Thesis #7 - The Baptist Faith & Message Is Not The Inspired Word Of God

The Baptist Faith and Message is a very good attempt to proclaim positions Southern Baptists take based on truth we find in scripture (and unlike published confessions of many other denominations, the Baptist Faith and Message heavily references scripture). To equate this document with the inerrant word of God, however, is dangerous. Creeds, confessions and doctrinal statements like the Baptist Faith and Message are indeed fallible, and need to be evaluated in light of scripture. Proverbs 30:6 declares, “Don’t add to His words, or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved to be a liar.” (HCSB)

Thesis #6 - The Best Evangelism Lead: Fathers

We do an awesome job of reaching children, but Southern Baptists are missing the most strategic individual when it comes to bringing entire families into the kingdom of God. The biblical record reveals tremendous success in reaching whole families by first introducing fathers to Christ. The Book of Acts shows a 3 to 1 ratio of successfully reaching families through the father, versus the woman of the house: Cornelius assembled his house and also invited friends to hear Peter (Acts 10-11); the Philippian jailor obeyed the gospel message along with his household (Acts 16:31-34); Crispus, the leader of the synagogue believed the Lord along with his household (Acts 18:8). That’s three men vs. one woman, Lydia, who came to know the Lord along with her household (Acts 16:15). We might assume the patriarchal character of the first century was the primary factor in the family evangelism narrative, but 20th century statistics show the same family trend. A 2003 article published by Baptist Press reveals numbers that correlate with biblical record. Quoting a prior work by Focus on The Family Publishing, Polly House wrote:

“Did you know that if a child is the first person in a household to become a Christian, there is a 3.5 percent probability everyone else in the household will follow?
If the mother is the first to become a Christian, there is a 17 percent probability everyone else in the household will follow.
But if the father is first, there is a 93 percent probability everyone else in the household will follow.”

Yes, it is far easier to lead young children to Christ, but without their fathers’ example of faith and commitment to Christ, those children are likely to abandon their faith (See Thesis #5). Putting these facts together, what strategies ought to change within our evangelism programs? Are there ministries and messages that attract and challenge men? Does the church décor let men know they are welcome, or do the Sunday School classrooms look more like the ladies lounge?

Thesis #5 - Fathers Are The Future Of Our Church

Well meaning church leaders and members frequently state, “Our children (or our youth) are the future of our church.” This axiom sounds logical, but it fails to account for an observable fact: we’re losing the next generation at an alarming rate! Even as we pour all our resources into children and youth programs, our late-teen and twenty-something members abandon church in droves. Polls commonly report a 70% to 80% attrition rate of those entering the college and career age. The fact that our congregations' median age is moving toward retirement rather than college and career is proof that children really aren't the future--at least not unless something changes drastically. Why do the young people leave? Several suggestions are proffered 1) They think the Bible is irrelevant--maybe they weren’t taught that God’s word is inerrant, factual and able to deal with scoffing evolutionists. 2) They think church is irrelevant--maybe church wasn’t presented as essential to one’s worship of God. Perhaps a more important question is, “Why do some young people stay actively engaged in church?” A european census may point to the answer. Folks all around the WEB still talk about a 1994 Swiss study that identified fathers as the greatest influence in the next generation’s church attendance. Michael Craven, founder of the Center for Christ and Culture refers to that Swiss study in his article, Fathers: The Greatest Influence. Craven sums up, “In short, if a father does not go to church, no matter how faithful his wife's devotions, only one child in 50 will become a regular worshipper." Does an outdated Swiss report reflect trends in the Southern Baptist Churches in the United States? Take a look around your congregation and evaluate the retention of young people. Were strong Christian fathers present in the lives of young people who no longer attend church anywhere? How about those who remain? Craven continues with an uplifting statistic: "If a father does go regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother, between two-thirds and three-quarters of their children will become churchgoers." You might say, “But there is still a 25 – 30% drop-out rate.” Yes, but the study apparently looked only at the father’s church attendance record—and we know that a church attending man may not necessarily be a redeemed, regenerate, transformed disciple who in turn is actively training his own children. What if we discipled young fathers to be spiritual leaders in their homes?
Against the failed axiom “Children are our future church,” let me propose a new hypothesis: Fathers are our future, if we reach them for Christ, teach them the essentials of Christian living, and equip them to train their children.

Thesis #4 "Old-School" Is Probably More Biblical

If you think a Bible teacher sounds “old-school,” you have likely strayed from biblical truth. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone say of an older pastor/teacher “He’s so knowledgeable…but he’s so strict/hardcore/old-fashioned.” I’m amazed that people can admire the zeal an older scholar possesses for the word of God, and simultaneously disparage that scholar for actually teaching the word of God. Even more astonishing is that these same individuals consider themselves to be “traditional” or “conservative” Baptists! God’s word hasn’t changed, but we certainly have.

Thesis #3 - The Baptist Faith and Message Covers Calvinists and Non-Calvinists

The Baptist Faith and Message of 2000 is inclusive of both Calvinists and Almost-Arminians (Anybody have a better label?). The rhetoric between Calvanists and non-Calvinists has reportedly cooled, at least among the leaders of our national convention. That fight, however, continues in vitriolic fashion in some associations and local churches. Some people go so far as to label members of the opposite persuasion as “heretics” and “non-Baptists.” Not so. A 1999 article in the Baptist Press recorded comments by Paige Patterson’s (a non-Calvinist) about Calvinism:

“Patterson appealed to his audience to hear each other carefully and avoid fighting over the distinctions. Pressed by another listener as to whether those who hold to Calvinism, often called "the doctrines of grace," are to be accepted as part of the convention, Patterson reiterated that the Baptist Faith and Message is the SBC's agreed-upon, adopted statement of faith.
"There's plenty of room under the umbrella for anyone who is anything from a one- to five-point Calvinist," Patterson said, stipulating that any Southern Baptist would have to agree upon the perseverance of the saints to keep from being an Arminian.

Indeed, any constraint within the BF&M on the Arminian-to-Calvinist spectrum falls on the Arminian side. Article V states “All true believers endure to the end,” and references scriptures such as John 5:24 and 10:28. The Baptist Press article continued:

"There's room for a two- or three-pointer like me, provided he can explain what is meant by two and three. There's room for four- and five-pointers whom I believe lack scriptural justification for that, but I'm certainly not in favor of running them out."
Patterson described Southern Baptists as a people who believe the Bible to be the Word of God as their final authority, that salvation is by grace through faith alone and that adult-like faith witnessed by believer's baptism provides a testimony to a watching world. "If we believe those things all fall within the purview of the Baptist faith, then there's plenty of room for all of us in these various emphases that we bring. I think they're all very helpful."

Each side in the Calvinist /Non-Calvinist debate needs to acknowledge there are some difficult passages to deal with. Peter referred to some of these passages, saying, “He [Paul] speaks about these things in all his letters, in which there are some matters that are hard to understand.” (2 Peter 3:16a HCSB) We will not allow anyone to twist and distort the plain truth of the Gospel—that only by the grace of God, the regeneration and washing of the Holy Spirit, through Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice may any of us gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven. At the same time, we also must not allow anyone to label as heretics those who deal differently with difficult passages.

Thesis #2 - "Baptist Tradition" Is Broadly Diverse

The Baptist Faith and Message is (still) a wide umbrella. It broadly encompasses many “traditions,” including those about which a local congregation might declare “we’ve never done that before!” When changes are proposed to a local congregation, resistant individuals all too often invoke the BF&M, mistakenly assuming that only their Baptist experience is supported by this great SBC statement of faith. We must realize that the BF&M declares only the baseline of beliefs common to the collective of churches within the Southern Baptist Convention. This confession of faith declares Baptist distinctives, such as baptism of regenerate believers by immersion, and thus has a narrowing, confining effect upon the range of beliefs that its institutions (and some would say its member churches) may express. The degree of theological constraint induced by the BF&M, however, is not so restrictive as to produce cookie-cutter churches. Each church is autonomous, and out of that freedom arises diversity. Even while celebrating the resurgence of Bible-centeredness in SBC churches, the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force acknowledged theological diversity within the convention. In part of their 2009 Pre-Progress Report, Ronnie Floyd, et. al. called upon SBC churches to commit to a “healthy confessional center.” Yet, describing that bible-centered confession, they wrote, “Like the best of confessions, the BF&M 2000 speaks most clearly to those doctrines wherein we enjoy greatest agreement and speaks more generally concerning areas where some differing opinions exist.” In other words, while we are all striving towards biblical excellence, we do have differing interpretations in areas that are not quite as essential to the gospel—nevertheless, we agree to cooperate.
The Baptist Faith and Message allows for diversity in several theological areas including a range of views regarding eschatology, charismatic gifts, and ecclesiology. Plainly, we can’t all be right when some of our views are mutually exclusive. Grace, however, permits us to accept some degree of diversity. Thankfully, these divisions will end some day soon: “for now we know in part, and we prophecy in part. But when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end.” (1 Corinthians 13:9-10 HCSB)

Our SBC diversity becomes more apparent when we look at how we “do church.” In the same progress report, the GCR Task Force said, “There are essential and non-negotiable components of biblical ministry like proclamation, evangelism, service to others, prayer, and corporate worship. At the same time, we are convinced there is no specific style or method ordained by our God through which we must engage in these biblical ministries.” Perhaps SBC churches once appeared as uniform in worship style as McDonald’s franchise menus are, but that is no longer true today. In fact, our denominational leadership is pushing for diversity in strategy, methodology and style.

The openness of the Baptist Faith and Message permits local congregations to dig deeper into Scripture in order to align themselves more thoroughly with biblical doctrines and practices. Not all of us are going to be on the same page because we are experiencing sanctification and the transforming renewal of our minds in different areas at different rates.

So next time someone proposes a change for your church, please don't say "That's not Baptist." Search the scriptures and see if the change will push your congregation towards a Bible-centered excellence.

Thesis #1 - Biblical Truth Trumps Tradition

No tradition of man ever trumps biblical truth. So what if great-grandma and grand-pappy always "did it that way"? The truth is that error perpetuated through just one generation looks to the younger recipients as if it has “always been that way.” Every tradition must be tested in the light of scripture. If a tradition holds to scripture, then it is a good one. If a tradition contradicts scripture, however, then we must reject it and fashion our practices after God’s word. Colossians 2:8 says, “Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ.”