Acts 7:54-60
54 When they heard these things,
they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. 55 But filled with the
Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing
at the right hand of God. 56 "Look," he said, "I see the heavens
opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" 57 But they
covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. 58
Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses
laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were
stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then
he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin
against them." When he had said this, he died.
Fearlessness. That’s the word that
comes to mind when I reflect on this story of Stephen, the first martyr of the
Christian Church. Stephen was fearless. He was fearless as he did great signs
and wonders among the people. He was fearless as he stood up to those who
argued against him—“those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it
was called), Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and others of those from Cilicia and Asia”
(Acts 6:9). He was fearless as he faced the conspiracies of false witnesses and
endured being brought before the high priest in order to answer for those
trumped up charges of blasphemy. He was fearless as he boldly proclaimed the
truth of the gospel, the reality that God does not dwell in houses built by
mortal hands, and he was fearless as he retold the history of how God’s
prophets were persecuted by God’s own people. He was fearless in the face of
rising anger and the grinding teeth of hatred. He was fearless as he gazed
towards the sky and saw a vision of Christ standing as his only witness to the
testimony of faith he had given, and he was fearless as he shouted to the lynch
mob, "Look…I
see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of
God!" He was fearless right to the very end, for even as the rocks
ripped his skin and crushed his bones he was fearless enough to forgive his executioners,
just as his Lord had done from the cross on which he himself had been executed:
"Lord,
do not hold this sin against them." Stephen was fearless, and it
was his fearlessness that cost him his life, but it was that same fearlessness
that helped to start a fire that spread across the empire and the known world.
His critics, his accusers, his murderers, even his own death could not stop the
good work Stephen had started with the Good News of God’s in-breaking kingdom. Fearlessness:
that’s the word that comes to my mind when I reflect on Stephen’s story, and it
is a word that comes to mind when I reflect on others’ stories in the history
of Christ’s Church.
Fearlessness is a word that comes to
mind when I think on the life of Francis of Assisi in the thirteenth century.
St. Francis was fearless as he abandoned the wealth and luxury of the life that
was his for the living in order to live among and serve the poor. Fearlessness
is a word that comes to mind when I think of that radical Augustinian monk, who
on October 31, 1517 walked up to the church in Wittenberg, Germany and nailed
his 95 Theses to its door; fearlessness is the word to
describe that same monk, Martin Luther, as he stood before a panel of his
accusers at the Diet of Worms, and, when asked to recant his writings on the
gospel of Christ, he said, "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain
reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have
contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot
and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right
nor safe. God help me. Amen."[1]
Fearlessness is the word that comes
to mind when I think on our Baptist forbearers. Thomas Helwys was fearless when
he wrote to King James I (yes, that
King James) declaring that “the state could not act punitively in religious
matters against the heretic, the non-Christian, or the atheist.”[2]
Roger Williams was fearless when, in the 1640s, he began the colony of Rhode
Island, a colony in which the first Baptist church in America was established
and a colony with a reputation for religious liberty for all. Fearlessness
describes Baptist pastor John Leland and his fight for religious liberty and his
influence with James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. Williams and Leland were
both fearless with their radical idea of a nation that promoted religious
liberty and the separation of Church and State.[3]
Then there are those fearless
forbearers whose testimonies rest closer to us on the slide rule of history. In
1832, Eleanor Macomber was the first single woman funded directly by the
Mission Board of the Triennial Convention (the forerunner to the Southern
Baptist Convention); she was appointed as an evangelist and church organizer in
Burma. In 1849, Harriet A. Baker became the first single woman appointed by the
four-year-old Southern Baptist Convention; she was appointed to Canton, China.
It wasn’t until 1872 that another single woman would be appointed to the
mission field; it would be two single women in fact: Lula Whilden and Edmonia
Harris Moon. You likely know Edmonia’s sister better than you know any other
missionary: her name was Charlotte Diggs Moon, but folks just call her Lottie.[4]
If you’ve grown up in a Baptist church in the last century you’ve no doubt
heard the stories of Miss Lottie’s fearlessness, the way she shared the gospel
in a foreign country, the way she lived with the people (there’s even a story
surrounding her death that she starved to death as the people she served were
also starving).[5]
These first single women, Baptist, missionaries were fearless as they took the
gospel to foreign people in strange lands in a time when women were less than
empowered by their Christian brethren.
Of course, some of you in this room
know firsthand the kind of fearlessness it takes to do the kind of radical,
empowering, risky, gospel-inspired, Christ-honoring things that can lead to
just a touch of controversy.
If you take the paper (whether in print or online) there’s still a good
chance you might have missed it. I promise it was there though, on page 2A of
Thursday’s Anniston Star. Here are
the first three sentences of that little almanac article from October 24, 1988:
“In northern Calhoun County there’s little to set the First Baptist Church of
Williams apart, and no hint of the controversy that has surrounded it since
Sept. 25. That Sunday saw six new deacons ordained—four men and two women. The ordination of women at
Williams came as a shock to some Baptist churches in the county.”[6]
This church took the fearless move to ordain Peggy Hamby (a woman who could
tell me the sky is green and I wouldn’t bother to look out the window to know
I’d believe her!) and the late Dean Norton to serve as deacons to this
congregation. It was a fearless move that led to one of the highest attended
meetings of the Calhoun Baptist Association at Parker Memorial in Anniston,
where a vote of 331 to 269 caused the association to refuse to seat this
church’s messengers and expel this church from membership in the association.[7]
After the vote was taken, the members of this church that were in attendance
(perhaps some of you in this room) did not raise shouts of protest, but instead—with
the quiet dignity I am coming to learn defines this community—“left quietly
through a side door.”[8]
That fearless act twenty-five years ago in many ways has come to define
this congregation, but not how you might think. Rather than being known as the
Baptist step-child of Calhoun County, among sisters and brothers in other
Christian traditions in our county, this congregation has the reputation of
being welcoming, loving, encouraging, missional, progressive, intelligent,
and—above all—Christ-centered. That fearless act did not come without pain,
without consequence: this congregation—and Peggy and Dean especially—was
exposed to less-than-loving words and thoughts from others in our county, and
there are still those who hold a less-than-favorable opinion of this
congregation (which may not have been helped in the minds of those who hold
such opinions when word got out you called me as your next pastor!).
Furthermore, that fearless act was not undertaken without a great deal of
prayer, research, and the study of Scripture. I know because I’ve read the
account of Lee Messer, a former member of this church, as he recorded it on our
church’s history:
Since
being directed to reconsider our position by the Calhoun Association…we have
again prayerfully researched and studied the Scripture; consulted credible
biblical scholars and have scrutinized publications of other mainstream
biblical authorities; examined local, state, and national precedents; and
reviewed the history of the Baptist Church (sic)
with particular emphasis on the role of women in the early Baptist churches.
Relying upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we still unanimously concur with
our original decision to permit any qualified and elected Christian to serve as
a Deacon Family Minister. Albeit we are not the only Baptist Church (sic) in the State Convention to elect
qualified women as deacons, we feel comfortable to have women serve in this
vital calling.
We
believe that our selection is biblical.[9]
It was a fearless, biblical act that has lead us to where
we are today as the First Baptist Church of Williams.
There is a great legacy of fearlessness behind us,
friends. There is the fearlessness of those patriarchs and matriarchs of
Scripture: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Esther, the prophets, Mary (Jesus’
mother), the apostles. There is the fearlessness of all those sisters and
brothers throughout the history of Christ’s Church who have boldly risked so
much in order to live the life Christ calls us all to live, to proclaim the
gospel with our words and actions. There are those familiar examples of
fearlessness that occupy these pews and live in the spirit of this
congregation. Above all else, there is the fearlessness of our Lord himself as
he willingly laid his life down and died upon the cross as the Lamb of God who
came to take away the sins of the world.
We have a great legacy of fearlessness for God’s kingdom
behind us, but what can we do to add to that legacy today? What bold actions
might God be calling us to do as a congregation? What bold actions might God be
calling you to do? Over the next few
weeks as you prayerfully consider how you will be good stewards of your time to
the ministries of this congregation and as you prayerfully consider how God is
calling you to be good stewards of the financial needs of this congregation,
take time to reflect on the legacy of fearlessness left by those who have gone
before us in the history of Christ’s Church. Spend time with the Scriptures;
listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit. Don’t confuse the simple writing of a
check or having your name listed on a committee as a fearless act for Christ—do
something! If you’re limited by illness, income, or circumstances beyond your
control, then pray with boldness! Pray that God will use this congregation to
do new, fearless things for God’s kingdom.
May we continue
the fearless pursuit of bringing God’s kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. May
we boldly follow the call of the Holy Spirit no matter the consequences. May we
all give of ourselves to the kingdom work of Christ’s Church as the First
Baptist Church of Williams. And as we look forward to celebrating 163 years
with our Homecoming celebration next week, may we reflect on the way God has
used the fearlessness of this congregation in the past, and may it empower us
to fearless acts of generosity, grace, forgiveness, and love. May we all seek
together to be fearless for Christ.
Let us pray…
[2]
Bill Leonard, Baptist Ways. Judson
Press: Valley Forge, PA (2003) p.9.
[3]
Ibid., p.130-131.
[4]
Ibid. p.176.
[6]
from The Anniston Star. October 24,
2013, p. 2A. (Emphasis mine).
[7]
Wayne Flynt, Alabama Baptists: Southern
Baptists in the Heart of Dixie. The University of Alabama Press:
Tuscaloosa, AL (1998) p.586.
[8]
from A People Who Shared a Vision:
History of the Church at Williams, 1850-200. Higginbotham Printing:
Anniston, AL (200) p101.
[9]
Ibid. p.97.
