Knowing what Baptists believe and why

“What makes a Baptist a Baptist?” It’s an important question. At an introductory meeting with a prospective pastor, the question was posed this way: “What do you consider to be the non-negotiables of our faith and our distinctive Baptist beliefs?” As I listened to the minister carefully frame a response, I wondered if the tables were turned, how many laypersons could give a satisfactory answer.

For one reason, not everyone in a typical Baptist congregation on any given Sunday morning—or in your Sunday school class—grew up in a Baptist home, or even a Christian home for that matter. But even among those who did, an appreciation of the significance of the beliefs for which many early Baptists willingly suffered persecution, torture and death to be able to practice and perpetuate appears to be eroding, resulting in a weakening sense of our unique Baptist identity.

“Although those earlier generations treasured the Baptist distinctions as a means of faithfulness to the Lord and suffered to entrust them to the ages to come, relatively few contemporary Baptists seem to have any knowledge of the beliefs that distinguish them from other Christians,” observes Dean Anderson, pastor of Trenton Baptist Church for the past 10 years. “Survey after survey reveals that the typical church member has a discouragingly low level of basic Bible knowledge and little understanding of basic Christian doctrine, much less knowledge of the distinctive Baptist beliefs,” he assesses.

In “A Sacred Trust,” Anderson provides a practical examination of six of those beliefs that collectively set Baptists apart from other Christian churches: biblical authority, soul competency, regenerate church membership, congregational polity, symbolic view of believer’s baptism, and religious liberty. Taking its title from a reference to Baptist principles by E.Y. Mullins, a former Kentucky pastor and president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, “A Sacred Trust” likewise contends that “a member of a Baptist church ought to know what Baptists believe, what they are trying to do, and how they are trying to do it.”

Anderson’s study, which grew out of a doctor of ministry project for New Orleans Baptist Seminary, culminated in a sermon series of eight messages aimed at helping the members of his Trenton congregation to value their Baptist heritage and identity. In a clear, readable style, “A Sacred Trust” helps lifelong adherents as well as those still dripping from the baptismal waters to understand what Baptists believe and why, tying it unswervingly to Scripture.

“Through studying and preaching the Baptist distinctives, I have come to cherish more dearly my heritage as a Baptist and the sacred trust of Baptist doctrinal beliefs,” Anderson writes. “The response of the congregation, moreover, was overwhelmingly positive,” he adds, encouraging other pastors to develop similar sermons. To this end, he provides an extensive annotated bibliography of both historical and contemporary resources by Baptist authors representing a broad array of perspectives.

Joseph Early Jr., a religion professor at the University of the Cumberlands, recently published an excellent companion resource for any such study of Baptist heritage and identity: “Readings in Baptist History.” Early’s book is a compilation of primary source materials tracing Baptist theology, origins, conflicts, issues and denominational organization over the past four centuries.

Among its numerous documents are ones by early Baptist leaders John Smyth, Thomas Helwys and Roger Williams; articles regarding the founding of the Philadelphia, Charleston and Sandy Creek associations; Isaac Backus’ appeal for religious liberty and Thomas Jefferson’s “Letter to Danbury Baptist association, and letters from missionaries William Carey and Lottie Moon. Also included are entries on the Conservative Resurgence, the Peace Committee Report, the Baptist Faith and Message Statement of 2000, Calvinism and even the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

Together, these valuable contributions by two Kentucky Baptists provide an essential understanding of Baptist thought, personalities, issues and events that have shaped us into a distinctive people of God.

Western Recorder issue date July 27, 2010