Ministerial Musings
An opportunity to begin to consider recent news, and my own relationship to the British Baptist tradition and beyond.
The following is an initial reflection that perhaps won’t make sense to those who sit outside the Baptist tradition, or indeed beyond the Christian faith. However, I hope it is of interest to many, to give a little insight to a significant part of my life and vocation, as well as the hurt that is being felt by dear friends and colleagues.
It was in my mid-teens that I was prayed over and prophetically told that I would be a voice for change in the Baptist Union of Great Britain. This was in my home church during an evening youth group. At the time it didn’t seem plausible, not because I at the time doubted what is known as prophetic ministry, but rather because I was a closeted teenager, unsure of who he was and his place in that church, let alone the broader British Baptist tradition.
Two decades on from that experience, I have some reservations about the context in which it happened, and the sort of prayer ministry that left unchecked can cause a lot of harm. I’m not sure whether the person who prayed for me was really speaking of a future revealed to them by God, or whether they were praying and genuinely saw something in me that they fervently wanted to believe was ordained by God. Regardless, I can’t help but smile now, that all these years later, I am still part of a movement of Baptists who believe in our history and our potential. I doubt I’m that voice for change that was so confidently prayed over me, but I hope that I am contributor to a tradition that has long prayed and acted for justice.
Regardless, I am confident that the person who prayed for me might have chosen their words with a little more care had they known that I would be at the heart of a desire for the affirmation of LGBT+ people within the life of the global church, and specifically the Baptist tradition.
In recent weeks in the Baptist Union of Great Britain, we have reached a point in a journey of deliberation on whether the ministerial rules of accreditation can be modified to enable those who are in same-gender marriages to either become accredited Baptist ministers, or preventing those who are already accredited from having that status removed if they choose to marry their same-gender partner. The request for this change came from a grassroots initiative of around 70 Baptist ministers in 2020, and in the March 2024 Baptist Council deliberations, it was agreed that, following a national consultation of Baptist churches and ministers, there was not broad support for this change. Therefore, the ministerial rules of accreditation will not be changed.
As the decision and its effects continues to be felt by British Baptists, of all theological positions, may we remember that those are often so profoundly impacted are those who sit on the margins or beyond – excluded from positions of decision-making and support.
There will likely be a lot of work done on the demographic breakdowns of the results, and indeed the numbers of who voted for the change at Baptist Council and who did not. However, this is not the purpose of my writing today.
For many, the inclusion and affirmation of LGBT+ people remain a polarising topic. Indeed, over the time in which this aspect of that topic has been discussed, we have seen some of the best and worst of people. It is with sadness that a desire to create space at the table has resulted in the desire of a few to consider angrily and disruptively leaving the meal entirely.
I have also been distressed that throughout this discernment process, little has been done to call out the behaviour of those who have behaved in a way that is most certainly unbecoming of a minister of the Good News and hasn’t demonstrated a Christ-like heart towards the “least of these”. Deliberately divisive and inflammatory language has been deployed, which, had I or others who had hoped the ministerial rules might be amended written or spoken similarly, would almost certainly have received public rebuke and repercussions, and rightly so.
Ultimately, I am left with a sense of sadness, perhaps even lament. Not only have those how this decision impacts (not just those who are LGBT+, but those who see our inclusion as fundamental to the Gospel), but also as to where this leaves us as British Baptists today.
My sense is that we are facing an identity crisis, not dissimilar to that which my teenage self was facing, only writ large. As British Baptists we are drawn together not by doctrine, but by principles of a shared expression of faith – we cherish the authority of the local church under Christ’s leadership, and we have a profound sense of value for the place of Scripture in our journey along The Way. Yet, where these principles have at times proved themselves incredibly valuable, particularly in our difference, now it seems that they are being exploited.
It concerns me that our profound ability to reside amongst one another in difference, is being challenged by an authoritarian drive for us all to think and believe the same thing. This is not who we are, nor is it something that I or any of the others who have championed space for LGBT+ ministers, have sought out either.
As a movement we are intentionally decentralised, but this does not mean we ought to be lacking in leadership. Leading does not need to be from a point set above everyone else, it can be exercised from the middle and in amongst others. This is what we need now.
We need courageous voices who are willing to challenge the destructive narratives and who can do as other significant leaders have done: bring together a disparate people united not under shifting theology, but under the constancy of God. I believe our tradition has much to offer and it is one that stands on a bold history, it is my hope that this continues to be the case for centuries still to come.
Yet, I am delighted that in amongst all this a fledgling network of Baptists around the world is coming together[1] (and that more and more British Baptists are speaking up too). Whilst LGBT+ affirmation is part of that commitment to one another; it is primarily driven by a desire to speak progressively on issues of social justice as we see witnessed in the life and ministry of Christ. This is an informal fellowship, likeminded souls coming together on the dusty and lonely road, seeking solace, and committing to prayer and sharing together. It is my hope and prayer this disparate community can speak to a world where the word “Baptist” is so often understood as against something, where I believe we should be known for who we’re for: God and all of God’s creation.
[1] Find out a little more about how to support this: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bringing-global-baptists-together.