Black Baptists meet in historic convening to address critical issues facing the community

By Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland
BJC Board Member

For only the second time in history, the four Black Baptist denominations — the National Baptist Convention USA, Progressive National Baptist Convention, National Baptist Convention in America, and the National Missionary Baptist Convention — held a joint meeting in Memphis, Tenn., from Jan. 22-25, 2024.

Thousands of clergy and lay leaders were in attendance for the National Baptist Joint Board Session under the theme “We Are Better Together,” with Ecclesiastes 4:1-9 as the Scripture reference. The historic convening brought Baptists together from across the country for corporate worship, symposia on critical issues, fellowship, and opportunities to strategize about meaningful collaborative efforts that will positively impact the Black community.

The first joint Black Baptist meeting was held in 2005 in Nashville. A separate historic meeting of Baptists occurred in 2008 in Atlanta, which drew representation from every Baptist denomination in the United States except the Southern Baptist Convention, and it drew Baptist participants from Canada and Mexico. Former President Jimmy Carter was an important part of the Atlanta meeting, which resulted in the formation of the New Baptist Covenant, an organization that brought Baptist churches from different racial and ethnic groups together to work to end racism.

In an effort to galvanize around an agenda and strategize about ways to work collaboratively in this critically important year, the joint meeting included several symposia on topics crucial to the Black community, including, voting, reparations, mental health, and white Christian nationalism.

Notably, the session on white Christian nationalism provided an opportunity for open and honest dialogue about this important issue that confronts the intersections of faith, race, and nationalism within the context of the Black Church. Titled “Unholy Wedlock: The Black Church’s Resistance to White Christian Nationalism and Dismantling Its Myths,” the panel discussion delved into the Black Church’s steadfast resistance to the idolatry of white Christian nationalism and the critical task of dismantling the myths upon which it is based.

The Rev. Dr. Willie Francois, chair of the National Social Justice Commission for the Progressive National Baptist Convention and Pastor of Fountain Baptist Church in Summit, N.J., moderated the panel of scholars, faith leaders and activists, including Renaldo Pearson, Faith for Black Lives; the Rev. Dr. Dwight Radcliff Jr., Academic Dean for the Center for Black Church Studies and Assistant Professor of Mission, Theology, and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary; and the Rev. Darryl Gray, Director General of Social Justice for the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

As a participant myself — both due to my service on the BJC Board of Directors and my work as the Senior Associate General Secretary and Advocacy Director of the National Council of Churches USA — I was grateful for the space to have an important and long overdue discussion about white Christian nationalism and how it is impacting Black churches, in particular. I appreciated the depth and honesty of the conversation, which underscored the dangers to our democracy and our faith as followers of Jesus Christ. It’s hard to fight something that you don’t understand or aren’t aware of. The panel discussion was forthright and unequivocal; it not only laid out the very real threat that white Christian nationalism is to American society and to the Black Church, but panelists also discussed how to recognize, resist, and challenge it wherever it shows up.

“It’s imperative that church leadership — especially Black Church leadership — expose the falsehoods and fallacies perpetuated by Christian nationalism,” said the Rev. Gray. “The panel discussion exposed the years of lies and misinformation perpetuated by white Christian nationalism, which has been a spiritual and political detriment to Christians in America. Stopping its destructiveness is critical to the future of this country, particularly as it impacts marginalized and disenfranchised people.”

A landmark moment occurred at the convening when the Rev. Dr. Gina M. Stewart became the first woman to preach during the rare joint session. She is the Senior Pastor of Christ Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis and the first female president of the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Society. In a fiery sermon titled “What Shall We Do with Jesus of Nazareth?” she spoke of the ways Jesus spoke truth to power and challenged the status quo, and she called others to speak up.

The historic convening ended with the presidents of the four conventions committing to work together to cooperatively and strategically increase their collective efforts to address critical issues facing the Black community.

To watch gatherings from the National Baptist Joint Board Session, visit the YouTube channel of the meeting, and click on the “live” tab: YouTube.com/@2024NationalBaptistJointBoardS

The Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland is a faith leader, public theologian, and justice advocate who serves as Senior Associate General Secretary and Advocacy Director of the National Council of Churches USA. She is also a member of the BJC Board of Directors. She is an ordained Baptist minister and is dually aligned with the Progressive National Baptist Convention and American Baptist Churches USA.

This article first appeared in the spring 2024 edition of Report from the Capital.  You can download it as a PDF or read a digital flip-through edition.