On September 8th the congregation of FBC Brandon,
MS decided to cancel their proposal to build a 110-foot cross on their property
adjacent to Interstate 20. The church had originally petitioned the City of
Brandon for an exception to city ordinances preventing the construction of so
large a structure, but removed that petition after the issue became so
divisive.
I wrote about this example of Baptist iconography in a
previous post. Please read it.
I am personally glad that FBC Brandon had the spiritual
maturity to back away from the table before this issue went to court. Had the
aldermen not approved the petition, the church would have been forced to sue
the city for permission to erect a Christian symbol on their own property. I
can only imagine how ugly that fight would have been.
This development in my example case on how Baptists have
used the cross as a symbol beyond its real meaning further illustrates my
point. Just in case I wasn’t clear on that point in my previous post, here it
is in a nutshell: The cross of Jesus Christ is not as important as the
crucifixion that happened upon it; Christians are to be the crucifixion and the
resurrection in their lives and should have no need for ostentatious displays
of their Christian symbols.
Here is a quote from FBC Brandon Pastor Scott Thomas on the
decision to not challenge the city:
"The Mayor and I met and prayed together and have
committed to seek ways that the body of Christ can reflect the Cross instead of
Erect the Cross at Brandon. We are committed to sharing the love of Christ and
joining hearts to change this community."[1]
YES! YES! YES! That is exactly the sentiment I’d hope a
Baptist church would express, regardless of its desire to build a monument to
Christ’s execution. The followers of Jesus are called to imitate him and to
walk with him in the Spirit of God, i.e. “reflect” the cross. We are
commissioned to live cruciform lives that tend toward sacrifice rather than
symbolic social statements. As I have told my congregation many times, if we
are following Jesus in discipleship we must recognize that we are following him
to death. The implicit Christian triumphalism demonstrated in the construction
of such megacrosses is just the opposite of that call - it is a sign of social
power rather than sacrificial conviction.
For a moment I was so, so proud of my brother Scott. He had
pushed back from the table; he had not demanded his way and had not challenged
his neighbors in the courts. The church had recognized that their plans were
becoming divisive even among the believers in Brandon, and thus should be
abandoned. This was truly a good decision and the right thing to do, and
according to the abovementioned quote, it was done for the right reasons.
But then, as preachers have a habit of doing, Brother Thomas
kept on talking. He said, “Those that have received Christ as their savior are
passionate for the cross. Those who have rejected Christ are... Many of them
are as passionate against the cross…”[2]
I may, at some level, agree that I am passionate about the
cross because I have received Christ as my Lord and Savior. I am indeed
passionate about learning to live a cross-shaped life that will bear witness to
the world of God’s great love for us expressed through the incarnation,
crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of his Son. I am indeed passionate
about the cross as the event that brings reconciliation and atonement between
humanity and God after being estranged by sin. I am indeed passionate about the
Son of God accomplishing on Calvary’s Cross what could not be accomplished
through the sacrificial system or the Law.
But I am not passionate about a 110-foot hunk of metal and
concrete dominating the skyline of Brandon, Mississippi because of my faith. I
cannot speak for those who have “rejected Christ,” but I assume that many of
them are against the domineering, culture-warrior mentality that is the
foundation of such a construction project. That may indeed be the source of the
“passions” that are on display around this issue.
We have certainly come very far from the days when Baptists
rejected the presence of the Cross in worship and in architecture. Even in this
case, though, once can see the reality of the Baptist position: we are
simultaneously people convicted of our calling to reflect the cruciform life of
Jesus and to be a witness to the broader society of our conviction the Jesus is
the savior of the world.
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