Janet and I spent a couple of days in
Lincoln last week, just relaxing. The Cathedral (right) is simply stupendous! But then we went to Leeds where I was due to preach on Sunday, and from there to Swanwick, Derbyshire on Monday for the Council of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB). There have been a number of different issues of importance at the Council this week, but let me highlight just two.
The first was discussion on guidelines for ministers on how to respond if asked to participate in civil partnership ceremonies. Inevitably the debate raised the wider issue of the Union’s stance towards the gay community. Not for the first time in recent years the debate represented a breadth of views, but it was always a conversation characterised by pastoral sensitivity, true grace and 'deep listening'. There are moments when the Baptist way of doing things is deeply moving. To have diverging views expressed in an atmosphere of respect is a moving experience, not least as we remain aware of the pain experienced by those whose voices are usually only heard second-hand through others.
The other area to highlight is Inter-Faith engagement. Both the Union and ourselves (BMS) are committed to Inter-Faith engagement over the coming years, and I'm excited about what this could mean. My one contribution on this topic, apart from welcoming the paper wholeheartedly, was to suggest that Inter-Faith engagement would be a better term than Inter-Faith dialogue, a phrase used interchangeably by many when looking at this whole area.
For me, the phrase Inter-Faith dialogue has a certain amount of unhelpful baggage which needs to be jettisoned if a truly robust Inter-Faith engagement is to happen. Inter-Faith dialogue sounds cerebral, and will put off those who think this is for theologians only.
Inter-Faith dialogue also suggests that the agenda is purely one of debate or an exchange of views, with the fear that the first thing an ordinary Christian will have to do is explain the Trinity! That can happen, but engagement can be as simple as having the confidence to invite your Muslim neighbours for a meal.
But Inter-Faith dialogue also raises for some, fairly or unfairly, the spectre of Inter-Faith worship (explicitly ruled out by the Union's paper) and a perceived compromising on aspects of the faith. These fears have caused many evangelicals to steer clear of these issues for too long. Right now, its we evangelicals (slow to the party I'm afraid to say) who are at last seeing the obvious need to engage with the world on our doorstep.
The next few years will be exciting ones. Inter-Faith engagement is here to stay.
David Kerrigan
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