I was at church with John Leland on Sunday.  In fact, he stole the pulpit.  He came telling stories of his fight for religious liberty in the United States, stories about his friends who were persecuted for dissenting against the Church of England. He told of their opposition to the original constitution and his threat to run against James Madison as Virginia’s representative at the convention to ratify said Constitution.  He prompted us to fight for religious liberty saying, “You do not need the power of the state to promote a belief in God . . . the truth has a power of its own . . . the drawing power of the risen Christ is sufficient.”

Before he could finish his sermon, he was forcibly removed by government officials for treason against the State.

Of course, this sermon was only a dramatic presentation by Pastor Jim Wooten of The Baptist Church of Beaufort, Beaufort, South Carolina, but on this Fourth of July weekend, his words reminded me how proud I am to be Baptist.

Our Baptist forefathers and foremothers fought for religious liberty, because they knew that true faith could not be coerced.  Today, my friends, Brent Walker and Holly Hollman (among many others), work everyday at the Baptist Joint Committee to ensure this religious liberty in maintained.

Because of the influence of many Baptists, all people are able to worship freely in the United States.  We continue to fight for separation of church and state so that neither body interferes with the fundamental work of the other.  Freedom is so important to us as Baptists that we have sacrificed throughout our history and continue to sacrifice today to make sure it is available to everyone.

I found it hard to watch “John Leland” being escorted out of the sanctuary on Sunday.  For the first time, I was confronted with the harsh reality of our past and the prophetic voices that seriously suffered so that we could enjoy the freedom to worship together (fragile though it may be).  I found it even more difficult to listen to the Minister of Education reminding us of all the countries around the world in which religious freedom is not a reality today—all the work that is still left to be done.

So this weekend, while everyone was singing “I’m Proud to Be an American,” I had different lyrics going though my head.  They go something like this: “I’m proud to be a Baptist, ‘cause at least I know I’m free.  And I won’t forget the folks who fought, to give that right to me.  So I’ll gladly stand up, next you and defend it still today.  ‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I am a dork, and that’s the Baptist way.”