‘You’ve made the road by walking,’ McLaren tells Fellowship

ATLANTA—Stepping out in faith not knowing the destination is part of the story of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, popular author and theologian Brian McLaren told the 2017 CBF general assembly.

“Celebrate how far you’ve come,” McLaren said. “You have made the road by walking.”

McLaren emphasized that the Fellowship has blazed a trail since its founding in 1991, walking and creating an unknown road together.

“Without realizing what you were getting yourself into, you stepped out and had no idea how much change could happen in 25 years,” he said.

Create a different model

CBF decided in 1991 offer a different model of Christianity, McLaren said. At 25 years old, he added, what Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter calls as “denomi-network” is still in the making and should not and will never be finished, he emphasized.

“You aren’t at the top of the slippery slope,” McLaren said, referencing those who criticized CBF in its founding era. “You are making progress on a long, upward journey. To have a woman (executive coordinator) is a pretty remarkable thing. To be a place where you are allowed to talk about the need for racial reconciliation, it is an important start. We have a way to go. … You have a long adventure ahead.”

“Keep celebrating,” he added, noting the Fellowship is positioned well as a graceful and gracious network.

Look to the future with hope

McLaren challenged the assembly to look ahead to its 50th anniversary. He expressed hope that there will be young leaders among the crowd—“30-year-old leaders who right now would be our 5-year-old children.”

“Trust them. Seize this moment by centering on the grand essentials. Center on the grand essentials of our faith,” he said, calling on the Fellowship to focus on the Good News, the Great Commandment and the Great Commission of Jesus.

Living in these essentials requires courage, challenging the status quo, loving neighbor, loving self, loving creation and forming disciples to be agents of transformation, he said.

“This is hard work,” McLaren said. “Instead of judging people, it is welcoming them to the table and washing their feet. Instead of conforming to the status quo, it’s about being an agent of transformation for the poor, oppressed and imprisoned. The Great Commission is saying, ‘I am involved in the healing of the world.’

“It’s about making disciples. It’s about forming lifelong disciples, people who follow a rabbi teacher, who imitate his example and teach others the art of living in his way.”