ARLINGTON?Jack Graham, president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, challenged those attending the SBTC emPOWER Conference Feb. 9 to have a “full-throttle” passion for Christ.

In an upside down culture, Graham challenged the conference attendees to model their lives after the apostles who fought with a passion to keep their world right side up.

“A lot is changing in America and around the world,” Graham said. “We are living in a changing culture and an increasingly corrupt culture. We are to be a light shining in the darkness ? and show the world we have something so much better.”

Graham challenged Christians to have two conversions: to get out of the world at salvation, then get back into it. “We are called to get out of the world’s system and stand apart in distinctiveness for Jesus Christ. But, we are also to get back into the world, this time, with the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Preaching from the book of Acts, Graham explained that Jesus is risen, redeemer, reigning, and returning king. “As we look at our culture ? we have to ask the question, ‘Why are Christians making so little impact?'”

Conference attendees were implored to understand the attitudes and passion of the apostles who were not professionals, but mere fishermen and tax collectors changed by Christ. Graham described the intense passion and fire in the hearts of Christ’s followers.

The SBC president urged believers to “wake up and smell the culture. Though the alarm sounds, Christians are hitting snooze. So the church of Jesus Christ must act.”

With the debut of Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion of the Christ,” Graham reminded the crowd that although controversial to some, the movie brings to life what Christ did on the cross.

“This movie is not about anti-Semitism,” Graham said. “We all put Jesus on the cross. Christ laid himself down voluntarily.”

Graham’s message exhorted listeners to engage their generation for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The audience was encouraged to get fueled, ignited, and on fire for Jesus.

“So what’s missing in so many churches today?” Graham asked. “Passion. Fire.”

In a world of increasing threats and stones thrown daily at believers, Graham explained that Christians during that day faced the same persecutions.

“We’re not only to love the word of God, we’re to live the word of God. The Bible is not only a book to be learned, it is a book to be lived.”

Graham described the powerless nature of professionalism, polish, and programs among believers acting without the Holy Spirit. “The sun never sets on the work of Southern Baptists around the globe,” Graham said. “When we pray and support those missionaries around the world, we are changing the world one heart at a time.

“We know for certain that (God’s) message is the only message that can change people’s lives. We need to get fired up and get passionate about what we believe. God has called us to do the work of evangelism. We do not have to wonder what we are to be doing. Christ has clearly told us.”

ARLINGTON–The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Executive Board on Feb. 9 unanimously elected as SBTC evangelism director Don Cass, a former evangelism director for New Mexico Baptists and a former Baptist General Convention of Texas evangelism associate.

The board met during the SBTC’s emPOWER Conference at the Arlington Convention Center. Cass was introduced to the conference after his election and will begin March 1.

Mentored by the late Carlos McLeod at the BGCT, McLeod described Cass as “a man who lives and breathes evangelism.” Cass served New Mexico Baptists for six years and has served since last summer as pastor of Pleasant Hills Baptist Church in Tyler.

SBTC Executive Director Jim Richards recommended Cass as a man who “embodies the very essence of evangelism.” Calling him a visionary strategist, Richards said Cass is not only a soul winner, but also has the gift of administration. “For the last six years he has served with distinction in New Mexico, leading the state to have one of the premier evangelism ministries in the Southern Baptist Convention.”

Claude Cone, Baptist Convention of New Mexico executive director, praised Cass’ leadership among New Mexico Baptists where attendance at the evangelism conference grew from 350 to 1,400 and youth evangelism conference participation grew from 750 to more than 2,200. Cass has written five manuals for evangelistic outreach, 16 evangelistic tracts and directed soul-winning training on state and national levels.

SBTC board member Stan Coffey of San Jacinto Baptist Church in Amarillo, recalled Cass’ training under McLeod, serving as a BGCT evangelism associate from 1988 to 1997. “That training served him well. Carlos lighted a fire in him that still burns in his heart and he longs to see evangelism conferences like that again.”

Cass will give leadership in the development and implementation of the evangelism area of the state convention’s ministry, leading churches to cooperate to accomplish evangelistic ministry.

Total Church Life Ministries Director Darrell W. Robinson, formerly of the North American Mission Board, also praised the selection. A former Texan, Robinson wrote of the need for effective evangelistic leadership in the state. “I believe Don can do the best job of anyone I know in creating a climate for evangelism in Texas again, in helping churches in strategic evangelism, in leading God’s people to reach the multitudes for Christ, and in extending the kingdom of God and bringing glory to him.”

LifeWay President James. T. Draper called Cass “a wonderful evangelistic leader whose theology is conservative and who stands for the things Southern Baptists most cherish.” Other endorsements came from Kauf-Van Baptist Association Missions Director Jerry D. Griffin of Terrell and Georgia pastor Ernest L. Easley.

Bobby Eklund, SBTC financial ministry consultant, recalled working with Cass at the BGCT. “With Don at the helm of evangelism our convention can look forward to great advancements. He will lead out in a strong emphasis on personal evangelism, spiritual awakening, as well as other phases of evangelism,” Eklund said, commending Cass’ well-balanced strategy.

“It is our sure and firm conviction that this is God’s plan for our lives,” Cass stated. “It is our prayer that God will anoint us in leading Southern Baptists of Texas to become intentional lifestyle witnesses across this great state. I am fully persuaded that the greatest days for SBTC are just ahead of us.”

Cass has extensive experience as a pastor, having served Southcrest Baptist Church of Lubbock, First Baptist Church of Tahoka and Calvary Baptist Church of Abilene. While pursuing a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Cass led churches in Aledo and Josephine. As a college student at Wayland Baptist University, Cass served churches in Plainview and Dimmitt.

“I have sought to lead churches to focus on the Great Commandment and the Great Commission,” Cass said, referring to Matt. 22:37-38 and Matt. 28:19-20. “I am committed to building up the church through preaching the word, equipping the saints, encouraging ministry and loving the people.”

SBTC Executive Board Chairman Steve Cochran observed that “God has seen fit to work the timing” of Cass’ selection during the emPOWER Conference. “I believe God has a plan for us as a convention and the answer is evangelism. Reaching souls must be premier in all we do. I know that is true in your heart, the convention’s heart and in the heart of Don Cass.”

Richards added, “We’re going to see a renewed emphasis on revival and outreach as I believe we haven’t seen in a decade or more in Texas.” Richards said he believes God will use “a man like Cass who is totally yielded up to the Holy spirit for evangelism and spiritual awakening.”

Cass proposed a goal of 3,500 attending next year’s emPOWER Conference, which is scheduled Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at First Baptist Church of Euless.  He said he hopes it grows to 5,000 or more.  In addition to seeking input from directors of missions and local pastors, Cass said, “The strongest way to do evangelism is one on one, eye to eye and face to face.  If we can equip our people around the state to win people to Jesus Christ, we’ll win this state.  It’s a doable thing.”

Asked how he would handle leaving a church he had served less than a year, Cass said, “The most difficult thing I’ve ever done was coming to a conviction that this was the will of God–that this is the right direction for me to take.”  He spoke of the time he spent with two families of the church to pray through the matter while also asking several pastor friends to pray for discernment.  “I want this to be as positive as possible for the church,” he added.

Board members surrounded Cass and prayed for him at the meeting’s close.  Coffey thanked God for his faithfulnuss in founding the convention, the progress of the past five years and anticipation of evangelistic outreach.  “We do pray for revival, for a renewal, and ask, God, that you would come down upon us and once again have a fire in our hearts and souls and beings to reach folks for Christ, to see people as Jesus saw them.”

In one evangelistic effort, 253 salvation decisions recorded.

By Bonnie Pritchett

TEXAN Correspondent

HOUSTO–The New England Patriots took home the Super Bowl trophy Feb. 1, but the real winners were those who gave their lives to Christ because of hundreds of volunteers involved in the Super Bowl Evangelism Project. The project was a joint effort of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, dozens of Texas churches and the North American Mission Board.

In one evangelistic effort alone there were 253 salvations recorded, project officials said.

The ICE Team (Inner City Evangelism Team) of eight people from San Antonio canvassed Houston streets in the days prior to the big game. Tourists and locals flocked downtown, the site of nightly block parties organized by the Super Bowl Host Committee of Houston and private enterprises. Looking for fun, many revelers found something much better–a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

Game day featured “Watch Parties” in churches and homes in the Houston area, supplanting beer and car commercials with taped interviews of Christian members of the NFL’s Houston Texans. Former NFL players like Derrick Harris of the Rams and Chargers and Tyrone Smith of the 49ers testified of their experiences as professional athletes and as Christians. At least 26 salvations were reported in just three of the “Watch Parties.”

Roy Guel, volunteer coordinator for the project, said the ICE Team helped converts report their decision to accept Christ as savior. The names and addresses of the individuals will be placed in a data bank, Guel said, and sorted according to where they live. Area churches will be notified of the new believers and asked to follow up on them. LifeWay Christian Resources has also committed to sending discipleship literature to each person.

Churches also had party participants register their attendance and those individuals and families will be contacted by the church or mission center if they have no church affiliation.

Kids and families gathered at Joy Fellowship, a Baptist mission center in southeast Houston, to watch the game on a 12-foot projection screen. The center hosts Kids Clubs activities throughout the week and many of kids attending the party are regular visitors to the center. Brothers Wilber and Alejandro Amoro, ages 12 and 10, said they enjoy the playtime they get during the after-school club. They also said the Bible studies were fun.

The boys and a few dozen other kids and adults watched the game and the specially produced “Watch Party” videos. Houston Texan football players and team owner Bob McNair gave their testimonies in 120 second increments–just enough time to run during commercial breaks. During halftime, adults and children watched athletes explain the plan of salvation via video. Pastors and party organizers supplemented the message to make it personal to their audiences.

At U.P.T.O.W.N. Fellowship in southwest Houston, Derrick Harris spoke to the crowd of 100-plus following the halftime video presentation. For years he said he had been asking God to work for him–to get him on a pro team, to keep him there, and provide him with career opportunities. But once cut from the Rams–a season in which they made it to the Super Bowl–Harris said he realized the life of a Christian wasn’t about what God could do for him, but how he should be serving God.

That message was given to kids and adults who had come together for free food, the game on a projection screen TV, and good-natured competition.

U.P.T.O.W.N. Pastor Sammy Lopez said although there were no obvious decisions made during the party, the event served a good purpose. He said the party was a success in that it helped introduce visitors to the church and, he hoped, would draw them into the congregation and a relationship with Christ. The 2-year-old, multi-cultural congregation is about to outgrow its use of the chapel and will soon be meeting in the church gym, Lopez said.

One of the major goals of the Super Bowl Evangelism Project is to plant seeds and help churches learn how to reach out to their communities. One such church is Cloverleaf Baptist Church. Once a neighborhood of Anglo families living and worshipping on the outskirts of Houston, the 62-year-old church was on the verge of shutting down just months ago. The neighborhood has changed dramatically and is now primarily Hispanic and lower income. But the church stayed predominantly white. With few, if any, new members from among the new neighbors, Cloverleaf Baptist Church was dwindling in number and aging in membership.  As of last fall there were no children attending the church.

But sponsorship from Sagemont Church in Houston breathed new life into the congregation and bi-vocational Pastor Alan Hughes is very pleased with the results.  The children’s worship hour now has 18 members with eight of them making a profession of faith.

The Super Bowl project gave the church, with assistance from Sagemont, the occasion to reach out to the community.  Revivals were held Jan. 28-30.  A children’s carnival drew kids and their families from the neighborhood Jan. 31.  And a “Watch Party” underneath the big top of the carnival tent capped off the week for the members and volunteers at Cloverleaf.

Hughes said, “As a church it challenges us.”  He said it gets members involved in ways that they might not have otherwise.  “I’m excited about this because we want to give back to the community.”

On the northern reaches of Houston, the Farrington Mission Center opens its doors every Wednesday to the teens and young adult men who would otherwise be out on the streets, possibly getting into trouble, said center director and pastor of Farrington Baptist Church, Jerry Smith.

Smith said in addition to the one salvation Super Bowl night, barriers were also torn down.  During the half-time video gospel presentation, Smith said some of the young men got up from their seats and began playing around in the back of the gym.  The pastor wanted them to pay attention to the message and approached.  He told the group many people went to a lot of trouble and spent about $2,000 on the party just for them.

A few minutes later, the group returned to their seats and were much more amicable with the pastor and others for the remainder of the evening.

“I think that impressed them,” Smith said.  Realizing that strangers troubled themselves for their sake, Smith said, had an impact.  “That attitude change is going to make a big difference.”

DALLAS?The Criswell Theological Review (CTR), a publication of The Criswell College, is being revived after 10 years. Prior to its ending publication in the early 1990s, CTR was considered one of the premier theological journals among academics.

The journal, which reappears with a spring issue, will include articles by scholars across the spectrum of evangelicalism.

The theme for the spring issue is “Open Theism and Inerrancy: Are They Compatible?” It will feature articles by Bruce Ware, Clark Pinnock, Boyd Luter and Steve Lempke, plus two interviews with Darrell Bock and Norm Geisler, both former presidents of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). Bock and Geisler will offer different perspectives on the recent Openness controversy within ETS and explain its ramifications on the Southern Baptist Convention.

Future CTR issues will cover such timely theological topics as the Third Quest, the New Perspective, the Kingdom of God, and Church Polity, among others. Each issue will also include peer-evaluated book reviews to inform its readers of the current selections available from the publishers.

Editor Alan Streett is accepting inquiries from those wishing to write book reviews. He can be contacted at astreett@criswell.edu.

CTR will be published semi-annually in the fall and spring of each academic year. Subscription rates are $20 per year. Texas readers are being offered a special rate of $25 for a two-year subscription. Subscription inquiries should be sent to CTR, The Criswell College, 4010 Gaston Ave., Dallas 75246.

Not long ago, a Southern Baptist traveling the country could visit any Southern Baptist church and find many similarities to his congregation back home. From the Sunday School quarterlies to the hymns, there would be enough common ground to make him comfortable worshipping with another body of believers.

But Southern Baptist churches have become more diverse. Worship styles, facilities, staff roles and the involvement of members give each church a unique identity. Still, bedrock beliefs are fairly stable. Doctrinal convictions drawn from a New Testament model form Southern Baptists’ view of ecclesiology–the study of the church, its structure, order, practices and interrelationships.

When the Southern Baptist Convention formed in 1845, its view of the church was solidly “separatistic and distinctively Baptist,” according to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor Thomas Nettles. In “An Historical Perspective of Southern Baptists: 1975 – Present: A Trust Re-established,” a study commissioned by a taskforce of the North American Mission Board, Nettles described the early Southern Baptist churches.

“Regenerate persons, baptized by immersion upon profession of their faith in Christ as their only hope constituted the material for church membership. Forgiveness, righteousness, holiness, and eternal life issued from Christ’s perfect obedience. Members expected to be disciplined by the body to which they belonged,” Nettles added.

Often, when describing the Southern Baptist churches, missionaries and church planters naturally veer toward a discussion of the purposes of a local church–featuring elements such as evangelism, ministry, worship, fellowship and prayer. Southern Baptist pastor Rick Warren prescribes balancing all five elements to maintain church health. Many Southern Baptist congregations have embraced Warren’s perspective, finding his approach helpful in renewing and starting churches.

Before determining if a church is accomplishing the purposes of God, SBTC Executive Director Jim Richards said Southern Baptist churches should determine who they are as a people of God. “I think it’s more important for us to settle the issue of who we are rather than what we do. Who we are dictates what we do.”

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary theology professor Malcolm Yarnell told the TEXAN that the covenant of a Baptist church serves as a common confession. “The covenant outlines the authority for and purpose of the church. The confession outlines the doctrines that the church maintains.” While a constitution and bylaws are important in a local church, Yarnell said the covenant and confession are the most important.

A New Testament church definition is dependent upon doctrinal reality, Richards added. “It’s who we are that makes us a New Testament church.” He described the faith of which a Christian testifies as “salvation by grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone.” Richards added, “For a church to preach salvation by grace and keep it by works, that in my understanding would disqualify their congregation as a New Testament church. “That is not to say that they are not in the family. There is a difference between the family of God and the church of God.” Combined with that explanation of salvation, Richards said four other beliefs comprise the irreducible doctrinal characteristics of a New Testament church. Included are:

>baptism by immersion of believers only,

>the Lord’s Supper as not sacramental,

>a theodemocracy that rejects a hierarchical form of government, and

>the Bible as the final rule of faith and practice.

“If we are who we are supposed to be then we will accomplish the purposes of the church,” Richards concluded. “By using the five qualifiers for a New Testament church you can go back through history and find in the third through 15th centuries groups of people who banded together and formed a New Testament church as described in the Baptist Faith and Message. They were not called Baptists. I don’t think it’s essential to have Baptist over the door for it to be a New Testament church. There are many evangelical churches that meet these qualifications that are not called Baptists.”

Nettles and co-author Russell Moore, also a Southern Seminary professor, published “Why I Am A Baptist” several years ago, concerned that Southern Baptists need to recover an understanding of their roots. “Biblical authority and theology drove Baptists from the first,” Nettles said, adding that Baptist ecclesiology and Baptist concepts of confessions are worthy of study.

“If we do not recover a sense of Baptist identity, there will not be a Southern Baptist Convention to greet the 22nd century,” Moore said. Two conferences offered in February and March reveal renewed interest in the subject as New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary offers “Issues in Baptist Polity” (www.baptistcenter.com) and Union University address “Baptist Identity” (www.uu.edu).

Yarnell said a church planter should understand Southern Baptist priorities and convictions and intentionally set out to propagate them through the witness of his own life and through the foundational documents of the church.  To that end, NAMB is using the Nettles paper as a resource for church planters in reviewing the historical context Southern Baptists use to plant churches.

Nettles wrote, “The doctrine of the church separates Baptist evangelicals from other evangelicals.  Baptists have historically contended that their view of the church expresses more consistently the biblical gospel than those groups that included baptism of infants as part of their church life.”

Baptist ecclesiology builds on a consistent application of core doctrines, Nettles said.  Included in his list are:  the Lordship of Christ; the total depravity of all individuals born of the seed of Adam; the necessity of the new birth; the acceptability of the sinner only through justification by faith; the new covenant as the manifestation of the mode by which God always had saved sinners; Christ as the one who by his death effects the provisions of that covenant of redemption; and the work of the Spirit as the means by which his people are known to the world.  Nettles added that the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 affirms all these distinctives clearly and concisely.

When the Baptist Faith and Message Study Committee presented a revised statement of faith in 2000, chairman Adrian Rogers cautioned against misunderstanding Baptist polity, noting the convention’s affirmation of the BF&M is not binding on local churches.  “We don’t have the right, the authority or the power to limit anybody.  We would resist that.  What we are stating is what we believe mainstream Baptists believe.”

Each phrase in the BF&M article on the church clarifies a particular doctrinal belief and practice.

AUTONOMOUS LOCAL CONGREGATION

The BF&M leads with an affirmation of local church autonomy.  The reorganization of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1995 refocused the importance of the local church as the denomination’s headquarters.  While associations, state conventions and SBC entities exist to assist local churches, every one of the more than 42,000 Southern Baptist congregations is directed by its own members.  Each church decides its involvement at other levels of Southern Baptist life.  Assignments for many of the SBC entities have been revised to focus on “assisting local churches.”

“The local church is the cutting edge of everything we do,” NAMB President Robert Reccord stated.  “It’s not the denominational structure, but the local church that God has placed at the center of everything he is doing.”

Several leaders of the conservative resurgence in the SBC have observed that a denomination’s reformation could not have occurred among many of the mainline denominations because of their ecclesiology.  “Their ecclesiastical systems rendered it ultimately impossible for them to effect a lasting return to the faith of their fathers,” wrote Paige Patterson in a chapter of “Why I Am A Baptist.”  “Because Baptists rejected all forms of connectionalism, and Baptist churches, associations, state conventions and national conventions are independent, autonomous entities, the people in the churches fid it possible, though not easy, to rise up and say, ‘We do not approve of the direction that our denomination is going, and we want this corrected.'”

Essayist and pastor Mark Coppenger applied the same argument in a discussion with members of the conservative, evangelical wing of the Anglican Church who were appalled at the nomination of a homosexual as bishop of Reading.  “My British friends had heard of the Southern Baptist ‘conservative resurgence,’ and they wanted to know how it happened.  How could a large denomination replace leaders willing to accommodate and defend professors and staff who questioned the miracle accounts, preached the finite God of process theology, advocated abortion, disparaged male pronouns for God, and flirted with universalism?  As I tried to retrace the steps, I felt more and more helpless.  I finally had to say (with a smile) that they needed to start by becoming Baptist.”

In his column for Baptist Press, Coppenger explained, “As long as the Bible is read and preached in the churches, the people will keep their leaders honest.  They don’t have to catch the attention of a liberal or secular prime minister to make a change.  They just have to load up a van and head for the convention center.  It’s so Baptist.”

 BAPTIZED BELIEVERS

The most obvious characteristic of Southern Baptist churches is their expectation that candidates for membership first profess their faith and be baptized.  The biblical word for baptism indicates immersion as the proper mode.

“Baptism is no mere custom started by ancient church leaders, then passed down from generation to generation as an encrusted ecclesiastical tradition or meaningless religious ritual,” wrote Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary professor Don Whitney in “Spiritual Disciplines Within th eChurch.”  Ordained by Jesus Christ himself, the practice of the ordinance symbolizes washing away of sin.  The death, burial and resurrection of the Lord are represented by lowering the believer into the water and raising him to a new life.

Only a believer in Jesus Christ should be baptized.  “A Baptist is an individual who has experienced salvation through personal faith in Jesus Christ,” stated James T. Draper, president of LifeWay Christian Resources.  In an essay for “Why I Am A Baptist,” Draper reminded, “Baptist do not believe in proxy faith, where a priest or any other person mediates between the individual and God.  Every individual must come to the time in life when he or she receives Jesus Christ as personal Savior.”

ASSOCIATED BY COVENANT IN THE FAITH AND FELLOWSHIP OF THE GOSPEL

One way to preserve a regenerate church membership is by using a church covenant that sets behavior standards.  “Faithful commitment to the contents of a biblically-based covenant can constructively influence the creation and maintenance of a disciplined church membership,” argued Charles W. DeWeese in his study titled “Baptist Church Covenants.”

According to Gregory Wills, Southern Seminary church history professor, this implies agreement to maintain the discipline by which Christ intended the preservation of fellowship.  In an article for SBTS’ journal, Wills said, “The discipline includes admitting those only who credibly profess faith in Christ; correcting, warning and rebuking those who stray from truth or righteousness; excluding those who refuse the church’s loving entreaties to return to the path of truth and righteousness; and restoring the repentant to fellowship.”

While many churches include a covenant statement in their founding documents, few make actual use of it.  DeWeese described it as “a series of written pledges based on the Bible which church members voluntarily make to God and to one another regarding their basic moral and spiritual commitments and the practice of their faith.”  A covenant focuses on Christian conduct, he explained, what a confession of faith centers more heavily on beliefs.

In a study of 300 Southern Baptist congregations aimed at understanding the best way to retain church members, Thom S. Rainer determined successful churches expect more of their members.  The dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern Seminary discovered that less than seven percent of churches required the signing of a covenant for membership.  However, those churches that used a covenant actively had an attendance virtually equal to their membership, effectively closing the back door.

Also noting the value of a new-member class, Rainer reported more that 63 percent of churches used the church covenant in the class.  “Membership in the high-assimilation churches in our study truly means something,” Rainer wrote in “High Expectations.”  “Indeed, the members are expected to live and minister in a way that is consistent with New Testament precepts.  They are expected to attend worship and Sunday School regularly, to adhere to doctrine, to be involved in ministry, to attend new member classes and, if they are new Christians, to be discipled one-on-one, as well as to give a public testimony of their salvation.”

Yarnell said Baptists form churches based on a covenant, building on an ecclesiological understanding of Matt. 18:20.  “When we intentionally gather together in Christ’s name, he brings to us his presence and his power that is seen in his threefold office of prophet, priest, and king.  By virtue of this threefold office of Christ, Christians gathered in covenant have the authority to preach, to pray, and to govern themselves under the authority of Christ.”

OBSERVING THE TWO ORDINANCES OF CHRIST

Southern Baptists set themselves apart from many mainline denominations by limiting the practice of ordinances to the only two ordained by Jesus himself–baptism as the initial identification with Christ and the Lord’s Supper as an ongoing remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.  While some faith groups include other rites passed down by church tradition, Southern Baptists reveal their dependence on the Bible to determine which ceremonies they should practice.

Southern Baptists make it clear that neither ordinance conveys salvation to the participant.  “I’ve known people who wanted to be baptized again and again, or who tried to take the Lord’s Supper as often as possible because they were convinced that such efforts would surely win God’s favor,” Whitney observed.  Only through repentance and faith does an individual become a Christian, he noted.

Not all Baptists remain committed to immersion as the mode of baptism.  In the closing chapter of “Why I Am A Baptist,” Moore related how some moderate Baptists are calling for “A new sacerdotal understanding of baptism that is a marked departure from the Baptist distinctives they once championed.”  He referred to moderate newspaper Baptists Today advocating acceptance of those christened as infants into the membership of Baptist churches “for the sake of ecumenical cooperation.”

GOVERNED BY HIS LAWS EXERCISING THE GIFTS, RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES INVESTED IN THEM BY HIS WORD

No change has ever been made to this portion of the BF&M article on the church, emphasizing the responsibility believers have to minister according to God’s guidance.

“Whatever your gift, God gave it to you for you to use in His service.  And the result of serving Him with your gift is glory to God,” Whitney explained.

SEEKING TO EXTEND THE GOSPEL TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

In this phrase Southern Baptist declare their missionary passion.  The vision of the International Mission Board is “to lead Southern Baptists to be on mission with God to bring all the peoples of the world to saving faith in Jesus Christ.”

Yarnell and Richards warned against an incomplete pursuit of the Great Commission.  “Christians that evangelize but do not seek to incorporate converts into a local church through baptism and continuing discipleship ar not engaging in Great Commission evangelism,” Yarnell said the last two reveal the ecclesiological nature of evangelism.

“Great Commission evangelism demands incorporation into a local church through baptizing,” he stated, adding that Baptists historically understood that believer’s baptism is the door into the church.  The reference to teaching implies continuing life in a local church, he explained.  “The most orthodox teaching occurs not on an ad hoc basis, but within the ongoing life of the local church under the leadership of a God-called and congregationally-ordained pastor.”

Yarnell expressed concern that some southern Baptist missionaries hesitate to encourage the formation of a visible Christian congregation.  “For instance, I have seen one too many pictures of Muslims converted to Christianity who have not formed Baptist churches and still pray like Muslims.”  Missionaries with whom he spoke feared the prospect of persecution in the culture where new Muslim converts live.  “My rejoinder is that such Nicodemite Christians may be worshipping in spirit, but if they are not visibly congregated as Christians, they are not being truthful.  Perhaps our seminaries have not been as adept at putting out Baptist church planters as we shoul have been.”

Richards appreciated the urgency of the mission task, while warning against practicing “a truncated Great Commission” by failing to incorporate new converts doctrinally.  “Winning converts is really different from making disciples.  You have to change some of the meaning of the words to say[we must] win converts and baptize, but never teach them everything Jesus said we were to teach them.”

OPERATES UNDER LORDSHIP OF CHRIST THROUGH DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES

Former SBC President James Sullivan distinguished between a pure democracy and theodemocracy in the practices of Southern Baptist churches.  “Theodemocracy operates in a different spirit and manner, and it seeks answers which it feels are God’s solutions to the problems, rather than advancing personal opinions.”  By ascertaining divine purposes over personal prejudices, Sullivan added that a theodemocracy produces calmer business meetings and more correct and permanent answers.

EACH MEMBER IS RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE TO CHRIST AS LORD

The BF&M study committee regarded soul competency–each person is ultimately accountable to God and able to discern biblical truth–in light of Baptist theologian E.Y. Mullins’ clarification that it is “a competency under God, not a competency in the sense of human self-sufficiency.”

SCRIPTURAL OFFICERS ARE PASTORS AND DEACONS.  BOTH MEN AND WOMEN ARE GIFTED FOR SERVICE.  THE OFFICE OF PASTOR IS LIMITED TO MEN AS QUALIFIED BY SCRIPTURE

This section of the BF&M attracted the most media attention in 2000.  “The Bible is clear in presenting the office of pastor as restricted to men,” stated Rogers.  With far less than one percent of SBC churches having ever called a woman as pastor, Rogers said Southern Baptists are united in this conviction.  Although the office of deacon is mentioned in the BF&M, the committee did not choose to identify the role of an elder as the 1925 FG&M did.  (See related article on elders and deacons on page 9.)

While deacons are vital to the operation of a church, Sullivan emphasized in his book “Baptist Polity” that Scripture designates deacons as servants, not as legislators or administrators.

Yarnell noted that a church becomes a church when it is convenantly gathered in Christ.  Electing and appointing biblical officers helps the church toward completeness.  “Without a pastor, the church may be a church, but it will be anemic and in danger of ultimate dissolution.”  He quoted 17th century Baptist father Benjamin Keach in his book “The Glory of a True Church,” as stating, “‘Therefore such are very disorderly Churches who have no Pastor or Pastors ordained, they acting not according to the Rule of the Gospel, having something wanting.'”

THE CHURCH AS THE BODY OF CHRIST INCLUDES ALL REDEEMED OF ALL AGES, BELIEVERS FROM EVERY TRIBE, AND TONGUE, AND PEOPLE, AND NATION

The language of the 1963 BF&M regarding the universal church was retained in the 2000 revision.  Rogers explained the reaffirmation of the New Testament heritage of Baptist congregationalism expressed in the 1925 BF&M while affirming the contribution of the 1963 statement.

It is in its role as reflector of the wisdom, power, and grace of God that Nettles finds the church’s preeminent function in the proclamation, defense and confirmation of the gospel.  “Of great consequence, therefore, to both pastor and people, is the determination that they agree on the content of the message that largely will give shape to their lives together and their mutual efforts to glorify God.”

TYLER?When Dale Perry, pastor of Friendly Baptist Church in Tyler, got word in 1995 that he had Hepatitis C, an incurable disease which can only be slowed by a liver transplant, he thought there were three possible outcomes and was willing face any of those three, whichever would bring God the most glory.

However, God brought about an unforeseen fourth outcome that has brought more glory to God than even Perry had imagined.

“When I was diagnosed, I prayed and asked God to be glorified in this,” Perry said. He contracted the disease more than 26 years ago likely resulting from his lifestyle prior to his salvation in 1978.

“I had three possible outcomes: I knew God could miraculously heal me and I prayed for that. I also knew that I could have a liver transplant or third, I knew I could die. If that brought God the most glory, I was ready for him to take me home.”

For eight years following his diagnosis, Perry’s health stayed remarkably good, amazing the doctors. He attributed his relatively good health to prayer after he told the church of his illness nearly nine years ago. A layman in the church, Jim Cox, initiated a 24-hour a day prayer wall for Perry and other needs in the church, a prayer ministry and community-wide prayer phone line which are still in operation.

Last year, however, Perry learned he needed a liver transplant. On Aug. 19, he got the call that a liver matching his rare AB blood type was available and he had a just a few hours to get to Dallas’ Baylor Medical Center for transplant surgery.

Perry came through the nearly five-hour surgery well and by the end of August, he seemed headed for recovery.

Internally, however, the main artery which supplied blood to the liver had become 100 percent clogged, causing part of his new liver to suffer irreparable damage. On Saturday, Sept. 13, he was readmitted to the hospital and the next day, doctors told Perry and his wife, Mitzi, “It’s terminal. There is not anything more we can do.”

By Sunday evening, the church learned their pastor’s situation and began praying. Assistant Pastor Pat Alvey, a staff member at Friendly for nearly 20 years, went to Dallas at Perry’s request to help with funeral plans.

Soon, ministerial staff and their wives came to Dallas. Perry told them how much he loved them.

“When I lost my new liver, it was the lowest time for us, and especially for Mitzi. It was during this time that Mitzi came to me and said, ‘Dale, the Lord’s not hearing my prayers.’ I told her ‘Mitzi, he is.’

Perry thought God was going to glorify himself not with healing or a successful liver transplant, but in his passing.

He began to examine whether his salvation experience on May 28, 1978 was real or “just an emotional experience.”

“I remember seeing Mitzi and the nurse crying together, holding each other. I began to think, ‘Lord, is salvation real?’ I came to the bottom line of my faith.

“The truth is, after all my years of preaching, I stripped all of that away when they told me that there was no hope. I began to go back. I looked at my life. I remember laying there in that bed, looking up saying, ‘God, did I just have an emotional experience? Was it real? Did I really give my life to Jesus Christ? Did I really accept him as my Lord and Savior?’ I wanted to know that.”

Perry later told Friendly Baptist Church that his “bottom line faith” test revealed the Scriptural truth that during those times, God’s Spirit bears witness that we are children of God. “Now, I’m a preacher,” Perry said Nov. 23, his first time back in the pulpit since August. “I read this Book every day. I got down to the bottom line. I wanted to know, ‘Do I know for sure that I’m a child of God?’ I knew I was fixing to meet him.

“That’s when God’s Spirit takes over. God’s Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God. Mitzi couldn’t tell me I was saved. My children couldn’t tell me I was saved. Only God can. God settled in. He just reassured me through the power of the Holy Spirit that lived within me that I was saved.”

Mitzi said when her husband lost the first liver she went through a time when she couldn’t pray, couldn’t read her Bible and couldn’t even concentrate. She asked for God to give them a sign to help her through this all-consuming period when he was in ICU.

Within days, a man came in who looked good and healthy, and told Mitzi “Don’t give up hope. A year ago, I looked like that (pointing to Perry), and as a matter of fact I was even worse.” She said that at that point, she broke down and thanked God for giving her hope.

Remembering his and Mitzi’s lowest points, Perry says when they each hit the end of themselves,