Democrats Have More Christian Allies in Politics Than They Imagined
Though I have never met Mark Wingfield personally, my first encounter with him was when he was serving as the editor of the Western Recorder, the news journal of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, the state body that relates to the Southern Baptist Convention. At that point, the denomination was embroiled in a controversy between theological fundamentalists and a more moderate, traditional element of Baptists, and in Kentucky, because of the presence of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, the more moderate element was able to hold on to leadership for a longer period of time.
Wingfield was decidedly on the moderate side of the controversy, and his editorials and management of the Western Recorder, which assured that perspective got a fair hearing, was one of the reasons why the state body remained in moderate hands longer than most of the other state conventions did, after the SBC executive committee became dominated by the fundamentalists around 1989.
While it may not look political on the surface, the controversy that erupted in the Southern Baptist Convention in 1979 was most definitely the result of the influence of right wing Republican politics introduced to conservative Evangelicals through Jerry Falwell and the influence of his Moral Majority activists. The controversy itself was aimed at controlling the office of SBC President, the officer who presided over annual meetings of the denomination, but who also appointed a committee that was in charge of choosing nominees for trustee boards at the denomination's entities, including its six theological seminaries, two mission boards and its Lifeway Publishing House, along with Baptist Press.
To control the presidency and that committee was to control the denomination and when conservatives captured it in 1979, their aim was to make sure that only theological conservatives, or fundamentalists, were appointed. And underlying those choices, aligned with Falwell and the Moral Majority, was Richard Land, who, along with Paul Pressler, considered one of the "architects" of this conservative "resurgence," were seeing to it that the SBC was moved to a place of support for conservative Republicans.
The Side of the Southern Baptist Convention That is Not Politically Conservative
Wingfield was among those Southern Baptists who were resisting the political and theological takeover of the denomination. And while they failed to hold on to control of those positions in the denominational bureaucracy from which they could still wield influence, over time, this more moderate side of the denomination, while not exactly forming into a whole new denominational body at once, has transformed into a theological, doctrinal and political fellowship which strives to remain a-political, but which is theologically and doctrinally diverse, incompatible with both Christian fundamentalism and the influence of right wing extremism into its churches.
Among those Baptists who have landed on the opposite bank from the Southern Baptist Convention include the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, an Atlanta based organization made up of about 4,500 former Southern Baptist Churches, the Alliance of Baptists, a smaller group, further to the left theologically and more openly political, and a few state-based denominational bodies, including the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the Baptist General Convention of Missouri, and the Baptist General Association of Virginia. Their main media outlets are The Baptist Standard, a Texas-based publication and Baptist News Global, the weekly publication edited by Wingfield, based in Virginia.
Though this more moderate group of Baptists has avoided secular politics, or at least, hasn' t let them dominate their news cycle, publications or business, and it hasn't been openly political, it is clear that the vast majority of those who can be found in the pews of its churches are DEI friendly, woke-friendly, and would be on board with the Christian principles Bishop Budde preached that elicited the demand for an apology with Trump. So it is not surprising to see one of their leading journalists come out with such a strong, anti-Trump sentiment.
In fact, Wingfield does something here that I have been waiting to see from Christians in this country who have stuck with their principles and who have correctly concluded that Trump is anti-Christian, and that those who support him who claim to be Christian must deny major principles of Christian doctrine in order to do so. He correctly labels the Christianity that has allied itself with the MAGA faction a fake Christianity, and has "turned Christian theology upside down."
What Will Be Found in a Moderate Baptist Church?
Wingfield served for almost 17 years as an associate pastor in Wilshire Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. What has set it apart from its appearance as any other Baptist church in the south is what has transpired over time. Wilshire welcomed black members long before most churches in Texas were integrated, and in fact, most still aren't integrated in practice, though the rules have been taken down. Wilshire was also on the cutting edge in ordaining women to its diaconate, as well as to the pulpit ministry. It's the church where people who are facing some stark physical needs know to go and get help, and where the emotional wounds can receive care.
I'd suggest watching worship services from Wilshire to get a feel for what this kind of Baptist, and this kind of Christian, is all about. It is quite a contrast from the loudness and arrogance of the MAGA mafia, not just in appearance, but in the depth of its theology and in the consistency with which it practices Christian faith. It is a predominantly white, but integrated congregation with a black pastor that invests its time, energy and money into ministry, rather than into the pastor's bank account. It is, by biblical definition and testimony of its own practice Christian, and that gives Mr. Wingfield the ability to call out the MAGA mafia, and say that it's not Christian, without violating any biblical principle against judgement.
I'd also suggest reading through editions of Baptist News Global. To those who have a progressive political agenda, aimed at preserving and strengthening American democracy, these people are allies.
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