I read with some interest the items Exploring Baptist Ecclesiology by George Wieland, Andrew Picard, Martin Sutherland and Rodney Macann (NZ Baptist, July) and was struck by the role liberalism plays in Baptist theology, although sadly none of them mentioned it.

I would argue that Baptist theology is formed on the backdrop of classic liberalism – just as the Reformation itself was a liberal movement.

Certainly discipleship is a profoundly liberal path – a path not necessarily following the rules of the culture, but rather freeing oneself in order to follow Jesus. And in the following, discovering greater liberty.

Could it be that the Baptist movement has become more conservative – more comfortable with rules, regulations and guidelines than with freedom, love and grace? Certainly any move to conservatism would be in line with the cultural shift in New Zealand over the last 40 years. Governments have become increasingly conservative and the demands of the population have been to make them even more so. Just watching the TV news, and the constant demands for “the Government” to do this and that reveals the extent of our cultural conservatism.

In our pursuit of making disciples (who are much more than converts) I believe we need to reclaim our liberty, grapple with the Scriptures and try to figure out what being liberated, Jesus-following New Zealanders looks like. Not Christians, because that’s now a weird subcultural image heavily influenced by Darby and the Schofield Bible, but Jesus-following, world-involved, invasive, liberated New Zealanders.

Now that’s an ecclesia that sounds exciting and one I am sure Jesus will be with until the end of the age.

– Wayne Sheddan
Ardmore, Auckland