Most Jordanians, as well as most people in the Middle East, view Baptists and other evangelical Christians as members of a sect or cult. Some even call them “dupes of the West.” After all, Baptist work in Jordan only began in the early 1950s.
That is not very long in a land where traditional Christian groups trace their roots back to the earliest days of Christianity. Latin Christians — Roman Catholics — and Orthodox Christians pride themselves on being descendents of the first Christians with a continuous presence in the region for nearly 2,000 years.
Not only are they fairly new in the nation but Baptists are also few in number there. Baptized members of the 20 churches that make up the Jordan Baptist Convention total about 2,000. When family members and others are added, the Baptist community increases to about 4,000.
All evangelical believers combined total only about 10,000. That is not very many in a nation of more than 6 million people, 92 percent of whom are Muslims. The result is that Baptists and other evangelical Christians live in a world where they are misunderstood by Muslims and other Christians alike.
That negative view of Baptists was dramatically altered March 20, when more than 2,000 Baptists from the United States, European countries, Jordan and other Middle Eastern countries came together to dedicate the new Jordan Baptism Center on the banks of the Jordan River in an area known as Bethany beyond Jordan, the area where Jesus was baptized.
The dedication may have paved the way for Baptists and other evangelicals to be placed on equal footing with traditional Christians. It certainly presented Baptists as a recognized and important part of the Christian movement worldwide.
In 2007, the Jordanian government proposed a partnership with the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) to build and operate the baptism center for use by evangelical Christians. Local Baptists were thrilled. The proposal placed Baptists on a par with traditional Christian groups related to Bethany beyond Jordan as the government had already provided land for these groups to build memorials in this historic place. Treating Baptists as traditional Christians are treated was unheard of previously.
Then media attention was focused on Baptists during the dedication service. The dedication was important enough to draw participation by former Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Two former U.S. presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, sent personal letters publicly identifying themselves as Baptists.
Among Southern Baptists in America, that might not mean much. But to a minority people generally viewed as a cult or sect, the letters were important. Two world leaders publicly acknowledged their religious identity as Baptists. That alone said Baptists are not a sect or cult but a major part of Christianity. The letters went a long way toward giving legitimacy to Baptists in the eyes of the Jordanian people.
The event received extensive coverage in Jordan and throughout the Middle East. The British Broadcasting Corp. covered the event with radio and television reports. So did the Arab television network Al-Jazeera. National news outlets and international news outlets such as Reuters covered it, too.
Both my wife, Pat, and I had the privilege of being interviewed by one television network and explaining why we traveled from the United States to Jordan to support the Baptists there. Stories about the baptism center dedication were printed in newspapers, both English and Arabic, across the Middle East. A Christian baptism center in a Muslim nation is news, and that the center was done in cooperation with Baptists made it bigger news.
And one could not miss the strong personal commitment to Christ articulated by Blair or the description of faith presented by BWA President David Coffey. Though the ceremony was a dedication of a site, it was also a presentation of the gospel.
All the attention raised the standing of Baptists in Jordan and other Middle Eastern nations. As one Jordanian pastor phrased it, the service would help Baptists stand on even ground with other Christian groups from now on and say to the Muslim community that Baptists are there to stay.
But the journey is not done. Baptists in Jordan still seek official government recognition. Recognized religious groups have their own court systems in Jordan. For example, a Muslim goes through a Muslim court system. A Latin Christian goes through a different court system. An Orthodox Christian is subject to an Orthodox court system.
Because Baptists are not an officially recognized group, they are subject to the courts of other Christian traditions. Misunderstandings between the traditions are sometimes reflected in the outcomes of cases.
Jordanian Baptist leaders took great pains during the dedication service to present themselves as loyal Jordanian citizens who love their country and king. They tried to put to rest any fears that evangelical Christians are not “real Jordanians” or “real Arabs.”
This public pledge of loyalty did not go unnoticed by their fellow Jordanians, but whether the pledge and ceremony will be enough to bring official recognition remains to be seen. Baptists have joined with four other evangelical groups in Jordan to present a common petition to King Abdullah II asking for official recognition as evangelical Christians. If this request is granted, then in Jordan and throughout the Middle East, Baptists and other evangelical Christians will no longer live with false charges but will stand on level ground with traditional Christians.
Jordanian Christians live with laws that prohibit proselytizing. Yet, through the grace of God, these courageous men and women find ways to share their faith, and God gives the increase in His due time. They live under conditions that most Americans cannot understand.
That is why the dedication of the baptism center was such an important and wonderful experience. It affirmed the faithful work of Baptists for nearly 60 years and marked the beginning of a future filled with new opportunities. Pray for the Baptists of Jordan and all the Middle East. And pray for King Abdullah and the royal family as they consider the petition for recognition presented by Baptists and other evangelicals.
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