The Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant is a week away and, for the first time, I am starting to have an uneasy feeling about what Bill Clinton will say at the meeting.
I attended the press conference last April when Carter and Clinton announced the Celebration to the public. At that meeting, I heard Clinton openly speak about his faith and left convinced that his profession of faith in Christ is genuine, that his grasp of Baptist pinciples is profound, and that his commitment to separation of church and state is sincere. If Clinton speaks at the Celebration the way that he spoke during that press conference, then my uneasiness about the speech he will give at the Celebration will prove unfounded.
Last April, however, no one suspected that an African-American would be the chief rival standing between Bill Clinton's wife and the presidency. Then, no one suspected that the African-American community would be severly divided about who they would support for president. T. DeWitt Smith, President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, joked at the press conference that his son was impressed that his father would be meeting "the first African-American President." The possibility that Clinton would be tempted to veer away from a message about faith to make a statement in support of Hillary's candidacy seemed remote.
Now we know that the stakes for the February 5th Democratic primaries are enormous. Now we know that Bill's role in Hillary's campaign has been to "lash out" against Obama and that his message is targeted towards African-Americans and young people.
There are going to be a lot of African-Americans and young people at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. The temptation for Bill to deliver a political message, instead of a spiritual message, will be great.
It may be too great a temptation.
I pray that it isn't.
This entry is cross-posted from the New Baptist Covenant weblog.
6 comments:
I just hope he can stay awake!
I just hope he can stay awake!
Bruce,
I share your concern about that. I have said before that I am uneasy about Pres. Clinton's appearance at the NBC meeting, given that it comes right before the Feb. 5 primaries. Your description of the temptation he faces is accurate, I think, and he seems to be the designated "attack" campaigner for Sen. Clinton. If he makes partisan political comments in his address, I hope we will all sit on our hands. This meeting needs to be about bigger things than the Democratic nomination.
This comment is posted for Katie White:
Dear Dr. Prescott, I am not registered as a google blogger, so I couldn't post these comments, but I wanted to respond to the thoughts you raised about the potential politicizing of the NBC gathering that I too am attending and counting the days.
I also share your concerns and I have voiced these fears among other Baptist clergy. Has Carter or anyone else approached Bill Clinton and set some parameters? If he takes unfair advantage of the attention he will garner at NBC, his political focus could derail the positive intentions of our gathering. Because it is so close to the Georgia primary, it will be a struggle for all of us to deal with the political implications of this event, but we must stand together against the manipulations of the media and self-serving interests. I consider myself an evangelical and happen to be a Republican, but a spiritual progressive when it comes to many contemporary issues. I believe that the unpreciented cost of our government's welfare program in support of the military proves that our nation has the resources to care for one another. Our govenment has chosen not to and we haven't been able to reverse it's destructive trends because our priorities are all wrong. As a Christian, I believe that our nation is in sin. We can't avoid politcal implications when we talk about responsible citizenship. But how can we prevent our Atlanta gathering from becoming a platform for Clinton's campaign? If there are boundries set, I am afraid that he might even talk about what he is not allowed to say! If Obama and Edwards as well as Republican candidates were making presentations, at least there would be equal time and opportunities for evaluation, but that isn't the purpose of this New Baptist Covenant.
I am a pastor of an American Baptist Congregation in Pennsylvania and have been looking forward to this historic event since I learned of it at our ABC-USA biennial in July. I have little trust in the mainstream media's honesty or accuracy in its coverage and was prepared to return home correct the media's false perceptions of the NBC as either a non-event or a controversal divisive rally. I too am "praying that Clinton will stay on message." Unfortunately, it may take a miracle.
Looking forward to Atlanta and praying that God's will be done,
Rev. Katie White, Erie PA
Another post for Katie:
The more I think about this, the greater my concern. Have you considered the problem of Clinton's placement at the end of the NBC covenant meeting?
I looked at the schedule for the plenary sessions and realized that Bill Clinton has been assigned the evening message at the final session. That was the planning committee's serious mistake. In other words, he will have the last word prior to the final hymn. When the schedule was created, the last message ought to have been a sermon and assigned to a pastor - a Tony Campolo or another well known and inspirational preacher. I don't doubt Clinton's faith, but he isn't an ordained minister or a theologian and isn't prepared to preach the prophetic message that we need to hear. I am not elevating clergy over laity, but that final message needed to be steeped in a Biblical mandate that "sends us forth to do God's will." The Word preached under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is what will empower us to work together as fellow Baptist believers when we leave Atlanta. How can a political speech can achieve that end, particularly by a man embroiled in political controversy? If he can pull it off, he I fear he will sound like a hypocrite to those who are determined to despise him. Choosing him over a pastoral leader has symbolic implications that are not good. We have many who have prayed and worked a long time for this unity and could speak out of their passion for John 17. Our government can't save us, Jesus can. I am tired of red state/blue state antagonism and I am even more frustrated by politicians who dupe Christians with false promises. That is what got us into our present mess.
Praying for a miracle in Atlanta.
Katie
As one who will also be attending the New Baptist Covenant next week, I just want to echo the concerns that Bruce and Katie have expressed. I happen to be a Democrat, but I want to affirm everything that Katie - who has identified herself as a Republican - has said so eloquently.
In recent years, I've seen God work miracles day after day in my own heart & life, as well as those of my family. So I'm praying & trusting God with this meeting, too - that God will work a miracle in President Clinton's heart, as well as the hearts of all of those on the podium and in the congregation, to keep us focused on the reason that we're there - to worship God and to move forward in unity to advance the mission of Christ, as given in Luke 4:18-19.
Thank you, Bruce and Katie, for taking your principled stand.
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