Bart Barber: About the Association of Convictional Baptists
Posted byOne great blessing I have received since I began to blog is the friendships I have formed through this electrical medium we call the internet. One such friend, mentor, and adviser is Dr. Bart Barber. Last February Bart came to Immanuel and led our Baptist Distinctives Conference. The church fell in love with him and appreciated his biblical approach to identifying what Baptists have believed. During that time he talked with me about the Association of Convictional Baptists. After hearing his heart, I told Bart to sign me up.
Last Saturday Bart posted a detailed explanation about the Association of Convictional Baptists. He has graciously allowed us to post his article here at SBC Today. Below is the article.
With the launch of the Resolution on Regenerate Church Membership came also the launch of a new website entitled Association of Convictional Baptists. Some speculation has ensued regarding who this group might be, what might be the significance of the name, and what is the nature of the group’s beliefs. Consider this post the answer to those questions, and perhaps to some others as well.
Who Is the Association of Convictional Baptists? At the moment, Bart Barber. That’s right—I reserved the domain name, built the site, and threw open its doors solely as an individual project. I hope that it will grow beyond this weak and meager beginning, but at the moment the membership list is pretty small.
What is the raison d’être for the Association of Convictional Baptists? The front page of the site currently contains (my apologies if you come to this post in the future and find other content there) the text of the Fifth-Century Initiative, a document that I wrote last year. Many other people have looked at that document and have generally affirmed its tenets. I believe that the principles articulated there represent a needed and important course of renewal for Southern Baptists.
I gave thought (and even performed some initial work) toward the possibility of developing and hosting a conference built around the Fifth-Century Initiative, but after lengthy and agonizing soul-searching, I decided not to do so. The idea sounded great at first, but the more I pondered it, the further away from it I journeyed. What did I mean to accomplish with the conference? I could never get away from that question. Too many times, I think that conferences become something akin to youth camp for adults—a time of isolated euphoric concentration upon important things. Youth camp is important (God called me to preach at one), but what makes youth camp important is the daily grind of ministry to youth as an influence to help the lessons learned at youth camp to take root when transplanted from the greenhouse into the common soil of everyday life.
Apply that thought analogically to the Fifth-Century Initiative. My passion is for providing day-to-day help for Southern Baptist churches to seek renewal. The best format for such help, I have come to believe, lies in a community rather than a conference. So that’s what I hope to build. Someday, perhaps, we will have a conference, if it seems to fulfill some genuine need. But for now, what I hope to do is to make of the site a resource center and community gathering place for people orienteering this elusive pathway toward rediscovering who Christ has called us to be.
Where’d the Name Come From? Well, it’s a three-word title. I’ll take them in reverse order just to make things more difficult for you!
Baptist: This is an unashamedly Baptist site, not out of pridefulness but out of a sincere belief that the renewal that we need lies within the historic tenets of Baptist belief. The historic tenets I have in mind you’ll find articulated in the Fifth-Century Initiative document.
Convictional: The ACB seeks to return us all to a convictional understanding of what it means to be a Baptist.
It is a movement pitted against the concept of congenital Baptists. Parentage does not a true Baptist make. There is no such thing as a blue-blooded Baptist. The only blood that matters was shed on Calvary. The congenital Baptist theory is responsible for at least two ills at lethal work among us. First, it has filled our churches with people who attend and worship where they do solely because of generational inertia. It is possible to be dead-set determined to be a member of a Baptist church, simply because of lineage, without even knowing the theological principles that undergird that august name. Second, and related to the first, it has led to the false notion that the “heirs” of Baptist theology can define it to mean anything (or nothing) at all and that the name must follow them wherever they would wander theologically, since it has been passed down to them as a birthright.
It is a movement pitted against the concept of coincidental Baptists. This movement is not for those who attend the Baptist church in town simply because it has the largest ad in the newspaper or the coolest praise band or the most active youth program. This movement is not for those who are staying with the SBC because they’re going whichever way the Annuity Board goes. This movement is not for those whose Baptist beliefs arise out of a paycheck. Those who join a Baptist church merely to see a reduction in seminary tuition costs need not apply (not that there’s an application).
Rather, this site is dedicated to the concept of convictional Baptists—a people who share the sincere, educated, and heartfelt conviction that the major distinctives of Baptist belief are found in the New Testament. For me, it is not about the beliefs of my parents, about the wording on a sign in front of our worship auditorium, or the place I just happen to be at this point in my life. I believe that I must be Baptist or be disobedient to Christ. It is a matter of conviction for me.
In saying so, I know that there are a great many in the world who believe (wrongly) that they must be non-Baptist (or at least a whole lot less Baptist than I am) or be disobedient to Christ. Such folk should be thankful that I am a Baptist, for as such I am firmly committed to their freedom to pursue their own convictions. But I am also committed to my freedom to pursue Baptist convictions, including the freedom of Baptists to associate voluntarily with one another around Baptist principles for mutual encouragement and edification. I do not violate the rights of non-Baptists in my desire for the freedom of Baptist institutions to be unashamedly Baptist.
Association: As I said above, the purpose of this site is to provide resources and community for Convictional Baptists laboring within the context of local churches to heed the instruction of Christ in the ministries that He has assigned to us. A history guy like me cannot conceive of any entity existing for the strengthening and fellowship of churches without gravitating to the word Association. The historic function of Baptist Associations has been precisely to provide resources and community encouragement to strengthen churches in their convictions and ministries.
The danger of employing this word, of course, is the fact that some will conjecture that I am attempting to supplant the geographic associations that have played and do play such an important role in Southern Baptist life. Not at all. As we all ought to know, Baptist Associations should be entirely autonomous creatures. They serve as a handmaiden to the churches, not as a spouse. The relationship between church and association is not a monogamous one, for local churches affiliated with local associations are also affiliated with state conventions and the SBC.
I do think that the work that I hope ACB to be doing in the future is work that local associations ought to be doing but sometimes (too often?) are not—the work of churches strengthening one another and giving one another healthy feedback with regard to our theology. But local associations are doing things that I don’t think ACB will ever do. They are planting churches, they are helping local Baptist churches to find a common voice within a certain patch of geography. They are hosting training and other conferences at a frequency that no online site could ever accomplish. They are facilitating a level of fellowship among churches that mere electrons can never replicate. It is my prayer (and indeed, one of the planks of the Fifth-Century Initiative) that local associations are here to stay and will only grow stronger in their ministries. May the day come when every local association in the SBC has embraced these biblical keys to renewal. They will be far more effective than this little website will ever be, and on that day the ACB will promptly and gladly lock the doors forever due to lack of interest.
Besides, we all know that one preacher with a computer doth not an Association make. This part of the name is proleptic.
So perhaps any mystery vanishes with this post. Some of my readers will not agree with my goals—already have disagreed with some of them in other contexts. I love you in the Lord; I just don’t happen to be building this site with you specifically in mind. But to those of you who feel the tug of the Holy Spirit toward things like Regenerate Church Membership and the other principles articulated in the Fifth-Century Initiative, I pray that together we can see the Head of the Church work great things in our congregations in the coming years.
24 Comments
May 20th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
It is hard for me to see how anyone could find fault with the “Fifth Century Initiative.” It is a solid statement of who we are and what we believe.
How could anyone who is Baptist object to anything in that statement?
May 20th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Sign me up too!
Ron P.
May 21st, 2008 at 6:33 am
I can’t wait to see the exhaustive list of what convictional Baptists believe! That will be most helpful!
Do convictional Baptists prefer a style of music or dress? Is pacifism part of what a convictional Baptist is? When can we expect a full bodied detail of the beliefs and practices of convictional Baptists?
May 21st, 2008 at 11:19 am
Irrev,
I think the whole point is to define the core of Baptist belief without dealing with issues like musical styles and other silly stuff.
I think you know that.
May 21st, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Brother Bart,
If these convictions that you speak of are the motive to live to Christ alone, whether Baptist or other, then I believe those type of convictions (certainties of opinion) will stand.
2 Corinthians 5:13-16 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. (14) For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; (15) and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. (16) Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
You have made a bold statement when you say…..
“I believe that I must be Baptist or be disobedient to Christ. It is a matter of conviction for me.”
I am assuming that you are not putting Baptist at the same height as Christ, yet even so the statement above seems to raise Baptist to a point of perfection (or at least a state of perfection in the mind of the author). It asserts that this person must be Baptist, or be disobedient to Christ. That seems to differ with what the Apostle Paul and other disciples they would intimate…..
Philippians 1:15-21 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; (16) the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; (17) the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. (18) What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, (19) for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, (20) according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (21) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
It is possible to be firmly convinced about those things that are revealed with sufficient evidence in scripture. Although, there are some things in scripture that are not as overtly clear and may evoke convictional thoughts, but those thoughts are results of eisegesis and/or comradely tradition. Those interpretations or traditions may even result in a consensus among a large group, yet still remain eisegetical.
One of those things was brought up a few days ago concerning the “terms” used to describe the church. The bible presents the church as “all” believers that are in the body of Christ that gather or assemble to worship and obey Christ’s commands throughout the world at various places and various times. But some are “convicted” that the church on earth today is a dichotomy, one local and one universal.
I believe we must be careful not to place a tradition, no matter its “convictional” status, above Christ or even on par with that of Christ. That would place the “opinions” of man to a lofty height.
Blessings,
Chris
May 21st, 2008 at 2:02 pm
brother Dave,
I honestly, sincerely…don’t know that. I read the Fifth-Century Initiative, which is fine…and I don’t know any Southern Baptists who don’t agree with the generalities of this new Baptist Identity Movement.
So I’m trying to figure out what exactly is being discussed…which historic doctrines/practices are to be preserved and which can we live and let die?
I’m befuddled…because Southern Baptists are not liberal. Unmotivated? Yes. Undisciplined? Yes. Culturally irrelevant? Usually. Too doctrinally shallow? Many times. But liberal…flat out…liberal? No.
So I’m trying to figure out what exactly cuts mustard with this new, exclusive, association.
May 21st, 2008 at 5:44 pm
The only time I really read anything about Jesus on this site is when Chris Johnson leaves a comment. Thank you, Chris.
Seriously, guys, the level of “Baptist worship” here is getting to be a bit much. I am a Baptist by conviction, as well. But, I my identity and my foundation is in Jesus, not being a Baptist. And if you think that the two are necessarily synonymous, you are being naive. People define being a Baptist in all kinds of different ways, but Scripture clearly defines who Jesus is and what following Him looks like. To keep interposing being a Baptist with following Jesus confuses the issue and can lead to idolatry. I don’t think that any of you intend that, but it is a real danger. Throughout my life I have heard people talk more about being a Baptist with more pride than I have heard them talk about Christ. I have heard people say, “I was Baptist born and Baptist bred and when I die I’ll be Baptist dead.” Is that healthy? Baptists have been wrong before but Jesus and Scripture never are. I just think that we need to maintain the seperation and have a little more humility. Scripture tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, not our denominational distinctives or convictions.
This emphasis is just starting to trouble me from a theological perspective. I am not trying to be adversarial or attack anyone. We have our differences, but on this level I really do care about you guys and consider you to be my friends. Maybe I am seeing this wrong, but this overarching emphasis on all things Baptist just seems to be a misplaced emphasis according to Scripture.
Correct me if you think I’m wrong. I’m sure that you do.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Brother Alan,
Is there really anything else much to talk about….
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. (2) For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. (3) I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, (4) and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, (5) so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
I am persuaded that my life founded on Baptist tradition and teaching in theology is not about my “conviction”, but it is about my “gratefulness” and His “encouragement” through the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work achieved by Christ and imputed to me.
Philippians 2:1-8 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, (2) make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. (3) Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; (4) do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (5) Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, (6) who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, (7) but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. (8) Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Alan, both you and Bart are more important than I my brother,
Blessings,
Chris
May 21st, 2008 at 7:53 pm
I’m thinking that a new SBC group should be formed called “Stickler Baptists” since most SBCer’s are sticklers for what they deem most important in SBC tradition.
Mark
May 21st, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I use the label Baptist because it is brief and descriptive.
What if I said, “I must obey Christ’s command to practice biblical church discipline or be disobedient to Christ”?
What if I said, “I must teach the Bible and encourage other Christians to learn what it says or be disobedient to Christ”?
What if I said, “I must pursue the Great Commission or be disobedient to Christ”?
What if I said, “I must regain a confidence in the power of the gospel to win the lost and transform their lives and I must proclaim it faithfully or be disobedient to Christ”?
Would you still complain, Chris and Alan?
I’m not the one hung up on the word Baptist.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Looking at my comment again, I could have been more clear at the end. So I’ll clarify even before I’m asked.
1. Do you believe that the core convictions that define a Baptist arise out of the commands of Christ?
2. If you do not, why are you one?
3. If you do, then isn’t it merely a tautology to say that you believe that you must be a Baptist or be disobedient to Christ?
4. If I had listed the convictions as separate doctrines, without ever uttering the word Baptist, and stated at each point my conviction that we must live up to these convictions or be disobedient to Christ, would you have objected?
5. If not—if you have no substantial disagreement with the concepts that I am advancing—then isn’t the sum total of your objection the mere use of the word Baptist to summarize them?
6. If, on the other hand, you do have substantial disagreement with the concepts that I am advancing, wouldn’t it make for better conversation to discuss those substantial disagreements rather than ambiguous charges about Baptist idolatry?
May 21st, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Brother Bart,
Your what if’s are very much more descriptive, even though they still pale in comparison to Christ…….I wasn’t really complaining as much as trying to expose what I believe the importance of convictions to be.
I like the word Baptist as well….
Blessings,
Chris
May 21st, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Bart
I read some of these comments before church, but was not able to answer them at that time. Needless to say, i was a bit troubled over the comments dealing with idolatry and pride After reading your reply, I find myself inadequate to top what you said. Thanks!
May 21st, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Bart,
I don’t disagree with the thrust of your points. However, I am very troubled that we are replacing Jesus Christ with the word and denomination of Baptists. The name of Jesus is what every knee will bow to. The fact that you are equating “Baptists” with Christ or Christ followers is understandable in a sense and I don’t disagree with your logic. But, it is problematic from a discipleship standpoint. The name of Jesus is important. We are followers of Christ. Our grouping is that we are under a system of Baptist theology, but as wonderful as it is, it is still not Jesus. Only Jesus Christ is to be followed and praised. No other name is to compare. His name is above every name.
Idolatry and pride absolutely describes what this can become. I am not accusing Bart, Robin, Wes, Tim, or anyone here of that. I know that you guys are Christ followers and that you wholeheartedly love the Lord. I know that you preach Jesus in your churches. I love you guys in the Lord and I have considered us to be friends, even though we disagree. We have debated many issues and have still been civil with one another. Apart from all of the Baptist politics and wrangling over the past few years, I am saying that I see what is happening here (unbeknownst to you) is that the equating of Baptists with Christ follower on this level is a problem. Logically it might make sense, but I think that it creates problems down the road. That is my opinion and I am just asking for your consideration. I am not saying that you are personally into idolatry or pride (I cannot judge your hearts), but I think that this type of replacement of Biblical terminology with man-made terms can become a major problem. We should not add to Scripture and equate our own terms with what the Bible says that we are to be or be known as. We are followers of Jesus Christ. Disciples of Christ. The Bible uses those terms for a reason. I do not want to try and improve upon Scripture in this way. The term Baptist can be used and used well, but to replace Biblical terminology with Baptist and say it is the same causes me concern.
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:09 am
Brother Alan and Chris,
If you are having some difficulty with this post, you are going to love my next post on my blog. :>)
As Brother Bart has articulated clearly, what is the difference in saying ‘being disobedient to the commands of Christ‘ and saying, ‘I will not be disobedient to my convictions that I clearly derive from the Scriptures that we more affectionately refer to as our Baptist Identity‘?
Blessings,
Tim
May 22nd, 2008 at 6:50 am
Brother Tim,
That sounds like a “teaser” to me…. should be fun!
About being what you say….. “I will not be disobedient to my convictions that I clearly derive”……look at what you have just said. The opposite of the Apostle Paul……
Galatians 2:20-21 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (21) “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
Romans 7:20-25 “But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. (21) I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. (22) For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, (23) but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. (24) Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? (25) Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”
I understand that we should not act schizophrenic, and think one thing and do another….that would be dishonest to ourselves. But being obedient to your convictions is wrought with disaster if God (by way of the Apostle Paul) is correct. God is clear that Christ is where our dependency lay, not convictions. Everybody has convictions…some to the good,…others to the bad. Even the good guys have convictions that go astray…Paul again makes that point. The degree to which I grunt out my allegiance to my convictions is just what Isaiah warns …..
Isaiah 64:6-8 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (7) There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities. (8) But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.”
I can honestly say that my convictions are stronger than your convictions. That doesn’t really say a lot ….but I still believe it. (You see what I mean). Convictions conveniently lead me back to me….because it is what “me” wants. If I truly care about the word of God, I will try somehow desperately to throw “me” at the feet of Jesus, so that He can do what only He can do,….that the Spirit can supply what only the Spirit can supply,…so that I can yield as He teaches me how to yield. May I be made low…so He will be made High! (Now that is the “Baptist” type stuff I remember and want my kids to know).
Blessings,
Chris
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:21 am
But gentlemen, I see several points at which you seem to misunderstand me, each leading to some sort of fallacy:
1. You seem to think that I am equating “Baptist” with “Christ.” I am not. “Love” cannot be equated with “Christ” because, although Christ is love, He is also much more (righteousness, for example). In the same way, “biblical church discipline” cannot be equated with Christ, or even with obedience to Christ, but it is nevertheless a constituent part of obedience to Christ. To argue for the practice of biblical redemptive church discipline is to argue in favor of obedience to Christ, albeit partially so.
2. You seem to wish to bifurcate Christ and Christ’s commands, as though one must choose between adherence to Christ or obedience to His commands. Yet this is a false dilemma. It is no more valid than the warnings that conservatives would succumb to bibliolatry, as though Christ can be set apart ontologically from what Christ has said, written, and preserved. On the contrary, my faithful obedience to what Christ has commanded is, according to Christ Himself, prima facie evidence of my love for Him.
3. You seem to think that I am arguing in favor of denominational alignment with the Southern Baptist Convention. Although I am in favor of such and practice it myself, that is a separate question. It is my conviction that a great many within the SBC need to give more careful attention to these matters, and it is my further conviction that one could experience renewal on all the points that I have mentioned as an independent Baptist church, with or without including the word “Baptist” in the name of your church.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:11 am
Brother Bart,
I believe we are thinking along the same lines. There is not a great divide between our thinking at all. In fact your first point is exactly what I was thinking as I was driving in traffic a few minutes ago. For instance, some would say that church discipline needs to be done to “protect” the church, and some would say that church discipline needs to be done to “reconcile” the church. If one were to obey the command of church discipline both of those thoughts are born out of conviction.
The looming question is which thought (conviction) follows the biblical command?….I would teach that the context of church discipline is “reconciling” the church, while someone down the street may teach it as “protecting” the church. How one puts the primary emphasis is important, even though there are aspects of each in the command. So,… if I am convinced that I am “protecting” the church by “doing” church discipline….then I miss the point of the passage.
In your second point, there is a distinction although I would not consider it “bifurcation”. We do not so much adhere to Christ (even though we try real hard). I would contend that He holds us, He never lets us go, He is the mover, …”because of Him who calls”.
Romans 9:10-11 And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; (11) for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,
And since it is He who is moving and holding, then I move as a result or consequence. So I agree with you….in that there is not a hint of obedience outside of Christ. But, the obedience is of Christ, as I humbly respond to His truth no matter my conviction. All Glory is due Him and He takes it. The conviction I have may fall into line with the truth as I obey, or it may even change along the way to reflect more of the truth as I mature in Christ.
Blessings,
Chris
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:16 am
Bart,
Honestly, I don’t think that I am misunderstanding YOU at all. As I have said, I do not doubt your allegiance to Christ. I understand the way that you use the term Baptist and while I would not go as far as you, I understand your logic. The problem is that your use of terms and the juxtaposition of “obedience to Christ’s commands” with being a Baptist becomes problematic in communication and discipleship. As Biblical Baptists, I do not believe that we have to build our case for how right we are by interposing obedience to Christ with being a Baptist. It sets up another layer of language and terminology that is not necessary. Plus, it creates a situation where people think that fidelity to Baptist doctrine is necessarily fidelity to Christ. For you, that might be okay because you are looking at this in a purest sense. But for others who might subtly twist and skew their practice of Baptist doctrine, it would be easy to lead people astray. Our job as pastors and teachers is to call people to fidelity and devotion to Christ alone. If anything, even our excellent doctrine is placed in between the relationship between Jesus and the believer, then we are headed the way of Catholicism and false religions. Christ is the only mediator between God and man. Sola Christus, right?
Again, I do understand what you are doing and logically I am not trying to argue that. I am just saying that in your communication of Baptist Identity, you would be better served to bring Jesus to the forefront so that Baptist Identity can be clearly seen as devotion to Christ alone. I do not know Chris Johnson except for on this blog. But, he is right on target here. You would do well to listen to what he is saying.
I am not a Baptist Identity guy, obviously. I have disagreements with some of your issues. But, I will say that you will better communicate what you are trying to say if you consider what is being said here. I know that you guys love Jesus. But your words make it seem like you love being a Baptist more. You equate the two and do not see any differences. I don’t think that you can say that being a Baptist equals being a Christ follower without doing damage to the Body of Christ and without also putting a wedge between the believer and his Lord.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:23 am
Well said, Alan and Chris.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:53 am
I, like Alan and Chris, have swallowed hard at some of the statements I have heard made by some in the so-called Baptist Identity movement. They come across as arrogant to me.
But that is precisely what I appreciated about this statement – that it dealt with essentials without getting into some of the areas of conflict.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:41 am
Brother Bart,
Please don’t take my remarks as a negative attack on your initiative. I am really hopeful that the comments can be helpful in your pursuit. I have read through “The Fifth Century Initiative”, and those initiatives are core fundamentals that all believers should seriously consider.
For instance, I would be thrilled to have you or someone like you come into our fellowship convinced of those things. You would be encouraged by us…… and you would be an encouragement to us as well.
Blessings,
Chris
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I’m still hoping to read which historic Baptist doctrines and/or practices this exclusive association is going to distinguish itself with.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:09 am
[...] Bart Barber: About the Association of Convictional Baptists by Robin Foster (May 20, 2008) [...]