It was just under a year ago that a colleague texted me a link to the website baptistrenewal.ca with a comment that said, “These guys just sound a lot like us honestly.” He had just gotten off the phone with a friend who was involved in this organization, the Association of Ministers for Baptist and Evangelical Renewal (AMBER). It was the first I’d heard of them, but the more I learned, the more I realized my friend was right.
AMBER’s three emphases—Word saturated, gospel centred, and distinctly Baptist—resonated deeply with me. I nodded along to every sentence of their “Abstract of Principles for Baptist Churches.” When a member in our church read some material from their website, she told me, “It sounds like you wrote it.” It seemed like we shared not only some important convictions and values, but a vision for the renewal of the church in our part of the country, and that excited me.
That March I was able to have lunch with Michael Lorusso, a member of AMBER’s council. Despite mishearing his last name as “LeRousseau” and asking if he was French (a deep insult to any Italian), he was gracious and we had an engaging conversation. I learned that AMBER began its life as a renewal movement within a particular Baptist conference in the midst of its own downgrade. Their attempts at fostering renewal hadn’t been met with the warmest welcome, some of the churches represented by AMBER had already moved on from that conference, and AMBER’s purview had widened as a result. They were open to connecting with Baptist pastors in various denominational situations across Western Canada.
I asked how I could learn more and connect further, and Michael suggested I come to their conference in Abbotsford that May. That seemed like a long shot at the time, but our elders were supportive of the idea, and we found a way to make it happen.
I left from Nipawin with one of our elder apprentices, and our route to Abbotsford took us through Alberta such that we were able to make the second half of the road trip with Michael and three others from his church. Sharing a vehicle and accommodations for three days provided a solid opportunity to get to know these brothers and talk about things that matter. The conference itself was a real encouragement; hearing the various pastors preach through Galatians, and then talking to them one-on-one between sessions, deepened the sense that I’d found some kindred spirits. We left at the end of the weekend with plans to connect further.
That fall, after further conversation and a thorough process, I was invited to become a council member of AMBER. I was then able to join the rest of the council in Calgary at the end of October to finalize our confession of faith. For two days, rigorous theological discussion and heartfelt prayer flowed together with side-splitting laughter and good espresso, and we parted with a document—forged in the fires of our brotherhood—that we could joyfully stand behind.
I love our confession because it is robust, historically informed, Bible-soaked, and worshipful. It does not shy away from bring gloriously specific on matters like God’s good design for men and women, and yet there is a gentle humility in the application of this doctrine. As the introduction states, “We recognize that this statement is not perfect and only represents the best attempt of a few fallible and finite men at giving an abbreviated summary of what is infallible and infinite. For that reason, agreement can only mean that an individual has no settled theological opposition to the doctrines contained herein…. we believe it is necessary to call all those in association with AMBER to a substantial agreement with this statement while graciously granting room for growth for those with hesitations or without formed convictions, trusting the guidance of the whole in places where we feel less confident or even unsettled.”
So, for example, while AMBER stands firmly within the Reformed tradition, AMBER is “Reformed” in the same way that I am. We prize what the Bible says about the absolute sovereignty of God in all things, including the salvation of sinners, but we don’t use these truths as a club to clobber people, or to exclude those who are still hesitant or unformed in their understanding.
AMBER is, as its name implies, an association of ministers—which in this context primarily means pastors and elders—who can support and resource one another in the work of Baptist renewal. We also hope that as we build relationships as pastors, our churches will be able to link arms and partner together for encouragement, accountability, and gospel partnership.
For the past two years, AMBER has hosted conferences focused on our first two emphases: the primacy of the Word and the centrality of the gospel. This May, our third annual conference, “Baptist Renewal,” will consider it means for us to be distinctly Baptist. After an opening session with renowned historian Michael Haykin (who will be joining us virtually), the conference sessions will unpack significant Baptist distinctives, such as the headship of Christ, congregationalism, and believer’s baptism. I’ll be speaking on the topic of regenerate church membership.
This conference is not just for pastors—it’s open to all who care about the church in our part of the world. (In fact, one of the highlights of last year’s conference was seeing just how invested the people of Maranatha Baptist Church were with the event, and AMBER in general.) This year, we are hoping to bring a good sized group from Emmanuel, and we’ve actually set aside some money in our church budget to help cover travel and accommodation costs for those attending. (The conference itself is free.)
If you’re interested in learning more about AMBER or the conference, please find out more at the AMBER website or the conference’s event page. You can register here, and if you do, please let me know. It would be good to get a sense, sooner than later, of how many from Nipawin will be making the trip.
I’m grateful for the friendship and fellowship I’ve already experienced with AMBER, and I’m looking forward to our church getting to know these other churches better. I pray that these budding relationships will be used by the Lord for the sake of the gospel in Western Canada for years to come. May it be!
