Reunion Seminar report

I just returned from Waco, in the beautiful new structure called Brooks Residential College, Senior Commons Room, on the Baylor University campus, where I participated in a reunion seminar of the Baptist Leadership conference. This was a gathering of leaders and interested parties from Baptist higher education institutions to discuss the future of Baptist higher education. As a part of this seminar, we were encouraged to read the recently published book, The Future of Baptist Higher Education, a book published by Baylor Press and edited by Donald Schmeltekopf and Dianna M. Vitanza. This marvelous book containing essays by various Baptist academic leaders is not intended as a prescription for any perceived ailments infecting Baptist schools, nor do we find a blueprint for success in Baptist higher education, but, instead, we do find outstanding essays framing the challenges in Baptist higher education with proposed philosophical and pragmatic solutions for the future. It is well worth reading and good for many hours of great discussion!

Beginning with a speech outlining the differences in thought expressed in the book, the day progressed quickly with great intellectual intensity infused with Christian compassion and optimism for the future. The presentations were clear, thoughtful, prodigious, and transforming without falling into a sense of rebellion or radical departure from the general tenants of academic higher education. The first session was led by prolific author and leader of religious thought and philosophical practice, Robert Benne, and supplemented by a response from current Houston Baptist University president, Robert Sloan. While the content of the session was delivered with the speaker's usual unbounded optimistic style, the underlying path was mildly disconcerting with hints of concern, and firm reminders and expectations for institutional adjustments.

The response to the opening session was not unexpectedly supportive due to being in agreement with what had been said, yet the respondent's approach quickly moved into an exciting design for excellence in Baptist higher education. With an accurate but dramatic style, both presenters offered a thorough analysis of the value and necessity of addressing the issues of being a Baptist institution. As all great lectures tend to do, this session and its response elicited great curiosity and questions from all participants in the room. We were almost disappointed to break for lunch which meant putting a hold on the current discussion.

Following a light but delicious fare, we began again in groups to discuss more specific issues facing Baptist schools. In what ways are our institutions Christian? How do we embody the vision of Baptist faith in our schools? What should be the significance of the Baptist vision in faculty hiring, faculty development, and the curriculum? We dealt with these questions and more and had some fruitful and revealing conversations on these issues. All participants were congenial, concerned, pleasant, intelligent, and progressive in their comments, and although the conclusions were somewhat nebulous, the journey toward those conclusions was wrapped in hegemonic Christianity, compassionate visioning, energetic posturing, and vital philosophical truth-seeking.

It is difficult to condense a seminar into a few sentences and impossible to summarize the joys and challenges of Baptist higher education into a capsule of information; and yet, as the day progressed, I recognized once again that being a Baptist is being a Christian with individual freedom. Because of soul competency and church autonomy, we have the individual and corporate freedom to interpret scripture and formulate a church according to our own prescription under the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. This very freedom, however, makes institutional definition subjective and independent which in turn can result in a lack of purpose and specific expectations. The very freedoms we enjoy as Baptists could also be our undoing were we to wander away from the distinctives of our faith. In the end, I realize that the essence of being a Baptist creates a set of dangers and potential problems that at the same moment creates another set of glorious possibilities. The necessary convergence of personal liberty and institutional mission come together to form our incredible Baptist schools. It is important to continue to value and encourage Christian action within the guidelines of what it means to be a Baptist.

Being of an objective, goal-directed personality and practice, there might have been a time when I felt overwhelmed by the questions presented and baffled by the complexity of the proposed suggestions for the future. Now, however, as I grow in faith and hopefully Christian maturity, I find the questions themselves to be enlightening and the prophetic investigation of Baptist application in higher education to be stimulating and encouraging with propitious and rewarding optimism for who we, the collective we, are and mostly for what we can become. It was a rich seminar that left me and the other participants inspired to apply principles of Baptist higher education to our own institutions. I continue to appreciate the work of Don Schmeltekopf as he rallies future Baptist leaders to make a positive impact on Baptist higher education.