Building Bridges, Not Barriers (2007)

7.

Seek to Remain Open to the Holy SpIRit’s Leading. We do not control God. As we submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit, we refuse to manipulate others for our own self- ish motives. The Holy Spirit leads us to deeper relationships.

Being open to these holy moments leads us to a more credible Christian witness. We cannot say that we love Christ one mo- ment and then play power games the next! (Ryan) We can learn from other faith traditions about God’s love and God’s will for all of us.

8.

REMAIN open to change. The temptation is to be stubborn: “My way is the only way,” or “We’ve never done it that way before.” The truth is that only God is in control. God’s love is the only unchanging force in the universe. God’s truth will free us of our own stubbornness and arrogance. As we seek broader relationships, our understanding of God may change, leading us to a fuller understanding of who God is. To be ecumenical is to appreciate the unchanging love of God while appreciating our unique status in that love.

Kessler and Kinnamon remind us, “We must be willing to endure the uncomfortable if we are going to grow. . . . It takes more time and energy to understand people who are unfamiliar.

And yet widening our perception of the Christian circle, God brings renewal.”

9.

Build non-threatening relationships. Be honest in your beliefs while staying open to God. To be ecumeni- cal does not mean to reject our own personal beliefs and faith tradition. Ecumenism assumes a strong personal belief and open- ness to friendships that can help build an understanding com- monality. There has always been a tension between individual Christian beliefs, congregational beliefs, and biblical authority.

The tension can be healthy and lead us to greater insights of who God is. Pray for one another. Learn from one another.

Resources Ecumenism Among Us. Collegeville, MN: Institute for Ecumenism and Cultural Research, 1994.

Gross, Jeffrey, et al. Introduction to Ecumenism.

New York: Paulist Press, 1998.

Kessler, Diane and Michael Kinnamon. Councils of Churches and the Ecumenical Vision. Geneva: WCC Publication, 1995.

Living Faithfully in the United States Today.

Collegeville, MN: Institute for Ecumenism and Cultural Research, 2001.

Ryan, Thomas. What Does It Mean to Be Ecumenical?

Cincinnati: Forward Movement Publications, 1995.

Vestal, Daniel. It’s Time! . . . An Urgent Call to Christian Mission. Atlanta: Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, 2002. www.christianchurchestogether.org/

Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT) is a new forum growing out of a deeply felt need to broaden and expand fellowship, unity, and witness among the diverse expressions of Christian faith today. CCT is inclusive of the diversity of Christian families in the United States - Evangelical, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Pentecostals, historic Protestant, Racial and Ethnic churches.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Ecumenical Relationships

10. Wait on the Lord. To be ecumenical is larger than any institutional event. Ecumenism does not happen between organiza- tions. Ecumenism only occurs people to people. Institutions and denominations don’t build relationships; people do. This cannot be forced, coerced, or programmed. Waiting upon God implies creative waiting, doing what we can while waiting for opportunities to do more. Being patient means that we work for Christian unity, doing what we can do and waiting on God’s leadership to take us even deeper. Creative waiting means being in the reign of God while pray- ing for Christ’s return. Let us build bridges.

Daniel Vestal, Coordinator Department for Congregational Life Bo Prosser, Coordinator PO Box 450329 Atlanta, GA 31145 www.thefellowship.info

And let us pray . . .

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

At CBF, we are Fellowship Christians.

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Building Bridges not barriers

We affirm ecumenical relationships with others of Christian faith traditions. We seek out interfaith relationships with people of other traditional, historical religious groups.

We desire a framework for interreligious relationships with the whole family of God. We seek to be good citizens in the kingdom of God. We trust God to guide us in dialogue and lead us to fellowship in the reign of God.

Religion in America is in a fragile position.

There are thousands of identified religious groups in our nation.

A

lmost a million Americans are admitted atheists. Half of the congregations in the United States are over 70 years old. Half of all congregations have fewer than 100 regularly participating adults. According to some reports, there are now as many Muslims in the United States as Presbyterians. Society is developing away from mainstream Christian denominations. We tend to interact only with those who think and act like us. Isolation is not the answer. Fellowship is. At CBF, we are Fellowship Christians!

Ecumenical relationships are also in a fragile position. The church today encounters indifference from secular nonbelievers and opposition from conservative Christians. Many groups give lip service about unity while quietly dismissing relationships with anyone but those like themselves. Indifference, opposition, and empty words are not the answers. Interaction is. At CBF, we are Fellowship Christians!

One strategic initiative of the Fellowship is to initate ecumenical and interfaith dialogues as we work toward justice and reconciliation. We do this by building bridges to others. We strive to be the presence of Christ in the dialogues we share. We strive to be missional rather than programmatic in our dialogue. We seek to understand and be understood.

The Bible tells of God’s desire for all to live in shalom together. Many familiar texts call us to reconciliation including John 17, Ephesians 2; 1 Corinthians 12 and Galatians 3. We were created for fellowship. We are called to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20) while living the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:37-38). We are called to be one another with each other (allelon). We are called to share in God’s love together.

As Fellowship Christians, we actively engage in dialogue with others.

We are not Universalists; we are Christians; We will neither deny Jesus as Lord nor be weak in our Christ-like beliefs. Yet, in our Christianity we recognize our responsibility to the whole family of God. We desire community in the midst of our differences. We seek to be the presence of Christ with all.

The following suggestions are intended to help us grow closer to one another, to build bridges. These are not mandates. These are ideas for being brothers and sisters together with the rest of the world in faith journeys.

1. Pray for Unity in God’s Church. Prayer changes things. We pray that God will enrich our hearts, our minds, and our attitudes. Prayer causes us to be accepting of those who may be different. Prayer causes us to look beyond ourselves for unity.

Jeffrey Gross reminds us, “Any person who engages in ecumenism comes to realize that the work of unity is the task of the Spirit and not a human project.” As we pray, we may be led to conversation.

As we converse, we may be led to understanding. As we under stand, perhaps we can share God’s love within God’s kingdom!

2. Know our Baptist Heritage. We are a group in danger of losing our Baptist identity. We have been formed holding to fragile freedoms.

We must hold the basics of our Baptist tradition as we build relationships with people of other faith traditions. Yet we neither surrender our own beliefs nor coerce others to believe as we believe.

To be ecumenical means that we know who we are while appreci- ating the unique beliefs of others. We will listen and be respectful.

We will be open to dialogue about the differences and similarities of other Christians without surrendering our personal beliefs. We will trust God to lead us in truth and love.

3. Listen, be open, be willing to learn. The world does not always see Baptists as open and accepting. Within the Fellowship, we place great value on freedom and diversity. We seek to know the bigger picture of God’s love.

To be ecumenical means that we dare to think beyond our Baptist parameters. We are open to others. We tell our stories of faith honestly. We listen to others’ stories without judgment. We don’t filter others’ stories through our Baptist story; we simply hear their story for what it is . . . their story! Thomas Ryan states, “Each Christian tradition has preserved better than others one or more aspects of the mystery of God’s work in Christ.” We must be open.

4.

Develop a posture of personal growth. The church of today is not the same church that existed in the first century. Christianity is a growth journey. To be ecumenical means that we are willing to continue growing, learning, and seeking.

We are open to the continuing revelation of God through Christ.

None of us has arrived at the fulfillment of our faith. We would do well to remember the prayer, “Lord, help me to remember that all the truth I know is not all the truth!”

5. Celebrate Christian vitality. How foolish when Christians compete with one another. Perhaps comparison and competition are the greatest barriers to honest relationships. Our competition is not with other faith traditions. We should celebrate when God’s kingdom succeeds! The apostle Paul reminds us that we struggle against forces that we cannot see . . . not one an- other. To be ecumenical means to celebrate the koinonia of the people of God. We must be willing to join in sharing in the fellowship of the communion of God’s people and the grace of God’s love.

6. Strive to Be Missional. To be missional means that we strive to be the presence of Christ. We cooperate with other Christian traditions. The church is the result of the mission of God rather than missions being the result of the church. God’s mission of reconciling the world to redemption has been at work long before the beginnings of the Baptist movement. To be missional means that we have more passion in following God’s call than we do in programs and policies. We are more interested in sharing God’s love than in proving ourselves superior to other faith traditions. Christianity has never been about being superior.

At CBF, we are Fellowship Christians.

7. Be open to leadership of the Holy Spirit to