Ordained. Baptist. Dancer. Feminist.

Suffice it to say that these titles carry their fair share of stereo-typing and preconceived notions. If you ask the average American to visualize the typical ordained Baptist minister, I would assume that a professional dancer and feminist in her twenties would not immediately come to mind. In fact, the very notion of any female serving as an ordained Baptist minister raises enough eyebrows. One of the reasons for this misconception is due to the broad spectrum of beliefs and ideologies that fall under the Baptist umbrella.

I am a minister committed to the core Baptist principles like separation of church and state, the autonomy of the local church, freedom of conscience, and the priesthood of all believers who also identifies myself as liberal and feminist. At the same time I have Baptist sisters and brothers who are five point Calvinists that believe the bible is inerrant and that women are not qualified for ordination. Clearly we disagree on many issues. Amidst these divergent belief systems and ideologies, we all seek to follow the example of Christ. I see this example as one that calls for justice in an unjust world and peace rather than war. Others see Jesus’ example as one that calls for evangelism and following a litmus test of beliefs.

Along this continuum of disparate Baptist beliefs, Jimmy Carter, Bill Underwood and others have organized the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant that will meet in Atlanta in January, 2008. It is at this time that Baptists representing a variety viewpoints will gather to see if we can seek unity amidst diversity. The hot button issues can be divisive: global warming, the ordination of women and persons in the LGBTQ community, politics, war, and racism. It is lucid that we cannot agree on all of these issues, but will we seek to “let the oppressed go free, to proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind,” and to endeavor to bring about God’s peace and justice here on earth?