As many readers know, it was announced this week that Kenneth Starr has been selected as the next president of Baylor University. Not surprisingly, the announcement generated quite a bit of buzz in the blogosphere, Twitterverse, and on message boards. Baylor has of course been embroiled in significant controversy during the past decade over leadership, vision, and academic matters, which followed on the heels of two decades of controversy over governance, theology, and denominational matters. … [Read More]
Myth #7: The GCRTF is about diluting our Baptist identity and distinctives so that we begin to look more like the American Evangelical Convention than the Southern Baptist Convention.
This myth was unknown to me. I had not heard about it. However, a member of the TF for whom I have great love and respect assured me it was out there and that is would be helpful if it were addressed. As it relates to the GCRTF the fear was we would bring recommendations for partnerships and alliances that could compromise our Baptist identity and distinctives. In a sense this concern is similar to … [Read More]
A Model of Christian Scholarly Dialog
The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies at Southern Seminary recently hosted their annual conference. This year’s topic was “Baptist Spirituality: Historical Perspectives.” Much of the conference audio is available online. I want to particularly recommend that you take the time to listen to the dialog between Michael Haykin and Malcolm Yarnell titled “Reformed and Anabaptist: Strengths and Shortcomings of Two Traditions.” Though they disagree concerning elements of Baptist identity and the best way to resource … [Read More]
Baptist Identity at 400
As many of our readers know, 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of the Baptist movement. In honor of this historic year, Doug Baker of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina recently conducted a Koinonia Podcast on the topic “Baptist Identity at 400.” The panelists for the podcast include the following:
James Leo Garrett, Distinguished Professor of Theology Emeritus at Southwestern Seminary
David Dockery, President of Union University
Greg Wills, Professor of Church History and Director of the Center … [Read More]
Southern Baptist Identity: An Evangelical Denomination Faces the Future
This week Crossway has published a new collection of essays titled Southern Baptist Identity: An Evangelical Denomination Faces the Future. David Dockery edited the volume, which is substantially (though not entirely) based upon the two Baptist Identity Conferences held at Union University in 2004 and 2007. You can still listen to the audio presentations from those conferences by clicking here and here.
The contributors to Southern Baptist Identity include Dockery, Al Mohler, Stan Norman, Greg Wills, Timothy George, … [Read More]
On The GCR Declaration, Part 4
Lord willing, over the next few days I will be blogging through the GCR Declaration in anticipation of next week’s SBC Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. This is the fourth article in the series. As you read, please remember that while Between the Time is a group blog that includes a number of Southeastern Seminary professors, these articles (and every article I write) represent my own personal opinions. I speak only for myself, so please avoid … [Read More]
The Freedom of the Gospel Community: Local Church Autonomy
This is the seventh article in a series that explores the relationship between the gospel and Baptist identity. Baptists have historically argued for what is commonly called the autonomy of the local church. Stan Norman sums up the Baptist argument nicely:
The New Testament presents churches that are independent and self-governing. The decisions of each local church are final because no authority higher than a local church exists. Local churches can join together for certain ministry, … [Read More]
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Practicing the Gospel in Community: Congregational Church Polity
This is the sixth article in a series that explores the relationship between the gospel and Baptist identity. Congregational church polity (or government) is the belief that the highest earthly authority within a local church is the congregation itself. Positively, congregationalism argues that a majority of the church’s membership determines the agenda of the congregation. Negatively, congregationalism contends that no pastor/elder, deacon, or committee can dictate policy to a church or assert absolute control over a … [Read More]
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