New Baptist Logo

The Anglican Church League contains some of the more conservative members of the Sydney Anglicans and they are not afraid to dish out what they think about liberals and pentecostals and sometimes on other evangelicals in Australia (of course whether there actually are "other" evangelicals in Australia or even intelligent life north of Hornsby might be the root of the problem). While I'm a pro-GAFCON anglophile, the ACL's jibe at those who should be thought of as brothers is not always my cup of tea. But I have to say that I do agree with the implied jibe behind their recent report on the Australian Baptist's new logo. Australian Baptist Ministries (formerly Baptist Union of Australia) has taken out the cross and Bible from their old logo and replaced it with three concentric circles. Read the article and find out why. All I have to say to my Aussie Baptist friends is: (1) This is what happens when you let Victorian Baptists run anything of national importance; (2) Your new logo looks like an advertisement for treating ringworm; and (3) What a load of ... [fill in as preferred].

Baptist Catholicity

Jim Hamilton gave me a copy of the booklet Building Bridges by David Dockery and Timothy George which, I think, was written to encourage irenic relationships and a co-operative spirit to recent debates in the SBC. It is an excellent guide to the history of the SBC and how to affirm one's baptist identity in the context of a wider Christian orthodoxy. It is a quick and enjoyable read!

Dockery affirms : "A model of dynamic orthodoxy must be reclaimed. The orthodox tradition must be recovered in conversation with Nicea, Chalcedon, Augustine, Bernard, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, the Pietists, and the revivalists. In sum, our Southern Baptist Identity must be rotted in the consensus fidei of the Christian Church". In terms of mission co-operation he adds: "We need a new spirit of mutual respect and humility to serve together with those with whom we have differences of conviction and opinion. It is possible to hold hands with brothers and sisters who disagree on secondary and tertiary matters of theology and work toward a common good to extend the work of Southern Baptists around teh word and advance the Kingdom of God. We need a like-mindedness on first order issues - particularly on the exclusivity and uniqueness of the Gospel that is found only in Jesus Christ and in Him alone."

Update: Denny Burk has just notified me of this book by David Dockery which covers a much similar topic.