Theologians urge Baptists to seek "visible unity"

L-R: Steven Harmon, Neville Callam, Curtis Freeman

The Religious Herald, a news journal founded as a newspaper serving Baptists in Virginia that in recent years has expanded its mission to providing "news, analysis and resources for Baptist in the mid-Atlantic," has posted a story on the workshop "Baptist Dialogue with Other Christians: So What?" that I led along with Curtis Freeman (Duke University Divinity School) and Neville Callam (General Secretary, Baptist World Alliance) at the annual General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina held at Trinity Baptist Church in Raleigh March 23-24. An excerpt from the opening of the article appears below:

Theologians urge Baptists to seek 'visible unity'
By Robert Dilday, Managing Editor
Tuesday, March 27, 2012

RALEIGH, N.C.—While spiritual unity among Christians is important, discovering tangible ways to express that unity are essential, say two theologians long involved in Baptist dialogues with other faith traditions.

Spiritual unity is “a place to begin,” said Steve Harmon, adjunct professor of Christian theology at the Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity in Boiling Springs, N.C. “[Christians] share one Spirit, an allegiance to one Lord. But we’re trying to find a way to live into a more visible form of unity. Cooperation is one form of visible unity. We want to find as many ways as possible to cooperate together.”

Harmon and Curtis Freeman, research professor of theology and director of the Baptist House of Studies at the Duke University Divinity School in Durham, N.C., led a workshop on Baptist dialogues with other Christians during the March 23-24 general assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina [http://www.cbfnc.org/]. It was one of about 75 breakout sessions on topics ranging from biblical studies and social justice to technology and church resources. (continue reading story on the Religious Herald site)

Update: Associated Baptist Press has posted a story incorporating reporting on the workshop session into a larger story on the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina General Assembly.