First Night of New Baptist Covenant

[Mark]

He pointed out the ho button theology issues...

Isn't that what brought down Jimmy Swaggart?

[Neil Heath]

My own observations were similar to those already posted here. The meeting was a good mix of black and white brothers and sisters, maybe even a 50-50 mix, or close to it. Music came from several worship styles, as did the preaching, and was well received by the congregation. The tone was set from the beginning by Bill Underwood as he talked about Dr. King's dream of Christian unity, and how it might be realized to some degree this week as groups who have never met together for worship and fellowship did so at the NBC. He drew applause several times in his remarks. Dr. Shaw is an eloquent, effective preacher who did a masterful job of preaching that drew much response from the crowd. I suspect it was a bit of an adjustment for some folks who haven't been in a black worship service.

One highlight for me is reconnecting with old friends across the country, some of whom I haven't seen since seminary days, and catching up on our lives. I was not disappointed. And I was really looking forward to putting faces to familiar names from these discussions. Thanks for posting the pics, Tim. Wish you all could have been with us.

I left early, after Dr. Shaw spoke, because I wanted to get back to Macon before it got too late. I knew I could see President Carter online, but I wish I could have stayed. I'm still in Macon this AM, but hope to get back up there later today.

Maybe I'll see some more of you there!

Neil

[Neil Heath]

Associated Baptist Press has some good coverage of the event's first night, including some of the words of Bill Underwood that drew much applause and highlights of the sermons by Shaw and Carter.

http://www.abpnews.com/www/2998.article

Neil

[Neil Heath]

...I'd had forgotten that there at one time was an attitude down south that "there is no Baptist work there" meant no Southern Baptist work. FBC Des Moines has been in the metro area for 157 years and New York state has hundreds of ABC churches in three regions of New York.

This nice lady obviously knew nothing about American Baptists and, my suspicion is that we collectively know even less about the Baptist denominations with historically African-American leadership.

It is high time we all got to know each other better!

On a side note, this meeting is costing me a fortune in books! With Judson, Mercer, Baylor, Smyth Helwys, Alban Institute, etc. etc. all present my book allowance is going fast!

I agree! It's long been a pet peeve of mine, this attitude that there are no churches there if SBC isn't there. It is high time we opened our eyes to the Kingdom of God all around us.

On the book buying, I think the sale price list from Smythe and Helwys is honored for maybe 30 days after an event. It's worth asking about because you can order them instead of hauling them home yourself. In fact, since they are based here in Macon, I'll be glad to deliver them in person for a small fee.

Neil