I Am Because You Are - new video-based training course

Tim Fergusson introduces a new Baptist video-based training course which explores what discrimination is, the meaning of equality and diversity in secular society, and how this relates to the Bible and our own experience

I Am Because You Are is a video-based training course in equality and diversity, aimed at Baptist ministers but suitable also for church leadership teams. It has come about in response to a grass roots challenge made to the Baptist Union.
 
Cast your mind back for a moment to May 2020, to the shocking murder of George Floyd and the subsequent outcry. Lynn Green, Baptists Together General Secretary, noted that this news broke the unique, almost existential stillness created by Covid. She observed that,
 

“this event then dropped into that stillness. It was like a megaphone. Those words that were whispered on a street in Minneapolis became amplified and, because of this stillness, reverberated around the whole world.”

 
The reverberations were felt among us as Baptists, as in most places. One result was a conversation among Baptist ministers about racial justice, but not only racial justice. The scope was broader, drawing in a variety of ways in which ministers had experienced, observed, and even perhaps colluded with discrimination in Baptist churches and structures.
 
An open letter was subsequently written to the leadership of Baptists Together. It called for equality, diversity and unconscious bias training to be made a compulsory part of both initial ministerial formation and Continuing Ministerial Development.

After some deliberation, the Baptist Union Council agreed this at its March 2021 meeting (see the item marked "Changes to ministerial recognition rules").
 
I Am Because You Are is the first result of Council’s decision. It consists of six videos that ministers are expected to watch together in their networks and ministers’ meetings. Each video contains some explanatory material, a filmed interview or conversation, and some discussion questions. They explore what discrimination is, the meaning of equality and diversity in secular society world, and how this relates to the Bible and our own experience.

The quote above from Lynn Green is taken from Episode 5 in which she reflects on the journey the Union has been on in recent years. The last video offers some practical actions to take and attitudes to adopt.
 
The title I Am Because You Are is a rough translation of the Zulu word, ubuntu. Ubuntu was often used by Desmond Tutu to explain how we are inter-connected. He said we are diminished when some among us are made to feel less than they truly are – that is, made in the image of God.

In Episode 4 of I Am Because You Are, two Baptist College Principals, Clara Rushbrook and Steve Finamore, discuss a reading from John chapter 4. When Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman at a well, Clara notes:
 

“Jesus is going into Samaria. He's going to somewhere ‘other’ precisely to encounter this woman, and he knows about her. And I don't think he knows about her in a way of kind of shaming her, but he knows about her in a way that sees her.

"And it reminds me of the story of Hagar where she names God as the one who sees me and that is really powerful. This is an unnamed woman. But we're beginning to see who she is, through this encounter.”

  
Steve adds a further reflection:
 

“[This story] is one of the ways that John is demonstrating that the words of his prologue – that ‘He came to His own people, and they received Him not, but to those who did receive Him, He gave the power to become the children of God,’ – is being fulfilled.

"And this is one of those biblical type scenes. A man meeting a woman at the well is something that happens in Genesis, it happens in Exodus. It is one of those standard story patterns. And they are usually about betrothal, about human love. But here this is about the love of God for a whole people.”

 
Despite a total viewing time of almost two hours, the six videos can only hope to open up what is an increasingly vast topic. Engaging with I Am Because You Are through watching and discussing the videos is mandatory for almost all accredited ministers and nationally recognised pastors. (Details can be found here.)

The idea is that those who have been previously trained or who have much experience in this area will bring their learning into their discussion with others. After or alongside I Am Because You Are, those seeking a deeper dive into specific areas of diversity have a couple of options:
 

• Visions of Colour is another six-part training course, but with a focus on racial justice. It helps ministers and church leaders to reflect and take action on becoming an anti-racist church or community.  
• Talking about Disability, Church and Faith helps ministers and church leaders to think more deeply about disability from the point of view of Christian faith and church practice. The material can be viewed online, but a printed version designed to foster small group conversations will be sent to ministers in the New Year.

 
And if you are reading this page and you are not a minister, please do engage with all these resources if you wish! Though some of the material has a particular focus on ministers, it is accessible for a much wider audience.
 

I am Because You Are can be accessed here.  


Tim Fergusson is the Interim Ministries Team Leader. Alongside Lee Johnson, he has been appointed as Specialist Team Co-Leader for Ministries and will take up this role in mid-January 2023