Longtime Denver Seminary church historian Bruce Shelley passed away earlier this week at the age of 82. Christian History has published a great online tribute to Shelley written by Scott Wenig, who teaches applied theology at Denver Seminary. Shelley is probably best known for his bestselling church history textbook, Church History in Plain Language. I first read Church History in Plain Language when I was in college, shortly after I first began considering a career as a … [Read More]
Heresy is Not Heroic
Al Mohler asks today in his Conventional Thinking blog, “Is Crawford Howell Toy a Baptist Hero?” You may remember that Toy embraced modernist theology, resigned from Southern Seminary, and then became a Unitarian. You can guess Mohler’s answer to the question. Toy is not a hero, despite the ongoing accolades he has received from the Baptist Left over the years.
I think it is interesting that Mohler has written on this timely subject around the same … [Read More]
Fifteen Factors That Have Changed the SBC since 1979, Part 4
This past summer, I began a four-part series of articles titled “Fifteen Factors That Have Changed the SBC since 1979.” Because of a variety of distractions, I only wrote the first three installments. A number of BtT readers have asked me what happened to the final article, including two brothers in the last three weeks. Well, after a five-month interlude between articles, this installment concludes the series. By way of reminder, these factors are not … [Read More]
The Baptist Preacher as Prophet: A Lesson Learned in Liberia
This past week, I traveled to Monrovia, Liberia and was reminded of a profound truth while sitting at the feet of a septuagenarian Liberian pastor named Walter Richards. The occasion was the graduation ceremonies of Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary (LBTS), where I was delivering the graduation address. After the ceremonies, I had the opportunity to spend time with Richards, who is currently the chairman of the Board of Trustees for LBTS. From him, I learned … [Read More]
On the Owning of Confessions of Faith
(Note: This is a lightly revised version of an essay I posted on my old personal blog a couple of years ago. Most of the confessions referenced below can be found online via a simple Google search.)
Baptists have always been a confessional people. John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, the founders of the General Baptist movement, each wrote personal confessions of faith that provide us with a glimpse into their convictions and probably the convictions of … [Read More]
Further Thoughts on the Marks of a True Church
This is a follow-up to my earlier article “On the Marks of a True Church: A Question.” Thanks to everyone who offered a comment. What follow are my own thoughts on this issue.
I first began to think deeply about this question during my doctoral studies. During my college and seminary days, I unhesitatingly embraced the so-called Reformation definition of a true church. But there was a problem: as a Baptist, I am honestly convinced that … [Read More]
On the Marks of a True Church: A Question
Ever since the Reformation era, it has been common to define a “true church” as a congregation where the gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments/ordinances are rightly administered. (Some would also include the practice of church discipline as a third mark.) Christians in a variety of traditions use this terminology all the time, but I suspect some have not thought through the implications of adopting this schema. Other Christians, however, have clearly thought through … [Read More]
A City within a City: Church, Culture, & Counter-Culture
We at BtT invite you to join us for our February conference, “City within a City: Church, Culture, & Counter-Culture (Feb 5-6, 2010). The conference features five plenary sessions (Danny Akin, Matt Chandler, David Platt, JD Greear, and Clayton King) and 30 breakout sessions (Chandler, Platt, McKinion, Reid, Finn, Ashford, King, Greear, etc.).
This is our annual collegiate conference and is focused on college-aged students, but we welcome seminary students, young professionals, and mature high school students. We expect … [Read More]
Classic Baptist Histories Now Available at Google Books
For those of you who might be interested, Google Books has finished scanning all volumes of the two most important early histories of the British Baptists. Thomas Crosby (1685-1750) was a pastor in London and the first Baptist historian. He was also the son-in-law of Benjamin Keach, who was one of the three key leaders of the Particular Baptist during the 17th century. Joseph Ivimey (1773-1834) was a leading Particular Baptist pastor, especially during the decades right after the … [Read More]
