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TechnoratiBurleson is aware that some Southern Baptists may criticize him for him meeting with Carter, he acknowledged on his blog, but said it was his desire "to help Southern Baptists see that fellow Baptists are not the enemy."
While the Oklahoma pastor indicated his support for the new covenant and urged Southern Baptists to focus on what unites them, Duren – perhaps the most well-known SBC blogger – has not confirmed his participation and is not encouraging other Southern Baptists to join.
"As far as a seat at the table, it was never a part of my going. I truly had no expectations from the meeting [with Carter], yet left with an invitation to attend the planning meetings. Personally, I’ll have a more in depth feel for it when I meet others who are already committed," he wrote on sbcoutpost.com.
But he still expressed hope.
"Ultimately, if the Southern Baptist Convention does not have a presence, it does not mean that Southern Baptists cannot have a presence. I’ll keep a close eye on the proceedings, but I want to be hopeful rather than doubtful. I don’t have to agree with everyone who is there to find commonality with some and that might be worth the effort after all."
Carter clarified that the new covenant is not an effort to form another Baptist convention or entity.
"We have enough conventions already," he said, according to ABP.
Rather, as Burleson noted, the initiative is to dialogue and build relationships and encourage one another in the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
The upcoming New Baptist Covenant is billed as the broadest Baptist meeting in America since Baptists divided over slavery before the Civil War, according to ABP. Duren noted that every major African American Baptist denomination and Baptists from Canada and Mexico have been invited. Organizers anticipate some 20,000 people at next year's convocation.
