By: Rev. Dr. Paul Raybon
For a number of years our church has observed what we call the “Season of Baptism” between Epiphany and Lent. It gives us time at the beginning of each year to revisit the particularly Baptist parts of our congregational identity. Our theme this year is Having Been Baptized: We Covenant Together. Those words are drawn from the Baptist Church Covenant written by J. Newton Brown that was used by most Baptist churches in America from the early 1800’s through the late 1900’s.* People my age will remember the 1954 Baptist Hymnal which had the “Church Covenant” in the back with other responsive readings. You might even recognize the opening words:
Having been led as we believe, by the spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, And on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, We do now in the presence of God, angels and this assembly most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ.
In my childhood church it was read aloud in unison at every observance of the Lord’s Supper, at baptisms, and on special occasions like homecoming. It was such a part of worship that when we got the “new” Baptist Hymnal in 1981 that didn’t include the Church Covenant, my mother ran off copies and with help from others, pasted one in the back of every new hymn book.
Church covenants were written or adopted as reminders of the commitments believers made to each other when united with brothers and sisters in a family of faith. In preparing for preaching this January I also found the church covenant adopted by Hominy Baptist Church in 1859. We still have a copy of the original handwritten version. It is 356 words long with very few commas and only two periods! The opening lines read:
Having been as we trust brought by divine grace to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ and to give our self wholly to him, we do now solemnly joyfully covenant with each other and to work together in him with brotherly love to his glory as our common Lord.
The tradition of church covenants fell away for a number of reasons, including concerns about imposing theological conformity, recognizing the diversity of individual churches, and probably because the old covenants had a habit of being “in your business” in a way that does not suit modern sensibilities. Not only did Brown’s covenant remind members “to abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage,” but it also called out “tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger!”
Yet I am still drawn to the old covenants. Partly because of nostalgia, partly because some of the language still soars as it describes the aspirations and realities of congregational life:
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; To remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; To be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, and mindful of the rules of our Savior, to secure it without delay.
Perhaps in these times of congregational polarization, threats of desertion, eviction, and defunding, we would do well to promise and renew promises of our good behavior towards each other, and declare our intent to walk together in Christian love, and strive for the advancement of this church. Maybe even glue those promises in the back of the hymnal!
* ”J. Newton Brown’s covenant in The Baptist Church Manual (1853) became and remains the covenant most widely used by Baptists in the United States and in some other countries. Brown based his covenant on the covenant adopted by the New Hampshire Baptist Convention in 1833”. From “Church Covenant” by C. W. Deweese in The Dictionary of Baptists in America, Bill J. Leonard, editor.
These thoughts are from Rev. Dr. Paul Raybon, our partner in ministry in the Western Carolinas, who can help you and your ministry navigate congregational identity, mission, and effectiveness. He is Co-Pastor at Hominy Baptist Church near Asheville, NC and works with churches and leaders as a coach and consultant in communication, visioning, administration, and spiritual formation. Contact him for more information about how he can help you.