspaper about the partnership.

He concluded by saying: "Church history shows us that there are heroes of the faith in every tradition.  Worship in other traditions opens up appreciation.  Differences matter, but they shouldn’t keep us from working together today. [Much in the world is] hostile to the Christian faith—we are going to need to work together, and we are more effective and a stronger witness if we address it together."
 

Dry Bones

While visiting mountain churches, rural outreach organizations and ministry outposts of all kinds, I can not help but think of the leaders who are driven by a sense of vocation.  The Rev. Steve Peake stands out among them. 

He is Pastor of Corinth Baptist Church in Fleming-Neon, KY.  It is a predominately African-American community in a coal mining town.

In his own words: 

This church building is a historical building for the community of Fleming-Neon. The building was built in the early 1900's by the Elkhorn coal company as the original "colored school" for the children of the black coal miners and their families [operated by Catholic nuns from Jenkins, KY]. At this time there was not a church for the miners and their families, Rev.Henry Hinton began having church meetings in the homes of the miners. The coal company heard of this and they allowed Rev Hinton to use the school house to hold church services on Sundays. In 1947 the coal company deeded the building to Letcher County School Board,they continued to allow the church to continue meeting in the school. In 1956 the School Board deeded the building over to the trustees of the church . . .  In 1994 Corinth closed its doors until December of 2001 when Rev Steve Peake of Fleming-Neon returned to his home church to open it up and he remains as pastor of the church to this date.

He rebuilt the crumbling church building in beautiful woodwork with both his own hands and the help of friends.  A new construction perhaps would have been easier, but there is something special about being in that place where so much history has happened.  Church members can remember important life events happening right there.  Peake pointed to the railing where he came forward to be saved many years ago.  The community has been nurtured there.

From a logical standpoint, he could easily make the case to leave the area.  His wife would appreciate that.  The boom-and-bust cycle of the coal industry, coupled with changing demographics, have left few African-Americans still living in that part of rural Kentucky.  The community he shepherds is continually getting smaller—would not his time be better spent elsewhere, helping more people?  Yet, something in his spiritual intuition and life experience has led him to believe that his “work is not yet done here.”  He just can not leave the few sheep in favor of the many.

Rev. Peake feels called to preach to these "dry bones," a reference to Ezekiel 37:1-14.  God can bring new life to even the most parched, desolate circumstances.  How God may stir those dry bones remains to be seen.  Perhaps Peake will simply be the last person out of town. 

Peake has worked periodically with Glenmary's Fr. John Rausch on ecumenical efforts.  One was a Stations of the Cross service at a mountaintop removal site.  Another was a flower planting effort in the aftermath of a devastating flash flood.  Irresponsible—and sometimes illegal—mining practices have left the land vulnerable to flash flooding and mudslides.  As Fr. Rausch writes:

In 2003 the Rev. Steve Peake, a Baptist minister, and I organized a prayer service soon after a flood in McRoberts. I bought a flat of begonias from a nursery. Then 30 of us, including mothers with small children, walked through the town stopping at residences, churches and public buildings. At each place someone described the destruction caused by the flood. We said a prayer, then planted a begonia. The idea was to replace ugliness with beauty, and despair with Resurrection.

Indeed, the ministry of Rev. Peake is a strong witness to that very faith.  He knows that God can be found anywhere, even where it seems the least likely.  Case in point, after finishing the hand-hewn cross that now stands in the front of Corinth Baptist Church, Peake and his parishioners were amazed to discover the face of Jesus right in the wood:

Perhaps it takes the eyes of faith to see it—and that is exactly the guiding vision for the ministry of Rev. Steve Peake.