Herschel Hobbs on Baptist Freedom
By Jeffry R. Zurheide
Pastor of First Baptist Church, Oklahoma City
Note: This address was the Herschel H. and Frances J. Hobbs Lectureship delivered at Oklahoma Baptist University on November 29, 2000.
President Brister, members of the faculty and student body, other guests and friends, it is my privilege this morning to both stand before you in this gorgeously renovated chapel and to offer yet one more lecture in a long and prestigious series of talks known as "The Herschel H. and Frances J. Hobbs Lectureship in Baptist Faith and Heritage." I`m humbled as I scan the list of luminaries you`ve hosted over the decades, Hobbs himself, of course, being one of them.
Yesterday, November the 28th, 2000, marked the fifth anniversary of Herschel Hobbs` death. And as this was brought to my attention by one of our church members, I began to reflect upon his faith and message and legacy, and decided to try to imagine what Herschel Hobbs would say to us if he were alive today. I have watched a video of him speaking about the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message. I listened to audio tapes of his sermons, read several of his books, and spoke to the dozens of folks who are still very much a part of the First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City who knew him well. No, I can`t pretend to know the man intimately, but I have come to understand just a few of his priorities, for he tended, like any truly effective teacher/preacher, to repeat the most salient, important points over and again. He reinforced these beliefs; he articulated and rearticulated these priorities. At times he almost seemed to breathe them. And even though several in our denomination have made some rather unfortunate remarks over the last few months about Dr. Hobbs being "naïve" as he led the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message Committee, and that he was "duped" by proponents of neo-orthodoxy, I consider him to be one of the most important Baptist statesmen of the 20th century. We would do well, today, in light of the revisions made to the Baptist Faith and Message last June, and the resulting soul searching that many of us have done, and continue to do, to heed Herschel Hobbs` wise counsel.
In 1 Samuel 28, a desperate and despairing King Saul visits the infamous witch of Endor. He needs direction. He can no longer hear God`s voice. He is adrift in a sea of doubts and conflict. So, he directs her to raise up for him the late, great prophet Samuel. It is a strange, if not fantastic, request. But she does so, and as the old prophet ascends up into view, the first thing he says is (and I paraphrase), "Why have you disturbed me?" It`s a good question. I can only imagine that some of you students have asked your roommates that same question, perhaps on an early Saturday morning. "Why have you disturbed me? I was planning to sleep in."
Well, if Dr. Herschel Hobbs could be raised to speak with us this morning, what might he speak about today? What might be his first words? Perhaps, "What on earth was the search committee of First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City thinking when they called a Yankee to fill my pulpit?" That might be his first comment. But I believe his second word would be: "Freedom. You Baptists must continue to protect your precious Baptist freedoms."
Oh, Herschel spoke and wrote extensively about what he believed was the Baptists` greatest contribution to Christendom. No, not salvation by grace. No, not baptism by immersion. No, not eating every time we attend some event at the church house. Baptists` most unique contribution to Jesus` church universal, Herschel Hobbs believed, was/is "soul competency," or "the competency of the soul in matters of religion." He writes in The Baptist Faith and Message, "They (that is, Baptists) insist on the lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of the scriptures. But they also insist that every man [every person] shall be free to decide for himself [herself] in matters of religion."[i] Yes, Baptists have been some of the greatest champions in history of soul freedom; of an individual`s right to become a Baptist, a Lutheran, a Roman Catholic, a Muslim, a Jew, a Jehovah`s Witness, or an atheist. Hobbs believed that this most basic of human rights is grounded in our being image bearers of God (Genesis 1), and in Paul`s declaration in 1 Corinthians 4: "It is the Lord who judges me." He says in essence, "Human beings can judge me, human courts can judge me, but when it all comes down to it, I must answer to God." We might also conclude that such thinking is the foundation of personal integrity, but suffice it to say that this text supports "the competency of the soul."
Church historian Bill Leonard writes: "Soul competency means that Baptists are willing to trust the competency of the individual soul in matters of religion. Each individual is competent to relate directly to God for salvation. Each individual is competent to interpret Scripture according to the dictates of conscience and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Each individual is free to live out Christian faith without coercion or interference from the state."[ii]
Notice the repetition of the words "each individual." That may sound excessively individualistic to some of us. "What of the church?" you might ask. "What of Christian community?" Well, Hobbs would certainly want to move us in that direction. In his book, You Are Chosen, he writes of another "competency," yet this time it`s plural. I quote, "The decisions of the local congregation on ecclesiastical [that is, "church"] matters are the `consensus of the competent.`"[iii] Expounding on the thought of E. Y. Mullins, Hobbs believed that the democratic proceedings of the local Baptist church`s business meetings were/are supernatural. You might respond, "Well, all I heard was a lot of fightin` and fussin`." Ah, but if we believe in the competency of the individual soul (under the guidance of the Holy Spirit), and that through that same Spirit consensus can be reached (sometimes rather miraculously), then we can trust that the corporate decisions of the local Baptist congregation are beyond human – they`re Spirit led and Spirit inspired.
I think if Herschel were with us this morning, he would indeed tell us, "Protect these key Baptist freedoms – the freedom of the individual competent soul, and the freedom of the local Baptist competent church community. The spirit is at work in you, individually and collectively." This is the bedrock of Dr. Hobbs` faith and message. If we miss him here or minimize his thinking on this point, we misrepresent him.
Another freedom I believe Herschel Hobbs would address, if we could somehow raise him this morning, is the freedom to minister; to do ministry in Jesus` name. He would term this freedom, the priesthood of all believers.
Hobbs begins to unpack this principle by first relating it to the competency of the soul. The two are intimately related in his thinking. The priesthood of the believer is based upon all of us having direct access to God. In other words no intermediary, except for Jesus, is required. But then he quickly moves on to relate the priesthood to ministry. Priests enjoyed the privilege of direct access to God during biblical times, but their chief responsibility was ministry on behalf of others. So Hobbs writes not only of the privilege of the priesthood of the believer, but also of the responsibilities of this priesthood. We are called to pray; to come boldly unto the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). We are directed to confess our own sins to one another and to God, and pray for one another "that we may be healed" (James 5:16). We are also encouraged to minister to one another`s needs as "burden bearers" (Galatians 6:2).
So, who are the ministers in the local church? The pastor only, or the ministerial staff? We don`t believe that, but we and other denominations still use the label "minister" for pastor. If this causes lay people to think even for a moment that they are "junior ministers" at best, or "second class ministers" at worst, we should jettison the title. We`re all ministers. The church of Jesus Christ would make little progress at all if we left ministry up to the seminary trained "professionals." All Christians, as a priesthood of believers, are entrusted with continuing Jesus` ministry on earth. As Carlyle Marney wrote years ago in his book, Priests to Each Other: "Our answer is not a `servanthood of the laity` as a nice addition to round out a hired professional staff; instead, what we are trying to say here is that the lay people must become the ministry of the church in the world. It is yours! This forces us to redefine everything! It is not that you as laypersons are to pitch in and help out; it`s that you are the only hope we have …."[iv]
Yes, there is a great deal of overlap between the doctrine of Soul Competency and the doctrine of The Priesthood of the Believer. But the way I have come to distinguish the two is characterizing one under the rubric "being" and the other under "doing." Soul Competency has to do with the ontological reality that we have been created free to decide for ourselves on spiritual matters. That`s who we are as human beings. The Priesthood of the Believer relates more to doing ministry as a "kingdom of priests" in Jesus Christ. The former has to do with our identity: we have competent souls. The latter explores what we do with such God given competency: we serve.
Dr. Hobbs would cry "freedom," alright, if we were only able to raise him. Freedom to relate to God, freedom to minister, but also, freedom from the state-religious liberty.
The 1963 Baptist Faith and Message reads: "Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others. Civil government being ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things not contrary to the revealed will of God. The church should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work. The gospel of Christ contemplates spiritual means alone for the pursuit of its ends."[v]
What a temptation it is for the church to tap into governmental power to achieve its ends. It seems like a ready resource. "Why not make Christianity `happen`? Why not legislate the Gospel and the dynamics of the Kingdom of God?" Because if we resort to anything but "spiritual means" (as the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message puts it), we essentially label as "ineffective" the power and work of the Holy Spirit.
Dr. Hobbs well points out the sad history of the early American colonists who fled England to escape religious persecution. Once they secured spiritual freedom for themselves, they went on to set up their own state church (particularly in Massachusetts and Virginia), and thus persecuted any and all who dissented.[vi]
Of course, Roger Williams was a bright spot on that early American religious terrain. Believing that religion should not and could not be coerced, he formed a radically different community based upon the principle of Soul Competency and complete religious freedom. At Providence (Rhode Island), Williams welcomed persons of every conceivable stripe, including both the religious and the nonreligious, believing that the Gospel is most potent and effective when it is free from state interference and control. William Estep states that Rhode Island became a haven of refuge for a miscellaneous collection of the persecuted. This colony thus became the prototype of the new nation born on the shores of the New World.[vii]
Allow me to bring to your attention a contemporary perspective. In his extremely insightful book, In the Name of Jesus, Henri Nouwen states the following about the allure of secular power.
"What makes the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life. Jesus asks, "Do you love me?" We ask, "Can we sit at your right hand and your left hand in your Kingdom?"[viii]
It is much more difficult and arduous to witness to people in word and deed and leave the results up to the Holy Spirit than it is to legislate religion. But, as I read the New Testament, those are the only approved resources that we have at our disposal. Let us resist the temptation of using political means toward spiritual ends.
Those are just three of the freedoms I believe Herschel Hobbs would extol if he could somehow be with us today. But then (I can only imagine) I would also be tempted to respond to him in the form of a request. "Dr. Hobbs, answer me just one question, please, sir. Do you feel the Southern Baptist Convention, as it approaches a new millennium, is embracing or shying away from these time-honored Baptist Freedoms?" I wonder how he`d characterize the state of our Baptist union (or lack thereof)? He might repeat the words of warning he offered here at OBU back in 1980, just 20 years ago. He stated, and some of you may remember this-he stated:
"[W]e must exercise constant vigilance in warding off the threats to religious freedom, both within our denomination and outside it, including the current drift toward creedalism. We must not take this freedom for granted…. The storm clouds of creedalism hover over our denomination. Well-intentioned people in contending for faith in the Scriptures may discover that the good for which they strive may become the enemy of the best, namely, the competency of the soul in religion. Black thunderclouds of governmental interference in religion look dark on the horizon. It could be that a storm of struggle and sacrifice, even death, for this precious principle lies ahead. Will we be as willing to bear the burden as were our forefathers? In the answer to this question may be at stake the ideal of a free church in a free state, yea, the bequeathing of our faith and heritage to those who come after us."[ix]
Are Baptists remaining free?
When I was a chaplain doing some further CPE training at a Veteran`s Administration Psychiatric Hospital years ago, one of my responsibilities was to visit a locked ward, which housed about thirty residents suffering from various organic brain injuries. The reason it was locked had more to do with them wandering off than it did with them being somehow dangerous to visit. And I`ll never forget one gentleman on the unit. He was almost always restrained, or to use his word, "tied" to his chair. (Word had it that he was a kind of Houdini; an escape artist in his own right.) Well, every time I`d come by to visit the common room of that hapless community, this chair-fast patient would rather consistently and continually request: "Untie me; untie me." Each time I`d explain the reasons I could not comply. "Didn`t have the permission to do so; didn`t have the authority," and other lame explanations. "Untie me; untie me." Well, one morning, much to my astonishment, he was unrestrained. He sat in his chair, looked up at me, and greeted me with his characteristic words, "Untie me."
I responded, "You are untied."
"I am?" he asked with glee.
"Yes," I assured him.
Can you guess what he did? He stood up, made one lap around the room, sat back in his chair, looked me in the eye, and requested, "Untie me."
Through the liberating work of Jesus Christ, we Baptists have believed from our humble beginnings that we have been "untied." We have been freed from the ceremonial laws of Judaism, freed from that old "You have to measure up," works mentality, freed from human hierarchies and creedal submission, freed from the authoritarianism of the state. Freed, truly freed, untied.
But some seem to feel the need for constraint and control in the name of doctrinal accountability. Yes, that is a temptation in this wildly spinning world of ours. "Things have become too lax. There is too much freedom," some indicate. But let`s remember our roots. Baptists have always been a dissenting people; deeply ambivalent regarding any form of control from without the church or from within the church. We`ve been untied, students, faculty, and friends. Let`s stay untied. We`re free. Please, please, don`t ever let anyone take your Baptist freedoms away from you. Herschel Hobbs cried freedom his whole life long. Let us take up that same mantle so that (to use his words) we might "bequeath our faith and heritage to those who come after us."[x] ¢
ENDNOTES
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[i] Herschel H. Hobbs, The Baptist Faith and Message (Nashville: Convention Press), 9.
[ii] Bill J. Leonard, Foundations of Baptist Heritage: "Priesthood of All Believers" (Nashville: Southern Baptist Historical Society).
[iii] Herschel H. Hobbs, You Are Chosen (San Francisco: Harper and Row Publishers), 4.
[iv] Carlyle Marney, Priests to Each Other (Valley Forge: Judson Press), 14.
[v] Hobbs, The Baptist Faith and Message, 139.
[vi] Hobbs, You Are Chosen, 16.
[vii] William R. Estep, Jr. Foundations of Baptist Heritage: "Religious Freedom" (Nashville: Southern Baptist Historical Society).
[viii] Henri J. M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus (New York: Crossroad), 59.
[ix] Herschel H. Hobbs, Fibers of Our Faith, Dick Allen Rader, ed., (Franklin, TN: Providence House Publishers), 24.
[x] Ibid., 25
