If you’re at the 21st General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and you noticed a few folks sporting bowties, it probably wasn’t a fashion statement (fashionable though bowties may be) – it was instead a way to honor the work of someone known as a Baptist hero, James Dunn. Dunn, who once directed the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, spoke at BJC’s 75th anniversary celebration on Friday afternoon, where he also received the J.M. Dawson Religious Liberty Award.

Dunn’s words were humble, humorous and prophetic. His first thought – “I don’t deserve this award,” was quickly followed by “but I have arthritis, and I don’t deserve that, either.”

Dunn devoted much of his time at the podium to telling the story of Dawson, an early 20th century Baptist minister and fierce advocate for religious liberty. This wasn’t my first BJC event, but it was the first time I’d heard so much about the namesake of their most prestigious award.

In listening to the story, I was reminded about what I cherish about being Baptist – freedom. At our best, Baptists take freedom seriously. We believe that the choice to follow Jesus shouldn’t be compelled or constrained by things like creeds, hierarchies or manipulative interpretations of scripture.

In other words, Dunn’s words, “We follow Jesus freely or not really.”
May we use our freedom faithfully…