Among my progressive Baptist friends, we have a saying about identity: “I am a Jimmy Carter kind of Baptist.” Deeply Christian, he was unwaveringly committed to racial justice, the inclusion of women as pastoral leaders, the glad acknowledgment of LGBTQ+ persons within the Body of Christ, and the twin hallmarks of freedom of conscience and religious liberty.
Three encounters with the former president helped shape my appreciation of his legacy. While a young theology professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, I heard his vibrant concern for social justice as he was our commencement speaker. Not only was his address a call to the graduates to act for those on the margins of society, but his demeanor of respect for everyone he encountered while in our midst demonstrated that regard. Besides, it was great fun to sit a couple of chairs away from a Secret Service agent clad in an academic robe, complete with earpiece. Seated nearby was a faculty member with an ancient hearing aid that dangled from his ear; one was licensed to kill, the other to flunk.
A second encounter occurred at the Carter Center when Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter convened a group to implement “The New Baptist Covenant,” an initiative primarily devoted to seeking reconciliation and collaboration between Black and White Baptists. The Carters understood the inequities caused by segregated worship and segregated communities and wanted to mobilize the healing of fractures caused by racism. Their passion for overcoming persistent discrimination was contagious.
Subsequently, President Carter committed to attending regional meetings to help promote the agenda of this emerging covenant. I was a part of the planning group that brought him to Kansas City. Sharing a platform and observing his clarity of purpose strengthened my resolve. The preacher of the occasion was Rev. Carolyn Ann Knight, a gifted Black woman, and his enthusiasm for her message reached revivalistic proportions! It revealed what he valued and expressed his easy rapport with his Black kin.
We celebrate the life of this good man at a precarious time in our nation’s history. I trust that the guidance we received from his well-lived life is not lost by either church or society.