It will probably surprise many external observers of Southern Baptists--and probably many contemporary internal participants in Southern Baptist life as well--to learn that while there are no liberals in the SBC today (contrary to what the ultra-conservative faction of today's SBC alleges), once upon a time there was a genuinely progressive stream of Southern Baptist life before it was expunged in a two-decade-long effort than began in earnest in 1979 to wrest control of the SBC away from those whose Baptist respect for the freedom of congregations and consciences had made space for a variety ..read more

My new co-edited book Seeds of the Church: Towards an Ecumenical Baptist Ecclesiology, co-edited with Teun van der Leer, Henk Bakker, and Elizabeth Newman, is available from Cascade Books. Here's a description of the book from the publisher's site: The landmark World Council of Churches convergence text, The Church: Towards a Common Vision (2012), which has the potential to become this generation's Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (1982), invites the churches to envision how their own distinctive visions of the church might have a place in the global church's imagination of the ecumenical fut ..read more

My new book Baptists, Catholics, and the Whole Church: Partners in the Pilgrimage to Unity has been released by New City Press. Here's the book description from the publisher: Within the whole church, Baptists and Catholics might seem to be ecclesiological and liturgical polar opposites. The two traditions are arguably more dissimilar from one another than each is from almost any other Christian tradition. Yet as veteran Baptist ecumenist Steven R. Harmon demonstrates in this book, they share much in common that can enable them to travel together as fellow pilgrims on the journey toward a mor ..read more

  For those interested, here are the remarks I delivered for today's pre-inauguration panel discussion "Making Sense of Rhetoric and Reality on American Democracy's Big Day" at Gardner-Webb University. I’ve been introduced as a theology professor. I define my discipline this way: theology is thinking with intentionality about God and that with which God is in relationship—which is everything in the universe. There’s nothing that doesn’t have some relationship to God and God’s intentions for the world, and that includes the political order. And since God created us in the image of God as ..read more

Here's what's inside Sources of Light: Resources for Baptist Churches Practicing Theology, ed. Amy L. Chilton and Steven R. Harmon, which releases from Mercer University Press on May 1. Read about and order the book at https://www.mupress.org/Sources-of-Light-Resources-for-Baptist-Churches-Practicing-Theology-P1052.aspx. 1          Introduction: Imagining Radical Baptist Practices of Local Church Theology             Steven R. Harmon and Amy L. Chilton Part I LIGHT FROM OUR LIFE ..read more

Nancy E. Bedford, Georgia Harkness Professor of Theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, has offered the following words of praise for Sources of Light: Resources for Baptist Churches Practicing Theology, ed. Amy L. Chilton and Steven R. Harmon (Mercer University Press, 2020): “The diverse voices in this book come together wonderfully to illuminate the value of taking specific communities of faith seriously as subjects of theology, even while challenging them to look beyond themselves to communities—both past and present—who both shed light ..read more

Bill J. Leonard, Founding Dean and Professor of Divinity Emeritus at Wake Forest University Divinity School, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has offered the following words of praise for Sources of Light: Resources for Baptist Churches Practicing Theology, ed. Amy L. Chilton and Steven R. Harmon (Mercer University Press, 2020): "This well-organized, well-focused study brings together a diverse group of scholars who address Christian and Baptist identity as a guide for congregations and individuals. These insightful essays cover a wide range of topics and issues confronting the ..read more

Lina Toth (Andronoviene), Assistant Principal and Lecturer in Practical Theology at Scottish Baptist College, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Scotland, has offered the following words of praise for Sources of Light: Resources for Baptist Churches Practicing Theology, ed. Amy L. Chilton and Steven R. Harmon (Mercer University Press, 2020): “This book provides a stimulating introduction to a whole range of theological lenses, offering multiple starting points for an in-depth exploration as well as providing an overall ‘map’ of the diversity within Christ’s bod ..read more

Paul Baxley, Executive Coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has offered the following words of praise for Sources of Light: Resources for Baptist Churches Practicing Theology, ed. Amy L. Chilton and Steven R. Harmon (Mercer University Press, 2020): “For those of us who believe that local congregations are uniquely equipped by the Holy Spirit and empowered by the Risen Jesus to offer a compelling witness to God’s love in this broken world, and who also know that individual congregations deeply need community with the global church in order to flourish through participation ..read more

Jerusha Matsen Neal, Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Duke University Divinity School, has offered the following words of praise for Sources of Light: Resources for Baptist Churches Practicing Theology, ed. Amy L. Chilton and Steven R. Harmon (Mercer University Press, 2020): “Sources of Light does more than celebrate the breadth and particularity of the Spirit's work in local congregations. It provides a tool box for robust practices of congregational discernment. The book is an invaluable resource for preachers who want to invite congregations past insular theological cul-de-sacs ..read more