FROM THE PRESIDENT, David Coffey
LESSONS FROM THE BAKERY
In July 2009, a group of Baptists representing the world family will stand outside 120 Amstel Street, Amsterdam, and
remember with prayerful thanksgiving some notable events that took place 400 years ago.
Behind the modern facade of Amstel Street stood the East India Bakery in Bakkerstraat. Baptists claim this location as
the founding place for the movement that now numbers a global community membership of more than 100 million.
A group of English believers moved courageously to the Netherlands to escape from the religious persecution they were
experiencing. Worshipping in England, they were hunted and persecuted, and in some cases, imprisoned, so they sought
refuge in Free Amsterdam which was renowned for its religious tolerance.
Among the group who traveled to Amsterdam was John Smyth, a Cambridge University graduate who had served as an
ordained priest until he separated from the Church of England, and Thomas Helwys, a wealthy English lawyer.
In Amsterdam, the newly formed bakery congregation created a community whose worship and life together reflected
more truly the New Testament pattern of a believers’ church. The studies and conversations of the community eventually
led to a rejection of the practice of infant baptism and a recovery of the emphasis of baptism in the New Testament, which
is the baptism of believers on the basis of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In a variety of ways the Baptist World Alliance and the European Baptist Federation will be celebrating the courage and
vision of our forebears and exploring the lasting significance of their achievements. In preparation for Amsterdam, I have
looked again at our ancient story and suggest some lessons from the former bakery in Bakkerstraat.
First, God uses a breadth of stimulating networks to launch a movement. Smyth and Helwys were shaped by the reforming
zeal of the Puritans and Separatists of England and were influenced by the formative ideas of the Anabaptist, Mennonite
and Arminian movements of mainland Europe. The lesson is to meet with a broad range of people in whom God is working
and to listen to the prophetic voices through whom God is speaking. Be alert to the imperilled weakness of the attitude “you
in your small corner and me in mine.” The greatest strength of the Christian family is the bringing together of breadth and
diversity. Those who are constantly narrowing down the boundaries in the interest of maintaining the purity of the Church
fail to see the losses which are incurred by this closing of the doors to wider fellowship.
Second, God blesses communities of conviction. I borrow this phrase from the title of the newly published book by
my good friend Ian Randall. Read his Communities of Conviction and you will be inspired by the recounting of the earliest
beginnings of the Baptist movement in all parts of Europe.
The community of Bakkerstraat was turning its back on the formalities of state religion and seeking to restore the
pattern of the believers’ church of the New Testament. What they dared to attempt was outstanding in its spiritual boldness.
The contemporary challenges for Baptists in their church state relationships call for similar courageous daring. In a climate
where Baptists are intoxicated by pragmatic “how to” church programs, the restoration of communities of conviction with
meaningful covenant membership and healthy accountable relationships are essential values to a recovery of true Baptist
identity.
Third, God works in spite of our failures. The early pages of Baptist history are a mixed story which, according to
Barry White, show something of how past policies and insights were often shaped “by accident, ignorance and sometimes
selfishness as well as by prudence, wisdom and costly sacrifice.” Like Paul and Barnabas, there came a sad parting of the
ways for Smyth and Helwys, prompting the latter to believe his friend had made wrong decisions and leaving him with a
sense of personal betrayal. We need to walk humbly with God during a time of radical reform and hold lightly to our strongest
convictions, recognizing that our best theological insights are only partial. The lubricating oil of sweet reasonableness is
never more required than in a time of abrasive progress.
Our celebrations in Amsterdam will not be an indulgence in nostalgia but a moment to pause and wisely reflect on Baptist
beginnings. As C. S. Lewis reminds us, it is not the remembered past but the forgotten past that enslaves us.
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