from the

General Secretary NEVILLE CALLAM

Known by our LOVE

In his book, Biography as Theology, James McClendon did not set out to use biography as a resource for identifying models of Christian living. Instead, his intent was to use biography as a way of doing theology. If McClendon’s aim was a worthwhile one, the use of biography as a way of modeling Christian spirituality is also desperately needed in the world today. Indeed, hardly can one mine the treasures of a personal life to gather a theological harvest without simultaneously implying that that life provides an example of the way Christians should or should not live. Recently, many people reflected on a life that came to an end with the passing of Noel Vose, BWA president from 1985-1990. Those who knew Dr. Vose would consider him a good candidate for inclusion in a sanctoral cycle, if Baptists actually had one. In his book, If God so Loved: Studies in 1 John, Vose states,

“It’s a good witness who begins and ends his testimony with Jesus Christ. See the first and last three sentences in 1 John.” He then adds, “To feed on doctrine without fellowship is like swallowing salt without the soup.” Toward the end of the book, he asserts, “Any Christian who has reviewed his or her commitment and been reassured concerning possession of eternal life can’t help but share the faith with others. . . . The test, from which no one is exempt, requires neither notebook nor pen. The ultimate measure of all Bible knowledge is its practical application in love to God [and] love for one another…a longing to share what you have received with someone else.” In his last book, Mena: Daughter of Obedience, Vose

completed the work started by his wife, Heather, who predeceased him. In Mena, Vose redeems from obscurity a woman whose story is as interesting as it is illuminating. The author, a distinguished Baptist who is known, respected and loved around the world, understood the significance of telling the story about a Christian woman who belonged to the Catholic Church. In his “Author’s Note,” Vose offers this comment: “[H]ow [can] I as author, with a strong Protestant heritage . . . present here, with obvious sympathy, the fervent Catholic convictions of my subject. . . . If in the telling, Mena’s story adds a link to the ecumenical understanding between two major sections of Christianity, sharing the same faith in Jesus Christ as the ultimate meaning of life, so much the better.” The man who preached love and lived it showed us how

to receive those who do not fully embrace our theological convictions, but who share our commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord. Not surprising, during his BWA presidency, he contributed to the first round of bilateral theological dialogue between the Baptist World Alliance and the Roman Catholic Church. Later, he gave strong support to the international dialogue commission involving the BWA and Mennonite World Conference. In those early days of BWA’s involvement in bilateral conversations, participants took very careful steps in order to build up confidence in the project on which they were pioneering and, undoubtedly, Vose expected the preliminary discussions with both the Catholics and the Mennonites to be followed by collaborative action by the dialogue partners, accompanied by more substantive doctrinal discussions. Vose wanted to foster the fellowship of the saints in the bond of love.

4 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZINE

Presidential Reports to the BWA General Council say as much about the presidents themselves as about the matters on which they report. Vose’s reports were constructive efforts to help Baptists appreciate the gift of unity that God has given them and to honor the command of love. In the report to the 1987 General Council meeting, he said this: “Our councils and congresses have great potential. . . . It has everything to do with demonstrating the mystery of the Spirit’s work in creating unity and love between the most unlikely candidates. Because Baptists are among the greatest individualists in the Body of Christ – both our strength and our weakness – international unity as it is manifested becomes a remarkable phenomenon to onlookers.” In his final report, presented to the 1990 General Council, Vose

offered guidance concerning what he identified as “vital strands in future Baptist World Alliance work.” He said: Unity and diversity must be a distinguishing mark of BWA relationships within member bodies. . . . Since experiences of grace may be appropriated without the capacity to articulate them clearly, the result is sometimes a wide range of expressions as to what Baptists believe. At first sight, the enquirer is left with a marked sense of diversity, but this is deceptive, for there is a strong cohesive factor which transcends organizational unity. It is vital to grasp the motif of unity within an accepted diversity. This means that the Alliance must be an inclusive body, not exclusive. Faith and our endemic frailty demand that we make room for one another’s freedom. As to unity, no one part of the membership has the spiritual authority to impose its views arbitrarily on the whole: freedom to hold its views, yes; freedom to express them, yes; but freedom to impose, no: not while bearing the name Baptist. Vose ends one of his presidential reports with the charge, “Guard the Alliance; pray for it.”

I treasure the handwritten notes of encouragement I received

from Dr. Vose over the last nine years. In the final one, dated July 13, 2015, he said, “At 93+ I am beyond travel, but I wish I could be with you once again. I still regard the presidency (1985-1990) as one of the most significant chapters of my life and ministry.” We have lost a herald of unity, a prophet of love and a man of faith who saw the world through the eyes of a committed and thoughtful Christian. In him God gave us an example worthy of emulation. Do accurate narratives on our life reveal that people know we are Christians by our love?