Why I Don`t Like Being Called a Moderate
Why I Don’t Like Being Called A ‘Moderate’
By Al Staggs, Chaplain and Performing Artist
Alberquerque, NM
Note: Al Staggs is widely known for his dramatic monologue portrayal of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian, who was executed in a Nazi prison for his role in a plot to assassinate Hitler.
When discussing Baptists these days, one is either described as being a fundamentalist or a moderate. As a non-Southern Baptist Baptist, I’m growing increasingly uncomfortable with the moderate label. I recall something that James Dunn said years ago when he stated about moderates that their theme song should be “almost all the way my savior leads me.”
Moderate connotes halfway-ness, not this way or that, something in the middle or trying to get along with all sides and maybe even not getting too controversial. Reflecting on our Baptist heritage, I remember some of our leading Baptists were often quite controversial. More than that, it is the Cross that is central to our faith, a symbol that bespeaks of controversy, both with the religious establishment and the prevailing government.
When I walked the church aisle in 1956 to profess my faith in Jesus, my pastor, Bunyon Wallace, made very clear to me that from here on being a Christian should be the most important part of my life, more important than being liked or popular or powerful. He also informed me that standing for Jesus would most certainly entail some persecution. Nothing about “moderate” in these instructions.
When I ponder the concept of giving our lives to Jesus as this applies to the children and young people of our moderate churches, I wonder just how we couch our invitations to follow Jesus. Are we asking our young to merely accept Jesus as Savior and become moderate or are we asking them, as my pastor did, to give their futures and their dreams to bringing the kingdom of God on earth. I’m sorry, a moderate call just doesn’t have the ring of appeal that I see in scripture and also in the old days of our Baptist history.
Sometimes I wonder if Paul’s instructions in Romans 12 about not being conformed to this world might not apply to the Christian world as well. Could it be that a vast majority of those of us who call ourselves Christians are not willing to consider that we are to easily conformed to what Bonhoeffer would call a “cheap grace,” one that requires little risk, a moderated faith.
When I wrote my one-person presentation on Clarence Jordan, I imagined him saying a good bit about the subject of moderate Baptists. I could hear Jordan say that “moderate Baptist” was an oxymoron. He could very well have said that if you sit on a fence long enough you get hurt in some sensitive areas, adding that Jesus said, “I would that you were hot or cold, but because you are lukewarm, I’m going to vomit you up.” Jordan adds, “I’m mighty proud when someone calls me a liberal, for I’m convinced our Lord and Savior was a raging liberal, cause you don’t get put on no cross for being a conservative, for being an upholder of the status quo.”
And what does it mean to witness for Jesus? Is it possible that witnessing for our faith may entail standing for those principles that we hold dear, standing for peace and justice when so many Baptists on the right appear to omit the importance of those issues? Do we allow Baptists on the right to speak for all Baptists? If not, where then are the voices?
Much of the success of the fundamentalist take-over of the Southern Baptist Convention can be attributed to the fact that so many good Baptists were unwilling or afraid to speak up. I recall during my pastorate days, when two or three church members attempted to control the church, there were those many “good and nice people” who would privately express support for me, yet their voices would never be heard when it counted. Thus, the two or three curmudgeons could go on with their game of control. I found myself more upset with the quite church members than with the troublemakers.
During my time in the Army, an African-American corporal once remarked that he had more respect for Governor George Wallace than he did for the large number of white people who acted nice to his face. He said you just don’t quite know where they stand. At least George Wallace knew where he stood. Might it be that non-Baptists would want to know what non-fundamentalist Baptists stand for and in what ways we are different from those on the right who have had the microphone for the past quarter of a century?
In this respect, I have to hand it to the likes of Jerry Falwell and his ilk. One thing you can say for them is that they never leave us in doubt about where they stand on the issues. Falwell heartily endorsed the Iraq War and George Bush for presidency. A generation ago that would be unheard of in Baptist circles. Jerry, though, speaks with passion and that’s something that is needed from Baptist leaders who do not agree with Falwell. For no Baptist leader to counter Falwell is to give assent to his views.
When I think of the people of faith I admire the most, I can’t see them ever being mistaken as anything close to being moderate. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Clarence Jordan, Oscar Romero, Walter Rauschenbusch, Dorothy Day, Lottie Moon, and Martin Luther King were totally committed to their vision of God’s work in this world. The same could be said for early Christians living in Rome. They were persecuted and executed because they could not bring themselves to blend in.
Recently I had a retired Methodist pastor ask me why this generation of college students seem to be so apathetical about current issues. After some thought, I responded by saying that it is because they are not hearing this from the pulpit. One could go further to state that the critical issues of our time are not being reported by Baptist publications. For instance, there have been numerous articles in state Baptist papers dealing with military chaplains and how they are attempting to carry out their mission work in the context of war. I have yet to see in these papers mention of the evils of this war and the number of lives that have been lost on both sides as a result of this conflict. Moreover, when one logs on to the Christian Life Commission sites of various state Baptist conventions, issues such as war and peace do not appear to be matters of concern.
Last week I participated in a poetry reading as part of an Anti-War event in Albuquerque. There were people of all ages and economic and religious backgrounds present at that gathering. What impressed me about this convention is the passion these people displayed for their beliefs and convictions. Maybe it’s the passion I miss feeling in so much of what presents itself as moderate.
In the old days, Baptists possessed that revivalist passion. Young people walked the aisle to “give their lives to Jesus” and people cried openly. I’m not at all advocating going back to that expression of faith. And I can’t believe that this passion is found in praise music. Jordan used to say that “We’ll praise the pants off Jesus and won’t do a thing he says.”
As a hospital chaplain and performing artist, I’m often asked by non-Baptists if I’m Southern Baptist and I’m quick to answer in the negative. And when I try to explain my kind of Baptists it’s as if they have never heard and don’t understand the non-Southern Baptist Baptist. Perhaps, if people in general don’t know about us, maybe we’re not talking loud enough and taking enough risks about those issues and truths that we hold dear.
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