The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
Transcript of The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
1/20
Contents1 Gordon Johnson: Encountering the
Gospel o Jesus Christ |
Leland Eliason
The Baptist General Conerence in
the 21st Century | Vic Winquist
2 Inside this issue o the Baptist Pietist
Clarion | G. William Carlson
3 Celebrating Gordon Johnsons My
Church: A Manual o Baptist Faith
and Action| Bruce Peterson
7 Becoming Baptist Again |
Glen Scorgie
9 God, and the Lie He Has Given
Us, Is so Good! The Ministry and
Vision o Gordon Johnson |
G. William Carlson
12 Celebrating a Baptist Heritage:The Pietist Poetry o Signe Olson
Peterson | G. William Carlson
15 Angela Shannon: We Carry Our
History With Us | G. William
Carlson
17 Distinctive Baptist Bees |
Stanley Anderson
The Baptist PietistCLARIONVol. 9, No. 1 In essentials unity in non-essentials liberty in everything charity June2010
Edited byG. WilliamCarlson, Proessor o History and Political Science at Bethel University; ronsaari, Senior Pastor at Central Baptist Church
Previous issues can be ound at http://www.bethel.edu/cas/dept/history/Baptist_Pietist_Clarion
continued on p. 4
continued on p. 17
Formerly published by theCommittedPastors
& layleadersdediCatedtoPreservinGPietism,
evanGelism, andCivilityintheBGC.
Edited by:
G. WilliamCarlson | Proessor o History
at Bethel University
3900 Bethel Drive p.o. 60,
St. Paul, Minnesota 55112
and
ronsaari | Senior Pastor at Central Baptist
Church 420 N. Roy St.
St. Paul, Minnesota 55104
Gordon Johnson: Encountering
the Gospel o Jesus ChristA Tribute to G. G.
Johnson by LeLand
e L i a s o n ( D e a n ,
Bethe l Seminary
1994-2009), October
31, 2009 Grace Point
Church, New Brigh-ton, MN | Gordon
Johnson was born on November 19, 1919.
That means that in less than three weeks,
hell be celebrating his 90th Birthday. As
we visited yesterday, I suggested that today
would be part o that birthday celebration.
I thought I should begin today by disclos-
ing something that maybe has been hidden
all these years, namely that Gordon Johnson
was thrown out o Bethel. Thats right liter
ally and physically thrown out o one o the
main buildings. Heres how it happened
Gordons home was right across rom where
the Edgren dorm was on the old campus. He
and his riends, one o whom was the son
o K. J. Karlson, Dean o Bethel Seminary1925-1948, had found ways to get into the
Bethel Seminary Gymnasium so they could
play there.
A big burly student took strong exception
to these kids being there and came tearing
out to where Gordon was. He picked Gor
don up and threw him down to the landing
in ront o the outside door. Then he ran
down to where Gordon had landed, opened
The Baptist General Conerence
in the 21st CenturyVic Winquist, or-
mer Baptist General
Conerence Pastor
and ormer BGC
De nominat iona l
Director. Presented
at Baptist General
Conerence History
Center Event Calvary Church, April 2009 |
I have been asked to report on the BGC in
the 21st century. The question I would like
to address is, Is the BGC in the 21st century
the same as it was in the 20th century or are
we dierent? The answer to both o these
questions is yes. It is air to say that we are still
the same in that we arm the major pietistic
Baptist tenets o our aith: the necessity o
the new birth, lives o holiness, commit-
ment to the Bible as our guide or aith and
practice, believers baptism by immersion
as taught in the Word, the autonomy o the
local congregation, a congregational orm
o church government and religious liberty
and its corollary, separation o church and
state.
But there are dierences. We can start by
saying that we are a larger denomination
In 1954 we had 383 churches in the United
States with a total membership o 51,272
By 2005 we had grown to 1,034 churches
with 140,494 members and an average of
213,285 worshipping in our churches on a
weekend.
Alongside this growth have come dier
ences in how we understand and apply our
historic pietistic Baptist principles today
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
2/20~ 2 ~
Inside this Issue o the Baptist Pietist Clarion
G. WiLLiam carLson,
Proessor o History
and Political Science,
Bethel University|
This is the tenth is-
sue o the Baptist
Pietist Clarion. Therst issue emerged
in March 2002. Earlier issues ocused on
the theological vision o John Alexis Edgren,
the challenge o the civil rights movement,
history o Bethel College and Semi-
nary, Baptist pietist spirituality as
expressed in the lie and witness
o Carl H. Lundquist, Baptists
commitments, religious liberty
and the separation o church
and state (exploring the contri-
butions o Walred H. Peterson
and C. Emanuel Carlson), social
justice and gender issues in the Baptist
General Conerence, history o Swedish Bap-
tist pietism, and the history o theological
disputes in the BGC.
One o the reasons or the Baptist Pietist
Clarion is to publish materials o the pro-
ceedings o the Baptist General Conerence
History Center and relevant presentations
on BGC heritage and values. Previous is-
sues o the Baptist Pietist Clarion can be
ound at: http://cas.bethel.edu/dept/history/
Baptist_Pietist_Clarion. The Clarion cannot
be published without the assistance o the
Baptist General Conerence History Center.
The History Center is ably administered by
Diana Magnuson, Proessor o History atBethel University. Further inormation can
be ound at: http://www.bethel.edu/bgc-
archives/.
1. The rst theme o this issue o
the Baptist Pietist Clarionis
to celebrate the publication
o Gordon Johnsons My
Church.
Gordon Johnson served
as BGC pastor, proessor
o preaching, and dean o
Bethel Seminary from 1964-
1984. My Church, published in
1957 became an essential monograph in
understanding the historical, theological
and missional develop o the BGC. It was
constantly used or church membership
sessions and provided a base or evaluating
and championing Baptist distinctives which
dene the BGC.
2. A second theme o this issue o the Bap
tist Pietist Clarionis to explore the mean-
ing o being Baptist.
We asked Glen Scorgie, Proessor o
Theology at Bethel Seminary, San Diego
to refect on his own spiritual journey as a
Baptist. Scorgie, a Canadian, joined Bethelaculty in 1996 ater serving as academic vice
president o North American Baptist College
in Edmonton, Alberta. His writings include
The Challenge o Bible Translation(2003)
and The Journey Back to Eden: Restoring th
Creators Design or Women and Men. In the
last issue Terri Hansen reviewed Scorgies
work, A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality
(Zondervan, 2007).
3. The third theme analyzes the signii-
cance o changes in the Baptist General
Conerence especially ocusing on issues
o identity and mission.
In April 2009 a symposium, sponsored by
the Friends o the Baptist General Coner
ence History Center, discussed issues related
to the signicance o being Baptist in the 21s
century. Vic Winquist developed a presenta
tion entitled The BGC in the 21st Century
and Stan Anderson, proessor o philosophy
emeritus at Bethel College, explored the
distinctive Baptist belies in an acrostic
ormat. It is a helpul base or members o
the BGC to explore their core belies.
4. A ourth theme is the inclusion o two
distinguished poets: Signe Olson Peterson
and Angela Shannon.
They both relected on their Baptist
heritage. Signe Peterson was a distinguished
Swedish Baptist poet. Anna Swedberg
considered our well-beloved Signe, a
signicant Swedish poet whose poetry appeared in many Baptist General Conerence
publications. Angela Shannon is an associate
proessor o English at Bethel University and
a signicant African-American poet. She was
a eatured poet at the latest Pietism coner
ence at Bethel University in March 2009.
In essentials
UNITY
In non-essentials
LIBERTY
In everything
CHARITY
Baptist General Conerence refects a
Baptist Pietist Heritage:1. We are an immigrant people. The commitments to religious liberty are rooted in our
history as a persecuted people. It is the prime reason or our continued involvement
in such organizations as Baptist World Alliance and Baptist Joint Committee.
2. We are a counter-culture community of believers. The early Swedish Baptists chal-
lenged the lielessness o the state churches who seemed concerned only with correct
belie, proper religious practices and maintenance o political power. They established
a heritage that suggests the need or a more experiential Christianity that is concerned
with moral living and born again revivalism.
3. We are committed to intentional Christian spirituality. Our origins lie in the devel-
opment o the lsare movement. These are small group Bible study and prayer groups
under the direction o lay leadership. It remains necessary or all Christians, as Carl
Lundquist, ormer Bethel University President, stated, to develop renewal groups that
are committed to a devotional understanding o Scriptures.
4. We are an educational and missional Christian community. There is an intense
commitment to evangelism and social and economic outreach. We are Christians whose
heart and mind are under the Lordship o Christ.
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
3/20~ 3 ~
Celebrating Gordon JohnsonsMy Church: A Manual of Baptist Faith and Action
Bruce Petersen,Pas-
tor o Bethany Bap-
tist Church, October
31, 2009 GracePoint
Church, New Brigh-
ton, Minnesota |
Gordon Johnsons
My Church, A Man-
ual o Faith and Practice, was rst published
in 1957 and signicantly revised in 1994.
In it, Gordon identies and discusses eight
Baptist distinctives:
1. The New Testament is the sole and su-
cient rule o aith and practice. We believe
the entire Bible to be the inspired, written
revelation o God, but it is the New Testa-
ment that gives us the authority or aith andactivity in the church.
2. It is the privilege o each individual
to have direct access to God through Jesus
Christ. This is known as the universal priest-
hood o believers.
3. The church and state are to be com-
pletely separate in their respective elds. The
state is not to interere with the distinctly
religious unctions o the church. It is to
give complete liberty to all o its subjects to
worship according to the dictates o theirconsciences.
4. The churchs government is a simple,
democratic orm. A democratic church gov-
ernment is called the congregational orm.
This means each member in a Baptist church
has as much authority as any other member,
including the pastor.
5. Baptism is or believers only and only
by immersion. The qualication or baptism
is not a matter o age but o aith. Baptism
ollows trusting in the Lordship o Christ.
6. Church membership is or the regener-
ate (i.e., spiritually reborn) only. An unre-
generate church membership soon leads to
a weakened church, with the possibility o
ungodly practices.
7. Christ is the supreme head o the
church. He must be Lord o the program
and practices o the church.
8. The evangelism of the world is our task.
Baptists take seriously the Great Commis-
sion. Each member is responsible or the
task o witnessing.
Gordon concluded that these eight dis-
tinctives sum up the distinct Baptist belies
that make Baptists what they are. It is well or
Baptists to review them requently so as to be
amiliar with them. These distinctives make
or a rich heritage o which any
Baptist can be proud. To un-
derstand those doctrines is to
make each o us a conrmed
Baptist desirous o shar-
ing these convictions with
others, but always ready
to ght or the liberty o
others to disagree. (My
Church, p. 149)Gordon acknowledges
that while other Baptist
writers may ormu-
late these in dierent
ways, making some
subsidiary to others,
these distinctives are expres-
sive o belies that all Baptists hold in com-
mon. That does not mean that we hold them
with equal commitment. Unlike some o
the major ast ood chains whose goal is tomake sure that upon entering one o their
ranchises anywhere in the world, the prod-
uct will never vary in taste and quality, no
two Baptist churches are alike even when it
comes to our commitment to these historic
distinctives.
For example, Norman Maring and Win-
throp Hudson in the American Baptist
manual contend that under the principle o
local church autonomy each Baptist church
can decide whether or not to require believer
baptism by immersion as a prerequisite or
church membership. Gordon, I believe,
would be a bit more dogmatic on that is-
sue.
Our history as well as the diversity among
the more than one hundred ninety-five
groups and thousands o local churches o
Baptists worldwide underscore the act that
we are more o an ongoing movement than
a nalized and closely dened community.
The question that gave birth to the Baptists
What saith the Scripture? remains or us
an open question that reuses to declare the
conversation over even when it comes to our
distinctives.
We have our convictions, but i we are true
Baptists, we are reticent to codiy them lest
they become tests o orthodoxy in addition
to Scripture. Gordon Johnson
contends that Bap
tists hold no creed
or statement o aith
as binding upon the
church. We believe
there are values in creeds
and statements o aith as
indications o our understanding o New Testamen
doctrine, but none o these
can be authoritative or
the aith and practice o the
church. (My Church, p. 146)
We who take the Scrip
ture as authoritative are also
compelled by it to coness that at
present we know in part. It is this awarenes
that allows us to respectully dialogue with
those rom within and outside our ellowshipwho are equally committed to the authority
o Scripture but who have come to dieren
conclusions about what it is saying. The BGC
among various Baptist groups has cut a airly
wide swath by the high priority we give to
the principle o soul reedom.
Leith Anderson in his preface to the 1994
revision both promotes and demonstrates the
principle. He urges the reader to: (1) keep the
Bible rst, that is, to read My Churchin ligh
o Scripture; (2) decide or yoursel, rather
than simply accepting what My Churchsay
simply because Gordon Johnson says it; and
(3) compare your church and dont get upse
i you notice some dierences.
Soul Freedomand BaptiSt
diStinctiveS
As Gordon points out, the principle o
soul reedom or soul competency under the
authority o Scripture and the Lordship o
continued on p. 19
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
4/20~ 4 ~
continued on p.5
Encountering the Gospel, from p. 1
the door and physically threw him down
the next fight o stairs. Im sure i you had
asked him that day, i he thought hed ever
work at Bethel, his response would have been
less than enthusiastic! Later, another student
came and apologized or the brutal behavior
o the rst student.
In 1936, the economic upheaval o the
Great Depression led Gordons ather to take
a job in Winona, Minnesota. No Swedish
Covenant church existed in that town, but
the pastor and members o the American
Baptist Church were on the ball. When they
heard a new amily had moved to town, they
visited them. And so the pastor, deacons and
Sunday School teachers all made visits to the
Johnson home. As a result, the whole amily
began to attend the Baptist Church.
A converted Jew, invited by the small
Nazarene church in town, conducted evan-gelistic services in the larger sanctuary o the
Baptist church. As the invitation was given
to receive Christ, Gordon thought, Either
youre going to do it now or probably you
never will. Both he and his sister became
Christians and soon the whole amily was
baptized and joined the church.
When it was time to go to college, Gor-
dons best riend encouraged him to go to
Bethel. But that was not the leading that
Gordon experienced. He attended Moodyinstead. A lovely young lady at First Baptist
Church Minneapolis also was encouraged to
attend Northwestern College. Ater all, that
was the school born at First Baptist.
But she also elt led to attend Moody.
Thats where Gordon and Alta met
and both o them were so grateul
that in each o those cases, they didnt
listen to the advice o otherwise dear
riends! Their partnership and deep
love or one another was one o the
hallmarks of Gordons life for sixty-
our years.
Gordon JohnSon: education
and early miniStry
The expanse o Gordons ministry over
the next decades can only be highlighted
here. His education includes exposure to a
wide variety o kinds o schools. He gradu-
ated from Moody Bible Institute in 1941.
For two years he attended Bethel Junior
Eective Preaching NeededGordon G. Johnson, Dean o Bethel Seminary, September 22, 1965
Recently I have elt an increased burden in relation to eective preaching. The concernor more good preachers has been expressed by laymen. The lack o persuasive preaching
may also account or the small attendance at evening services in many churches.
Dear student, there is no short cut to becoming an eective preacher, but every one
o you can become that. It will demand a lie o
discipline, not only now while you are a student,
but throughout your ministry.
Good preaching is the combination o
well-prepared material that is relevant to con-
temporary human need and a delivery that
demands attention and response. Neither o
these is a mere git rom God. He gives gits,
but they must be developed through a lielong
discipline o work.
One must work diligently to have some-
thing signicant to say every time one comes to
the pulpit. That will take careul and continuous
study o literature and lie. But one must deliver the sermon in a captivating manner.
That skill takes constant practice and self-evaluation to determine areas of need for
urther development.
Churches across the country are anxiously awaiting you who may become eective
preachers. And the Lord is awaiting such servants.
College and then enrolled in the Univer-
sity of Minnesota for a year. In 1944 he
joined the Navy and completed his senior
year o college at Harvard University. Due
to Harvards residency requirements, the
University o Minnesota granted him his
bachelors degree in absentia.
Gordon returned in 1945 to BethelSeminary rom where he received his B.D.
degree. He studied at Princeton Seminary
rom where he earned a Masters degree. His
Th.D. was granted rom Northern Baptist
Theological Seminary.
During his education he was always deeply
involved in ministry. He was youth pastor
and was ordained at Central Baptist Church
in St. Paul in 1946. He was pastor at Dalbo,
Minnesota and at Milltown, Wisconsin. Dur-
ing the time he was pastor at Bethel Baptist
(1948-1951) in Montclair, New Jersey, heattended Princeton Seminary.
In 1951 he began his ministry at Central
Baptist in Chicago. During the next eight
years the church grew rom two hundred to
our hundred ty; our hundred twenty new
members were received, more than two hun-
dred twenty by baptism. During Johnsons
ministry a new building was completed.
While pastor at Central Baptist Gordon
Johnson was also enrolled at Northern
Baptist Theological Seminary. His disserta
tion was on The Impact o Neo-orthodoxy on
Contemporary American Preaching. When he
came to deend his thesis, he was invited no
to deend, but to present his ndings to the
entire aculty at Northern Seminary.
Gordon JohnSon: a proFeSSoroF
preachinG
There was great excitement on campus
when Gordon Johnson came to be teacher o
preaching at Bethel Seminary. I still remem
ber the deeper lie series in the all o 1959
my second year o college.
His teaching o preaching molded and
shaped the hearts and minds o hundredsand thousands o preachers. Anyone who
thought that you could go to his classes and
pick up 3 or 4 easy steps to speak effectively
experienced a very dierent set o classes
He taught us to wrestle with the text until its
meaning became clear. Dont read into the
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
5/20~ 5 ~
continued on p. 6
Encountering the Gospel, from p. 4
Our Campus Says Something: We Trust It will Always Be
Used to the Glory o Our LordGordon G. Johnson The ClarionOctober 11, 1965
This campus says something about God. Our God
is characterized by power, eternalness and the Creator
o beauty. As one approaches the buildings, the ap-
pearance o the brick walls, the deep set windows, the
brown hue in the color and the solidity o the setting
suggests that our God is strong. They also say that He
endures because these buildings are likely to endure.
There is beauty in the whole setting
These buildings also say something about commu-
nity. We desired a continuing experience o Koinonia
or ellowship. This is discovered in a number o dier-
ent ways. Spaces are provided or good conversational
activity in an inormal atmosphere. Some o these areas
are carpeted and urnished with easy chairs. An open
view to the outside beauty through large windows is evidentAn excellent esprit de corps
will be possible or the total community o aculty and students alike. An atmosphereo receptivity and riendliness is created by the very orm the buildings have taken.
These buildings urther express some o our academic ideals.The seminary student
must become a mature student. He must become a capable thinker and leader, or he will
lead other people in thought and lie. He must discover his own capacities o personal
study and community sharing.
In light o this our buildings have been built. With the exception o two classrooms we
have departed rom the traditional. That was done to encourage dialogue and interac-
tionThe library is geared to independent study. There are no large tables or study in
large groups. In some areas there is more o the cloistered experience that would suggest,
Now is the time or work and study.
The aculty oces are o such size that our or ve students may meet with a acultymember or discussion. Several conerence rooms are also available in the library or
similar activity.
Our campus suggests our mission. Our task is to communicate the Word o God
to a world in need o that Word. We must train men and women to become the bridge
between the biblical world and the contemporary world. The location o our campus is
ideally suited to suggest that very thing. We possess a sense o isolation or solid biblical
study in our location, but it is also very conveniently located within easy reach o the
whole metropolitan area. Here our students enter into active eld education or witness
and service.
Our campus does say something, and it says it signicantly. It expresses that which
we believe and eel. It will become one o the beauty spots o the area, and we trust it
will always be used to the glory o our Lord.
text what you want it to say, he would say,
read out o the text whats really there.
That simple principle challenged many o
us greatly. And when we learned to do that
simple but challenging task, we were deliv-
ered rom the hazard o having three or ve
avorite sermons which one would preach
out o any text in the Bible!
Many o us remember the three step
hermeneutic. What did the text mean when it
was written? What is the theological meaning
o the text in order to get at the timeless
truths o Gods word? And then, what does
it mean?
He preached without notes and tried to
teach all o the rest o us to do the same. Each
o us who were thus challenged, remember
the rst time we tried to do what Gordon
had taught us!
Gordons memory or preaching withoutnotes was phenomenal. I will never orget a
Monday night banquet at Bethels Founders
Week when he preached on the implications
o the population explosion or the church.
He quoted rom memory a prodigious
recitation o acts and gures ending with a
powerul challenge to be world Christians.
Because o his preach-
ing eectiveness, Gor-
don was in great demand.
One year he spoke 235times. Churches used to
hold 8 day evangelistic
campaigns and Gor-
don would be gone or
stretches like that quite
requently. Over the
years he preached deep-
er lie weeks at Bethels
Deeper Lie Week in
1951, at Wheatons in
1958, and for Moodys Founders Week.
Gordon JohnSon: deanoF Bethel
Seminary (1964-1984)
Five years ater coming to teach at the
seminary, Gordon became Dean o Bethel
Seminary and he oversaw an incredible pe-
riod o growth. When he became dean there
were 103 students enrolled; when he let
there were 550. He led the creation o and the
beginning o Bethel West on the campus o
College Avenue and then oversaw the process
o having that extension site accredited.
He assembled an incredible group o
biblical scholars young, gited, committed
teachers who provided a powerul ethos in
which students could grow. His vision or
seminary education was a whole person
vision which arose out o the rich tapestry
o educational experiences at the diverse
cluster o schools mentioned above, and
what Gordon knew was necessary to be
eective as a preaching pastor. In addition
to understanding the cultures and thought
patterns o the Bible, so radically dieren
rom those o the 20th century, students mus
practice the discipline of self-understanding
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
6/20~ 6 ~
Encountering the Gospel, from p. 5
to compensate or weaknesses and avoid
preaching on pet themes; learn to know God
personally and experientially in order to live
what we talk about; and plan ahead out o a
vision or what the congregation needs.
Another hallmark o Gordons ministry
was his pastors heart. He counseled thou-
sands o students and pastors over those
years. I was one o those who sat in his o-
ce on more than one occasion. I came to
him or his wise counsel and to receive his
prayers. His careul listening coupled with
his spiritual discernment made his prayers
times o rereshment and guidance.
During all those years Alta was an in-
separable and integral part o each o the
ministries. Two children, Gregg and Gayle
joined the amily. Alta was wie, homemaker,
mother, gracious hostess, counselor, teacher,
and leader o womens ministries. She was aconstant companion to Gordon all through
those years. Their partnership continued
while serving at the Seminary and at the
College Avenue Church in San Diego. How
she would have loved today to celebrate the
accomplishments o this man she loved so
dearly! Overall, Gordon and Alta served or 33
years at Bethel in one capacity or another.
Gordon, it is a great pleasure and privi-
lege or me to be here today. You have had a
proound and lasting impact upon my lie.You believed in me in such a way as to call
orth the best rom me. You supported me
in urthering my own education I would
not have earned my doctorate without your
support. And your prayers or my lie and
ministry including the 12 years at Whit-
tier and then during the last 15 have meant
more to Carol and me than we can say.
Gordon JohnSon: authoroFMy
ChurCh
Now we must backtrack a ew years. Dur-
ing the decade o the 50s, Gordon was as
active as any pastor could be. While serving
as the pastor o the thriving Central Baptist
Church and pursuing his doctoral degree, he
served on numerous boards and committees.
He served on the Outline Committee or
the Uniorm Bible Series o the National
Sunday School Association which prepared
lessons used by more than 3 million people.
He chaired the Board o Publication or the
BGC. He served or a year
as president o the Board
o Trustees. During 1959
he and Alta made a 54-day
trip during which time he
visited individually with all
o the missionaries in India,
the Philippines, and Japan,
preaching 52 times (nearly a
sermon a day!).
In 1956 he was on Bethels
campus and knew that the
Board o Bible School &
Youth was meeting upstairs
in the old library at the cam-
pus on 1480 N. Snelling Ave.
He stopped in to greet them.
When he did, they told him
o their concern that more
leadership materials were needed or the BGCand they were unanimous in believing that
Gordon should write one o the books in a
series o books being planned. This board and
the Publications Board were working together
to meet a need or a more eective Christian
education program in the growing churches
o the Baptist General Conerence.
At rst Gordon thought their oer was
made in jest, but ater he let the meeting,
he started thinking about their oer. He
realized, as he thought o the content, thathe could preach these themes. And he also
incorporated the writing o the materials as
a project in his doctoral program. In the end,
he preached all but the chapter on history in
a series o sermons that became the text o
My Church.
Johnsons book was planned as part o a
series. He wrote My Church. Clarence Bass,
Systematic Theology proessor at Bethel
Seminary was asked to produce a book on
New Testament Writings and Writerswhich
would be an introduction to the New Testa-
ment. Lawrence Swanson, who headed the
Board o Bible School and Youth, wroteBuild
an Approved Sunday Bible Schoolas the third
book in the series.
The bookMy Churchstruck a unique bal-
ance between solid content and readability.
Though more in depth presentations o
Baptist belies were available in a number o
orms,My Churchwas both theologically and
biblically solid, yet readable and accessible
to lay men and women in churches and waseective with new believers as well.
The rst copies o the book became avail
able in 1957. 3000 copies were printed ini
tially, but they sold out immediately and soon
second and third printings were ordered. My
Church quickly became the principle book
that Conerence churches used in orienta
tion classes or new members and in Sunday
school classes or adults who wanted to ex
plore the backgrounds to their aith.
By 1982, after 25 years in publicationmore than 100,000 copies had been sold. A
ceremony o recognition was held or the
Johnsons and an endowed scholarship was
established at Bethel Seminary, where Johnson
was then Dean, to honor the longest continu
ally published book in Conerence history.
During the next 20 years, over 23,000 more
were added. Last year, 273 copies were sold. A
of Sept. 1 this year, 87 more copies had been
sold. Another printing o the book is currently
being planned and will refect Converge
Worldwide renaming and restructure.
Gordon, we meet here today to honor you
not only or your distinguished lie o service
but or shaping the understanding o church
and what it means to be a devoted ollower
o Jesus Christ within the Baptist Genera
Conerence. We all resonate with the tribute
that says, MyChurch, more than any other
writing, has shaped the principles and ethos
o the Baptist General Conerence and kept us
true to Gods word and our Baptist belies.
Gordon Johnson greeted by Bethel Seminary Dean
predecessor Edwin Omark.
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
7/20~ 7 ~
continued on p. 8
Becoming Baptist AgainGLen scorGieProes-
sor Theology, Bethel
Seminary West | I
was a small-town
Baptist preachers
kid. Early on I g-
ured out that we
Baptists were prettyordinary olk. Our building was modest, our
worship was simple and unadorned, and
our people were mostly farmers and blue-
collarnot quite up there with the local
Presbyterians and the Anglicans, with their
proessional careers and more aesthetically
pleasing edices.
About the time I started school, as I
remember it, we got an inestation o bats
above the raters o our little Baptist cha-
pel. It fell to my Dad, the one-man staff, tosolve the problem. While trying to umigate
those creatures his oot, and very quickly his
whole leg, went through the ceiling, putting
a mighty hole in the plaster right above the
pulpit. The next Sunday morning the con-
gregation was intrigued by this architectural
innovation, but no one was scandalized.
They shrugged it o. We were, as I said,
humble and unpretentious olk.
Once I collaborated with some other six-
year old colleagues in lobbing stones through
a window o our church. It had seemed like a
good idea at the time. My ather disciplined
me in the Proverbs-style way, and then re-
inorced the teaching moment by taking me
along with him to the hardware store, where
he had some new glass cut and bought putty
to x it up again. Looking back, I am grateul
that it was only clear Baptist glass we boys
had smashed, and not that ornate stained
glass the higher-brow churches enjoyed.
Our next Baptist church, in downtown
Toronto, was an upgrade or my Dada
large brick structure with a bell tower. From
street-level you climbed upstairs to the sanc-
tuary on wide, creaky wooden steps. There,
high above the pulpit and the rows o dark
wood pews, were King James words in large
Gothic calligraphy: O Worship the Lord in
the Beauty o Holiness. There was an archaic
majesty to these inspired words that was
never quite matched in our Baptist goings
on every Sunday morning. Even as a boy I
wondered who had chosen and inscribed
that exhortation, and whether it could pos-
sibly have been one o usmore likely than
not, I surmised, a hired Catholic.
Hal way through the service theyd take
us out or childrens church, and try to evan-
gelize us weekly. The teachers put chorusesup on the slide projector or us to sing along,
like this one:
Rolled away, rolled away, rolled away,
Every burden o my heart rolled away.
All my sins had to go
Neath the crimson fow
Hallelujah! Rolled away . . .
Still embedded in my memory is the
picture on the projector. An alarmed guy,
teetering over a cliff with a huge Sisyphus-
sized rock on his back, was about to tipbackwards and hurtle down into hell. It was
an enormous relie on the next slide that the
rock somehow rolled away when he looked
up to a cross, silhouetted on a hill above him.
I think the old Baptist giant John Bunyan
would have approved.
There were lay olk in that church who
cared about us kids (and our eternal welare),
and they were remarkably creative about
rounding up neighborhood young people
and incentivizing them to attend Sunday
school. One week it was
a ree goldsh in a small
plastic bag o water or
anyone who brought a
riend. That plan, un-
ortunately, went south
when most o the ish
inexplicably died beore
Sunday school ended.
On Sundays the atten-
dance would always be
posted at the ront o
the sanctuary, next to
the numbers o the
hymn selections, and
we tracked that numbers rise and all the way
richer people ollowed the stock market.
Some day, I knew, I too would have to be
baptized, and stand at the ront in a bor-
rowed white robe that would become totally
transparent the moment you hit the water. I
knew this for a fact, from eye-popping pas
experience in which moments o great spiri-
tual ecstasy had been incongruously mixed
with burlesque. For a baptismal service little
burgundy drapes would pull back to revea
an amateur painting o a scene along the
banks o the River Jordan.
We called baptism an ordinance, becausewe did not buy all the sacramental stu that
some Christians espoused. And yet or all o
our disdain or any element o mystery in
this ancient Christian initiation rite, it was
oten a palpably sacred moment wherein the
supernatural realm was only thinly veiled
rom sight. The baptismal candidate would
come up out o the water, the congregation
would lurch into another verse o Trust and
Obey, and deep spiritual emotion fowed
thick all round. The moment was too sacredor any applause; symbolically, someone had
just chosen to die, and had risen again to live
henceorth or Christ alone.
Baptism is an especially dicult step or
introverts. I vividly remember the benevo
lent joy welling up in the eyes o the minister
who took my hand and led me into the chilly
waters. There was the plunge beneath the sur
ace, a powerul tactile reinorcement o the
meaning o Romans 6 orever etched on my
soul. And aterwards, there was an awareness
o having really crossed the Ru
bicon, or more accurately, hav
ing been immersed in it. I had
a sense o my heavenly Fathers
pleasure, and also o relie, that I
was nally a bona de legitimate
(because obedient) Christian.
We Baptists started out as
a variety of 17th-century Puritan-
ismone with an extraordinary
appreciation or reedom and au
tonomy that made us a nuisance
and even a threat, to those more
aligned with the establishment
But over time our robust Puritan
spirituality got concentrated in the up-front
conversion cluster o repentance, aith, re
generation and baptism. Unortunately or
many Baptists today, meaningul spirituality
tends to peter out ater the initiation crisis
The soul-hungry among us are often obliged
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
8/20~ 8 ~
Becoming Baptist Again, from p. 7
to go oraging outside our own tradition to
nd helpul guidance and mentors. On the
international scene, Baptists are requently
persecuted, and out o this experience has de-
veloped a spirituality o suering that is cer-
tainly very genuine. But generally speaking,
Baptist churches o North America maintain
a rather serious spiritual trade deicit in
relationship to other Christian traditions.
Thisthe lack o a deeply transormative
post-conversion spiritualityhas become
an Achilles heel o our tradition.
Signs o this deiciency abound. Years
beorehand our Baptist church in Toronto
had been the scene o an acrimonious split
between two camps o ollowers o the Baptist
Fundamentalist champion T. T. Shields. City
newspapers gave front-page coverage to the
subsequent shenanigans. There was, or ex-
ample, the night one action backed a truck upto the theological library o the other group
and literally drove o with their books.
Some o our own congregational meetings
were unmitigated disasters. As a child I was
protected rom the details, but I did notice
when a ght broke out in the stands at a foor
hockey game between two Baptist churches.
One o our senior deacons totally lost it,
shouting and failing about, suspending the
game itsel while his sobbing wie pleaded
or him to settle down. Congregational politywithout spiritually mature pastors and laity
is always an accident waiting to happen, or,
more accurately, a bomb about to explode.
Eventually my weary parents ound reuge
in a Holiness denomination that seemed to
maniest more grace in relationships and o-
fer more soul-nourishment in its spirituality.
My own personal ormation then continued
in this post-Baptist environment for years to
come. But its a curious thing how precious
denominational testimonies or takes on
truth tend over time to acquire unimpeach-
able authority and a virtually divine status
equal to the Bible itsel. Eventually I ound
my own reading o Scripture and conscience
no longer a good match or the Procrustean
bed o this denominations idiosyncratic
doctrines. I was teaching systematic theology
at the time, so there was no place to hide. I
needed to jump beore I got pushed. But
where could I go?
As it turned out, my old riends the
Baptists oered me a sae place to land,
viewing me, no doubt, as a prodigal com-
ing home. But they were a dierent kind o
Baptist this time around. They were German
Baptistsimmigrants to Canada with roots
in a European Pietism that maniested itsel
in beautiully sung harmonies and, more
importantly, a warm-hearted love for Godand his word.
And while they took the Bible and doc-
trine seriously, as good Baptists they were
reluctant to tether their consciences to any
humanly composed doctrinal statement or
conession. They regarded their conession
o aith more as a collective testimony than
as a binding contract upon the soul. They
were active in missions, but they were also
proud o Walter Rauschenbusch, one o their
own, who had underscored the importanceo living the Gospel in the midst o human-
itys heart-rending needs. And it was such a
breath o resh air to stumble into a group
o Baptists who, due to geographic and lin-
guistic isolation, had essentially missed the
Fundamentalist-liberal controversies of the
early 20th century in North America and all
the resultant polarizations and edginess.
Then, thirteen years ago I received an
unsolicited call, inviting me to join Bethel
San Diego and the BGC. It
may have helped that the
call came during a nasty
blizzard one winter night in
northern Alberta. But even so
I would never have said yes
i I hadnt been assured that
BGC olks were the Swedish
cousins o my German Bap-
tist riends, and no strangers
to the warm-hearted piety
o their common European
ancestry. I noted the reputation of Carl Lund
quist and his Order o the Burning Heart, the
large library o devotional literature he be
queathed to Bethel, his riendship with A. W
Tozer, and the act that the seminary magazine
was still entitled Heart and Mind.
Looking back, Im very grateul or the
opportunity given me to join this new el
lowship. At the same time its been sobering
to discover how much o this wonderu
Pietist heritage has atrophied away. None
theless, some still understand that a heart
or God, disciplined attentiveness to his
voice, and openness to his contagious, loving
disposition, are the necessary spiritual ue
o any sustainable movement. And they also
grasp that true piety is not a privatized, self
indulgent aair, but an inner wellspring that
will always fow outward to the world.
And happily some still appreciate thajust because Baptist worship is simple i
need not be cheap, supercial. Its elementa
nature, when guided by a reverent spirit
can actually make it more authentic, deeper
and proound. To paraphrase the poet W
H. Auden, even the ordinary can be tinged
with glory. We too can worship the Lord in
the beauty o holiness.
A cultural shit is going on. The other
encouraging thing is that our heritage o
Baptist Pietism now resonates in a remarkable way with the longings o the emerging
generation, who are disillusioned with
top-down power structures, impersona
programs, relational disconnect and shal
low religiosity. We have an opportunity to
preserve the best o our heritage, and adapt i
with creative innovation, so that its enduring
strengths can nourish souls today.
The genuine Baptist tradition is a no-frills
option or the humble. Therein lies one o
its strengths, because it remains so accessible
to ordinary people. It has provided a simple
oundation upon which many churches and
denominations have diversely built. But at
its heart is a vision o a community o ree
truly liberated Christians, united in love and
voluntary association. They bow beore God
and Gods word, and precisely because o this
they reuse to be intimidated or controlled by
any mere humans. This heritage o reedom
in Christ is why I am grateul to be a Baptis
once again.photobyGregSc
hneider
Bethel Seminary San Diego, Caliornia
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
9/20~ 9 ~
continued on p. 10
Gordon, Alta, Gregg and Gayle Johnson,
Montclair, New Jersey
G. WiLLiam carLson,
Proessor o History
and Political Science
Bethel University |
For a short period
of time, 1948-1951,Gordon Johnson
was pastor o Bethel
Baptist Church in Montclair, New Jersey.
This was my home church. During this time
he worked on his Th.M rom Princeton
Seminary. Members o the congregation
remember this time ondly because they
valued his preaching skills and his commit-
ment to the proclamation o the gospel o
Jesus Christ. He inspired many to value Bible
reading and prayer.My parents enthusiastically supported
Gordons ministry. My ather, as a member
o the Bethel Board o Education, was really
pleased when Gordon was selected as Dean
of Bethel Seminary in 1964. The defense of
the Baptist pietist heritage was well articu-
lated in his book, My Church, a book whose
various editions were always prominently
displayed in our home.
Although he valued the Armation o
Faith as a statement which articulates the core
belies o the Baptist General Conerence,
Johnson always argued that the Bible is the
nal authority. He advanced the belie that
God, and the Lie He Has Given Us, Is so Good!The Ministry and Vision o Gordon Johnson
we are always to be lsare people, readers o
The Book. All creeds and statements o aith
are to be viewed as an expression o mans
understanding o the New Testament teach-
ings which are our authority or the church.
(My Church, p. 12) We must put ourselvesunder the written Word o God so that we are
tuned to the purposes o the Lord. It is our
commitment to this Word that directs us in
the kind o emphases we seek to express in
our teaching. (Johnson, Armations or a
Theological School p. 6)
Many have commented correctly on the
unique contributions that Gordon Johnson
has made to the Baptist General Conerence
and the Seminarys educational mission.
These include helping to acilitate the moveto the new Seminary campus, developing
a powerul aculty team, obtaining ull ac-
creditation or the school, encouraging new
degree programs including
the development o Th.M.
and M.A.T.S. programs, help-
ing grow the study body, and
the creating a second seminary
campus in San Diego.
This issue o the Baptist Pietist
Clarionhas ocused on a major
contribution o Dr. Johnson, the
writing o My Church. The book,
published rst in 1957, has become
a standard or understanding the
belies, history, church practices, and
societal interactions o a Baptist denomina-
tion. In an age of anti-denominationalism
and a desire to move away rom a Baptist
identity, one wonders whether this work
will be shelved to the archives or revived as a
vibrant aspect o todays church. In this essay,
I would like ocus on our areas o Dr. John-sons contribution to the lie o the Baptist
General Conerence community especially
through his leadership at Bethel Seminary.
First, Gordon is a strong supporter o
the Baptist General Conerence Archives
and the preservation o denominational
history.
He valued the work o David Guston and
Norris Magnuson. Housed in the Seminary
complex, the archives ound a home and
a base o operations. Seminary librarians
were given the assignment o attempting to
maintain and expand the collection.
Oten statements o church belies ignore
the historical ramework or their originWhat does it mean to be part o the Swedish
Baptist pietist community o aith? Does our
history matter? How does our past contrib
ute to an understanding o todays mission
Will it be ignored or validated?
Johnson, in My Church, developed a
chapter attempting to answer these ques
tions. He identied some o the core belies
o the Baptist community in the lie o the
Anabaptist communities o the Reormation
O most importance was the belie that aithin Jesus Christ must precede baptism and
that religion was a voluntary matter not to
be orced upon an individual.
The irst actual Baptis
church was ormed by John
Smyth with other English im
migrants in Holland. How
ever, most o Gordon John
sons ocus was on the role
o the Baptist church in the
United States, starting with
Roger Williams and mov
ing through the expansion
o Baptist churches during
the Great Awakening. Emphasi
was placed on the development o mis
sions, rise o Sunday Schools, commitmen
to religious reedom and establishment o
distinctive Baptist armations. (My Church
pp. 136-44; 145-149)
Several o the early leaders o the Swedish
Baptist community in America were immi
grants who needed to nd a new home sincethe State Church o Sweden endorsed the
use o the government to persecute Baptists
in Sweden. F. O. Nilsson was banished rom
Sweden in 1851 after he had been baptized
by German Baptists and wished to start Bap
tist communities in Sweden. He helped to
establish churches in the Midwest, especially
Minnesota.
Johnson not only wanted people to un
derstand BGC history, but he also valued the
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
10/20~ 10 ~
Ministry and Vision, from p. 9
Gordon Johnson with longtime secretary Edna Schultz.
continued on p.11
work o ormer educational leaders in provid-
ing a base or Bethels heritage and mission.
In a moving tribute to A. J. Wingblade, who
was Principal of Bethel Academy from 1912-
1936, he prayed that todays church would not
orget the heroes o the past.
We enter into the labors o the present because
o the work o those who have preceded
us
Far too oten we who are younger orget that
we are what we are because o those who
laid the oundation.
We thank You or those whom we honor today
because o all they have meant to us in
this school.
Some o us have been inuenced by our per-
sonal contact with them; others have been
inuenced through the work in the class-
room; and still others indirectly throughthe work o our school in which they have
shared so signifcantly
As we look toward the uture, may we have
some measure o the oresight that led them
to build as they did.
May we remember that the successes o today
are the result in large measure o the work
o those who have preceded us.
Be glorifed in us as You have been in them.
Second, Gordon is a gited story tellingpreacher.
This is especially true in his eorts to
include the stories o the
Bible as part o the sermon
narrative. A recent inter-
view in Heart and Mind
on his latest book, en-
titled Making God Known
Through Story, empha-
sized Gordons story tell-
ing skills. Engaging and
compelling are Gordons
tales o men and women
who have aithully served
the Lord on the mission
ield, and o his many
trips to visit missionaries
the world over. Names o evangelical leaders
roll o his tongue, and the history o vital
overseas ministries is woven into the abric
o his maniold career. Thereore Johnsons
readers learn rom a master.However, what is most important is that
the Christian lie is the creating o ones own
unique story, shaped and understood by the
story o Christ. The Bible is not a systematic
theology. There are minimal expressions o
abstract doctrines in a philosophical rame-
work in the Bible. The discovery o teachings
about God is observed in the stories o
women and men as they are conronted by
God in the midst o their human activity.
What is seen are truths coming through thehuman situation.
It took until the ninth decade o Dr.
Johnsons lie to get these
ideas in a published or-
mat. The book has been
a major part o his own
spiritual journey and
he inally had the op-
portunity to share them
with others in a mono-
graph orm. However,
they are an expression o
his commitment to com-
municate eectively the
gospel o Jesus Christ.
He writes that Revela-
tion is God making him-
sel known. He takes the
initiative. He wants the
seeker to nd Him. God
has taken the initiative
throughout the ages by his encounters with
men and women in vital experiences o
knowing Him. Gods story must arise eec
tively rom the Biblical text and lead people
to accept Gods call o salvation throughJesus Christ.
Third, Gordon is a person committed
prayer and Bible study.
In a powerul sermon entitled The Joy
o Studying the Word Johnson suggests
that when people expose themselves to the
message o the Bible things begin to happen
People act in daring ways. Lives are trans
ormed. A dead church comes alive again. A
Bible teacher becomes eective in relevan
communication.
The Bible is Gods personal letter to us and
the study o it helps us experience relation
ship to the Friend o all riends, the Lord
Himsel. Why is the Bible so important or
the Baptist Seminary Dean? For Johnson i
allows us daily to re-experience the joy we
rst had when we accepted Christ as Savior
and Lord. Dont orget the excitement o the
early experience with Christ and allow it to
appear again and again as one experientially
reads the Bible through the stories o Gods
interactions with people.
Several years ago, Marie Schultz, ater
reading an issue o Baptist Pietist Clarion
gave me an original copy o Edna Schultzs
typed copy o the Prayers o Gordon John
son. Edna worked at Bethel from 1951-1985
She was secretary to the Dean o Bethel Sem
inary from 1964-1978 and was instrumenta
in recording or posterity many o Gordon
BecauSeoF thy holineSS
Because o Thy Holiness we hesitate to talk
to Thee, but we are aware that not only art
Thou holy but Thou art merciul.
Increasingly we become conscious o our need
O Thy control in our lives
- in the kind of world in which we live,
- with the pressures that come upon us,-with temptations that make us deviate from that
which we know is best or ourselves.
We want You to control us.
We want You to be our guide.
In this hour o worship may we sense
- Thy presence,
- Thy leadership, and
- Thy work in each of us as individuals.
In Jesus name we pray.
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
11/20~ 11 ~
Ministry and Vision, from p. 10
a prayerFor thoSe Who are hurtinG
Our Father,
You are the Mighty God and Creator.
Yet You are not aloo rom us.
Through your loving concern You have come to us.
In Jesus Christ you have identied with us.
No struggle o lie is beyond your understanding.
Every human need is within Your concern.
O Lord, may we love people as you have loved.
May we reach out to hurting persons as
You have touched the wounded.
May no person be too lowly or too mighty
or our genuine concern.
We pray this in the name that is above every name
Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Johnsons lectures and presentations. From
1978 to 1985 Edna Schultz was Registrar of
Bethel Seminary.
Three major themes are ound in Gordon
Johnsons prayers. People o aith need to
worship the Holy One and recognize His
presence in our lives. It is important to bring
the tough issues to God and ask or His
guidance. It is important or Christians to
recognize God as teacher, master and guide
o our lives and understand that dying to sel
brings a great ruitulness in lie.
Fourth, Gordon Johnson has a heart or
those who are hurting.
Johnsons commitment to social and
economic justice is ound in his reading o
the Bible and expressed in his vision or the
Christian church. Swedish Baptists must al-
ways remember their immigrant experience.Some early Swedish immigrants suered
rom religious persecution in the homeland.
Others struggled economically and sought
or better opportunities in America. Many
struggled in the harsh economic and social
environments o American industrializa-
tion. For these reasons Johnson is an active
supporter o the vision and mission o the
Baptist World Alliance and the Baptist Joint
Committee.
Gordon Johnsons personal les in theBaptist General Conerence Archives include
several speeches that he gave while he was
Dean o the Seminary. They refected on the
Vietnam war and signicant economic in-
equities throughout the world. Johnson was
not a pacist and served in the U. S. military
during World War II. However, he expressed
troubled eelings about the Vietnam war.
For Johnson it was a tragic war. Our nation
had lost its sense o purpose.
We have the resources, stated Johnson, to
do almost anything the mind o man can
conceive. However, a primary use o that
power and wealth was oten or destruction.
He believed that there was a need to devote
large amounts o human energy and money
to wrestle with the problems o poverty, racial
tensions, and illiteracy right in our own coun-
try. We should be aiding developing nations
in their own struggle against poverty and
economic crises because more serious results
are bound to come i these needs are not
soon met. As Christian citizens we should be
deeply troubled that our nation is not usingits vast resources o wisdom and possessions
in purposeul, constructive service.
Johnson, in My Churchdevelops an analy-
sis o a core Baptist principle. This principle
is the inherent right o every person equally
with every other person in the world and in
every age to deal personally and directly with
God through Christ and, thereore, to deal
with other persons. It means that every
individual has direct access through Christ
to God. No man or group o men or organi-zation can stand between an individual, and
God. It urther means that all men are on an
equal plane in the sight o God and in their
responsibility to God. (My Church, p. 77)
For Johnson this principle
had several implications. Jesus
teaches that every believer is a
priest beore God and there
should be no hierarchy be-
tween the individual and God.
Conversion breaks down class
barriers. We are all on an equal
plane in Christ Jesus (Galatians
3:28). Johnson illustrated this
idea with the ollowing story:
A wealthy lady one day
invited a riend to accompany
her to church. They rode to-
gether in her coach driven by
her chaueur. When they ar-
rived at the church, the riend
was amazed to discover that
the coachman was to bring the sermon o the
morning. She was so disturbed that she said
something to the wealthy lady about it. Do
not be disturbed about that, she replied. In
Christ we are all one. He is not a coachman
and I his employer. We are ellow believers
in Jesus Christ. (My Church, p. 79)
Gordon Johnson ound it important to use
prayer as a way to express the need or socia
and economic justice. He oten asked God
or orgiveness or bigotry, clannishness and
an unwillingness to seek out those who are in
need especially when it is done in the name
o piety.
We Bow in Humble Adoration Beore You
We live in a world ull o want and despair.
And we have done so little to right the wrong
which in every corner o the world cry ou
to be righted.In this land o plenty we have thought too much
in terms o our privileges and our rights
and too little in terms o our duty
Make us aware o our helplessness to so liv
and inuence our world apart rom You
work within us.
In this moment we submit to Your Lordship in
our individual lives so our lives can make a
dierence in a wounded, troubled world.
Since Gordon Johnson retired rom being the Dean o Bethel Seminary he has
remained active in the lie o the church. He
served as minister o pastoral care at Col
lege Avenue Baptist Church in San Diego
taught preaching at Bethel Seminary San
Diego, and served as interim pastor at Firs
Baptist Church o Lakewood. When asked
about retirement, Gordon stated that you
cant retire rom opportunity and activity
but you must recognize that they will be o
a dierent sort than what we did earlier.
Relecting on his lie as educator and
pastor he concluded that being a Christian
is the most secure way to live. It provides a
sense o stability. Being strong in Christian
aith doesnt mean narrow, but it is a genu
ine worldview, a perspective that makes lie
rich. God, and the lie He has given us, is so
good!
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
12/20~ 12 ~
continued on p.13
G. WiLLiam carLson, Proessor o History
and Political Science Bethel University | In
recent issues o the Baptist Pietist Clarion
we have published the poetry o Signe Olson
Peterson. Under the name Signe, she wrote
around 300 poems and essays which werepublished in at least eight Swedish newspa-
pers and journals rom Port Arthur, Canada,
to Chicago, to New Britain, Connecticut.
Signe immigrated rom Varmland, Sweden
to Port Arthur, Canada in May 1911. Signe
worked as a domestic or a widow in one o
Port Arthurs grand homes.
More than eighty of her early Swedish po-
ems were written while she lived in Canada
between 1911-18. During Signes stay in
Port Arthur she was an active participantin the lie o the Swedish Baptist Church.
The church was ounded in 1905 under the
leadership o Fred Palmquist. Ater meeting
in homes, a church building was completed
in 1909. The church was pastored by John
Olander, Reverend Grondahl, and Axel Carl-
son. Several o Signes early poems dealt with
the lie o the Port Arthur church including
an analysis o the ten year celebration o the
Celebrating a Baptist Heritage:The Pietist Poetry o Signe Olson Peterson
history o the church and a arewell poem to
pastor Grondahl.
After moving to St. Paul, Minnesota, she
worked as a cook at Bethel Seminary and
eventually married Rev. E. B. Peterson.
She raised six children, and ministered to
churches in Fish Lake, Eveleth and Kerk-
hoven, Minnesota. Several o
Signes poems discuss aspects o
the ministry o the Baptist General
Conerence. She showed strong
support or Klingberg Childrens
Home which was ounded by John
Klingberg in 1903 in New Britain,
Connecticut.
Signe was a strong supporter of
the Swedish Baptist Conference,attending some of the meetings,
interacting with several major
pastors and supporting women
in ministry. She communicated
in writing with Ethel Ruff, who
was a powerful preacher and the
rst woman to be ordained in the
Baptist General Conference. One
poem recognized the tragic death
o missionary Olivia Johnson, the
rst graduate o Bethel Academy
to become a oreign missionary to
the Philippines.
For Signe the lie and history o the Baptist
General Conerence was important. Several
o her poems celebrate the lie o Minnesota
conerence events, document the witness o
missions and honor the work o conerence
leaders. Signe admired the lie and educa-
tional leadership o Dr. Carl Lundquist. Her
poem honoring missionary E. O. Schugren
expressed Signes delight in the spread o the
gospel through evangelists and missionar-
ies. A number o her writings were used
by the blind evangelist A. J. Freeman who
was a signicant witness in Swedish Baptist
churches in the early twentieth century. The
ollowing is an illustration o her refections
on a Conerence event.
a thouGhtFromthe conFerence
Svenska StandaretSeptember 15, 1918
(translated by Tom Coleman)
I stood looking out over the crowd
gathering here,
They were coming to take in the
conerence this year,
And eelings came or which I had no
thoughts that were clear,
They were churning in the depths
o my heart.
East, west, north, and south were here
meeting one another,
In joyul tones they were calling
every man brother,And with the tenderness that thinks
rst o the other,
They were asking o each others welare.
My own mother tongue there
rom every mouth I heard,
And every conversation to the same
theme reerred,
They rom death to lie had passed
according to Gods word,
They were united in aith and baptism
I you my conerence brother
nd courage lapses,
And the hope that you were
relying on collapses,
Remember there are honorable
Swedish Baptists,
Whose number reaches to
thirty thousands.
A n u m b e r o
Signes poems and
letters celebrated
the work o J. W.
Hjertstrom, Erik
Sjostrand and Wal-
demar Skoglund,
who were active
in Swedish Baptist
newspaper pub-
lishing. Signe was Erik Sjostrand
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
13/20~ 13 ~
den and Waldemar Skoglund became editor
o a local newspaper entitled Dalslannigen.
Signe wrote a scathing letter of protest
of Skoglunds forced resignation. It was
published in the August 1931 edition of the
Svenska Standaretand triggered a signicant
response by various leaders of the Baptist
General Conference. It is possible that one
of the issues was whether the news-
paper ought to expand its English
language materials or whether it
needed to expand its support base.
Signe challenged the work of the
Literature Committee which asked
for Skoglunds resignation. Re-
cently, I received a translated copy
from Gordon Skoglund, the son of
Waldemar Skoglund. It provided
an understanding of the depth of
relationships that developed be-tween the editor and the poet. Signe
wrote:
The reason for Skoglunds resignation
sounds completely plausible in the ears of an
outsider. Without doubt he received friendly
hints and knew very well from which direc-
tion the wind was blowing long before the
storm broke out. Therefore, he began to
make his own plans
to prepare him-
self in the face ofwhat was coming
on
Brother Sko-
glunds accom-
plishments within
the literary sector
will never be ac-
knowledged until
he is gone and
only the noble
memories of him
will be left. He
is soon going to
shake the dust
from his feet. If
his new ground
for service will
be Sweden, I feel
sorrowful on be-
half of his Swed-
ish colleagues
who have given
Signe Olson Peterson Poetry, from p. 12
continued on p.14
extremely thankul or those editors who
launched her literary career and published
many o her poems. Sjostrand edited the
Svensta Standaretfrom 1911-1917. It became
the ocial organ o the Baptist General Con-
erence in 1911. During his editorship Signe
published over 25 poems. Sjostrand was also
a poet and had numerous poems published
in the newspaper. He was orced to resign
over a theological controversy dealing with
the issue o atonement. Signe published a
supportive poem.
a FareWell GreetinGto SJoStrand
Svenska StandaretMarch 1, 1917
(translated by Tom Coleman)
With my thanks let me greet you tenderly,
For all that you my brother did or me,
For all that you taught me throughout lie,In your striving you always took the stance,
That step by step our Standard should
advance,
And lead us to triumph in our strie.
You were in controversies hard and tough,
And the road through your struggles
always rough,
Which to victory will lead us on.
Without ear you pursued the task
you ound,With xity o purpose you were bound,
To lead till all hindrances were gone.
From no one else now comes this
word o praise,
Which in my simple way I want to raise,
Receive it as gits rom me alone.
A special debt to you I want to pay,
You were my help when on the poets way,
I made rst steps o those I have gone.
From 1917-1931 the Svenska Standaret
was edited by Waldemar Skoglund. Skoglund
had begun his journalist experience in Swe-
den and came to the United States in 1912
hoping to nd work in American Swedish
journalism. Around 100 o Signes poems
were published in the Svenska Standaretdur-
ing Skoglunds editorship. At a 1931 Baptist
General Conerence session in Minneapolis
Skoglund was asked to resign as editor. In
December 1931 the amily returned to Swe-
chriSt alone(Svenska Standaret, Vol. XX, No. 38, September 23, 1930, p. 3)
Ring out his blessed, holy name,
His mighty power to save proclaim.
Tell the perplexed and sin sick soul,
Without an aim, beyond control;
No other conquering power is known,
But Christ alone.
Tell him o Calvary and the cross,
Whos in the grip o moral loss,
O bitter ailure and deeat,With trembling ear his judgment meet:
Upon that hill Gods grace was shown
Through Christ alone.
No other source, no other git,
A allen soul rom sin can lit.
Through lies temptations saely guide
And tested, tried and justied,
Him place one day beore Gods throne
But Christ alone.
him memories to bring back to our common
homeland. It will be a disgrace for our unti
now respected name: Swedish Baptists o
America.
Signes poetry often reected her com
mitment to a Baptist pietist heritage. Major
themes included a need for a born again
experience, a delight in prayer and Bible
study, a celebration
of the community o
faith, a desire for holy
living and an anticipa
tion of heaven. These
Biblical beliefs were
pillars of strength to
Signes life and wit
ness. The following
pietist, Baptist po
ems, Christ Alone
and My Only Hope,were some of Signes
rst English poems and were published dur
ing the last stages of Skoglunds leadership
in the Svenska Standaret.
Waldemar Skoglund
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
14/20~ 14 ~
Signe Olson Peterson Poetry, from p. 13
He walked along the road one night.
Twas dusty, rough and dreary.His tangled hair was silvery white.
His downward look was weary.
Some strangers asked, as they drew nigh,
About his destination
With gratitude in his reply,
He gave this inormation.
An aged, orsaken man am I,
The years Ive met are many.
My ormer riends no more stand by,
And wealth I havent any.My manhood strength is leaving me,
My hold on lie Im losing.
Ive ceased to climb the hills you see,
My task no more Im choosing.
I have no home, I am alone
To ace the strie beore me.
And no one I can call my own
Is ever watching oer me.
From place to place I roam and stray
By hunger mostly driven.
My daily bread I seek to pay,
Where work to me is given.
My lot is a result o sin,
Sin has my lie been molding.
It was my choice, I entered in,
Ive tasted all its holding.
It took my health, my youth rom me
And age was passing oer me.
I saw the dark eternity
Without a hope beore me.
And so one day, in my despair,
I yielded to decisionAnd knelt beore my Lord in prayer
In humble, deep contrition.
What depth o love! He heard my plea,
And the assurance gave me,
And died or allen ones like me,
And sought to lit and save me!
Six years ago this spring it was
Since Christ, my Savior, ound me,
Where in the shadow o the cross
He placed His arms around me.A joy complete, throughout these years,
My sin-sick soul has tasted.
But now I shed regretting tears,
Because o all Ive wasted.
Ive stayed and waited much too long,
Been robbed o years o blessing.
I I had come while young and strong,
My Saviours name conessing,
I couldve done some good or Him,
For all his love so tender.
But strength is gone, my eye is dim,
No service I can render.
Bring out my sad and deep regret
To those who now are meeting
The battles and the stries Ive met,
Bring them my warning, greeting.
Twill not be long that I shall stay,
Im old, I can not tarry,
The heavy burdens o today
I soon would have to carry.
177. my only hope
(Svenska Standaret, Vol. XXI, No. 4, January 27, 1931, p. 3 )
I have been homeless here below,
But Christ His word has givenThat He beore His own would go,
Preparing room in heaven.
My hope, my only hope is He,
My Rock and my Salvation,
Who died to rescue even me
From death and condemnation.
Signe Olson Peterson, 1940s, Kerkhoven,
Minnesota
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
15/20~ 15 ~
continued on p. 16
G. William Carlson, Proessor o History and
Political Science Bethel University | Several
years ago I had the opportunity to interview
several candidates or a position teaching
poetry and creative writing at Bethel Uni-
versity. Each candidate was well received.
However, ater reading several o AngelaShannons poems rom her bookSinging the
Bones Togetherand listening to her discuss
her aith journey and literary commitments,
I was certain that Ms. Shannon would be an
excellent addition to the Bethel aculty.
Angelas poems oten express a deep com-
mitment to the church and her Christian
e x p e r i -
ence. She
ocuses on
the value
o history
and com-
m u n i t y .
A n g e l a
was born
in Tulsa,
Oklahoma
in 1 9 6 4 .
Her am-
ilys story
i n c l u d e s
the ugly history o American racism, es-pecially the Tulsa Riot o 1921. The am-
ily church, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, was
burned. There was great pride in the amilys
role in the rebuilding o the church.
She grew up in Tampa, Florida and re-
ceived a B.A. in theater rom Florida State
University and a MFA rom Warren Wilson
College in North Carolina. Her parents were
active educators. Her ather, Dr. John L.
Smith, was past president o Fisk University
and her mother Dr. Juel Smith taught atthe University o South Florida where she
ounded the Institute on Black Lie and a
oundation or women in leadership.
In her poem Carrying Homeshe refects
on the need or the poet to share the stories
o the past:
carryinG home
I am carrying home in my breast pocket:
land where I learned to crawl,
dust that held my ootprints,
long elds I trod through.
Home, where Mother baked bread,where Papa spoke with skies,
where amily voices gathered.
In my palm, this heap o earth
I have hauled over hills and valleys.
Releasing dirt between my ngers,
I ask the prairies to sustain me.
May my soil and this soil nurture each
other,
may seeds root and develop beyond mea-
sure,
may the heartland and I blossom.
(From Singing the Bones Together, p. 54)
Angela Shannon became active in the
theater community in Chicago. It was there
that she met Rohan Preston at a lecture by
philosopher and civil rights activitist Cornel
West. They were married in 1993 and moved
to Minnesota when Rohan became the lead
theater critic or the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Donna Johnson, associate campus pastor at
Bethel, read some o Angela Shannons poetryand invited her to give a reading at Bethel Uni-
versity. When a position opened up, Angela
applied and received the appointment.
The Psalms have great meaning or the
poet. Shannon argued that they speak to
the soul. She never tires o reading O Lord,
O Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all
the earth! The African-American church
was instrumental to her self-understanding
and the message o the church needs to be
eectively communicated to students. In arecent interview she stated that My aith is
part o my heritageI pray or my students,
and Im always looking or God in whatever
were exploring.
Shannon recognizes that the history o the
Angela Shannon: We Carry Our History With Uscivil rights movement in the United States
is signicantly a result o the courageous
activities of the African-American church
Survival in segregated America was greatly
acilitated by the lie o the extended amily
and the community o aith oten associated
with the church.
prayinG FriendS
We brought church home,
kneeled around the oak table,
a song simmering in our chests.
We hummed a history until testimonies
blended with halleluiahs,
and the sound o sparrows lled the space.
Yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes.Sparrows at the window,
specks o light and song futtering.
Through the room, through hearts,
until burdens were surrendered like worn
fags,
and praise amplied into praise,
and arms extended like wings.
It is a joy to include Angela Shannonspoems in this issue o the Baptist Pietis
Clarion. Shannon is currently an Assistant
Proessor o English at Bethel University. She
was asked to read two o her poems at the
March 2009 Pietism Conerence at Bethe
University during the cultural heritage ex
pressions. She believes that it is importan
or the poet to get their poems into a place
or others to read and enjoy. She is the author
oSinging Bones Togetherand has published
works in several anthologies and journals
These include Beyond the Frontier: Arican
American Poetry or the 21st Century and
Where One Voice Ends, Another Begins: 150
Years o Minnesota Poetry.Recently one o her
poems, First Signature, was published in
a book entitled Hip Hop Speaks to Children
A Celebration o Poetry with a Beat(edited
by Nikki Giovanni).
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
16/20~ 16 ~
Angela Shannon Poetry, from p. 15
Freedom BaptiSt
ater Faith Ringgolds The Church Picnic, 1987
Seven families sit on home-sewn quilts
like cousins in Senegal whispering
among baobab branches. Woven baskets
take reuge under oak arms, as i the women
had just returned rom market. But they
are dressed or Jesus in vivid patterns
o ruby, emerald and jade
the ladies hats stacked with resh peonies,
the men in humbled suits and Sunday smiles
lean toward gourds o yams, collard greens,
biscuits. A breeze pins a lea to Sister Willies
bosom and she starts a stumbling testimony,
I, I, I, that simmers like roots into spiritual.
I love the Lord he heard my cry.
Hums spill over into waves, hallelujahs echo,
tapping spines like Gods blue breath.
Rev. Walker and Doris, the history
carrier, take to dancing: this is Freedom
Baptists Picnic, Chicago, Illinois, 1909.
And an ocean away unripe ruit all
rom the baobabs grasp as i they heard names.
Freedom Baptist illustrates Gods magnitude and connection
rom Arica to America. It is inspired by The Church Picnic, a
quilt made by Faith Ringgold. The quilt is currently housed at the
High Museum o Art in At-
lanta, Georgia and can be see
at one o the ollowing web-
sites: http://www.cc.gatech.
edu/projects/hmuseum/
themes/city/church-picnic-
story.html or http://www.
faithringgold.com/ring-gold/d05.htmThe poem is
ound in Shannons Sing-
ing the Bones Together.
mlK, Jr. and prayer poWer
With my head in my hands,
I bowed over the kitchen table
and prayed aloud. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Prayers kept him company at night.Prayers dressed him in starched shirt,
Sunday suit and steadast soul.
Prayers pushed him orward,
pulled him through barricades and barriers
hands clasping Andy, Rosa, and Jessies.
Prayers whispered a letter in a Birmingham jail,
propelled him on a pilgrimage,
doused curses and burning crosses.
Prayers lined worn-out shoes
with a high step or Jesus, anointed
Alabama roads with visions o justice.
Salty prayers dripped rom speeches,
stemmed rom hurting hearts, Lord,
seasoned and lled silence.
Prayers hitched rides on songs,
I aint gonna let nobody turn me round,
turn me round, turn me round.
Prayers lead the way, passed barking dogs
and brutal troopers, prayers marched
like the Holy Ghost beyond bloody attacks.
Prayers rose like angels, rose
like angels liting Martin rom his knees,
liting a nation to higher ground.
Prayers rooted the dream,
Martin and a multitude o aces, know,
prayers rooted the dream.
-
7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, June 2010
17/20~ 17 ~
BGC in the 21stCentury, from p. 1
continued on p. 18
This presentation will zero in on ve areas
or discussion.
identity
The rst area is the question o identity.
Who are we and how do we project that
identity to the world? We started, o course,
as the Swedish Baptist Conerence. This
was clearly our identity. Culturally, we were
Swedish pietists compared to other Baptist
groups and we were Baptist in contrast to
those Swedes who were Lutheran.
But today, rather than our identity as
Swedish Baptists it is more appropriate
to identify us as a multi-ethnic Baptistic
evangelical group o churches. While we
retain our Baptist distinctives, Baptist as an
identiying term has become less popular.
In the 1954/55 annual I could not nd one
church listed that did not have the word Bap-tist in its titles. In the 2004/5 annual 47% of
our churches did not have the name Baptist
in their title. And the national oce while
legally retaining the name Baptist General
Conerence is now known as Converge or
Converge Worldwide.
At the local church level this change is
driven by a conviction that the word Baptist
in a churchs name is a barrier to evangelism.
This presentation is being given in Calvary
Church, ormerly Calvary Baptist Church.Ed Stetson in his bookPlanting Churches in
a Post Modern Agestates that surveys show
that 50% of people in the United States have
a negative image o Baptists. Whether this
is true or not it is the perception and this
drives churches, sometimes through painul
debates, to change their name or to publicly
identiy under a dierent name than their
legal name.
At the national level I believe that the name