Reality

So reality is beginning to set in. Please don't ask me how I am going to get through this summer...because only God knows.

On May 12 my best friend will graduate from Divinity School. She will be moving later that week to Forest City, North Carolina. That is approximately 4 hours away from me. I'm devistated. She is not only my best friend, she is my sister. Over the past 2 1/2 years she has become my family. I'm going to miss having her so close. It's gonna be tough.

During the months of June and July I will be taking two classes at the Divinity School. After this summer I have 19 hours left to finish my Master of Divinity. While that is exciting, something else is going to happen in July that I'd rather not think about. My boyfriend will be moving back to Alabama, 9 hours away.


So..reality has set in. Life is going to change right before my eyes. And only God knows how I'm gonna get through it.

Baptist’s Today and Beyond

“In 2009, Baptists will celebrate a huge 400th birthday party. Born in 1609, they began, as all infants, struggling to survive. Today, however, Baptists number 43 million people in over 200 countries in every continent of the world. Hassled, heckled, and persecuted both in England and America in the seventeenth century, Baptists of the twenty-first century have become the largest Protestant denominational family in North America. Baptists have come a very long way!”[1]

Many Baptist denominations still exist today. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is continuing to grow and thrive. The Fellowship is determining where the future is going to lead and how the Fellowship as Baptist leaders will lead into the future.

In 2008, Jimmy Carter sponsored the meeting of the New Baptist Covenant Celebration. With an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 participants, this meeting was historic. It was historic in the sense that it was the first time that African American and White Baptists had come together for worship and for planning for the future. While the details of what will come out of this meeting are still being determined, it was interesting to be a part of something so new and so fresh.

At a recent meeting with a CBF administrator, we asked what was the future of CBF? Her answer was, “What do you want it to be?” So as a challenge, let us think about what we want Baptists to be. Baptists will continue to grow and thrive and to follow the scripture and to live for religious freedoms. Baptists will always have unity and diversity because we have the freedom to choose and believe as we wish to. So the question remains, as a Baptist, what do you believe and where do you want Baptists to be in the next generation?

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[1] Baptist History and Heritage Society, Turning Points in Baptist History by Walter Shurden, 2001. Available from http://www.centerforbaptiststudies.org/pamphlets/style/turningpoints.htm Internet: Accessed 6 April 2008.

Baptist's in the 20th Century

Denominational development, controversy, reorganization and incredible growth characterized Baptist life in the United States during the nineteenth century. Despite much turmoil, the Baptist population grew rapidly. By 1900, nearly 4.2 million Americans identified themselves as Baptists, and that number would continue to grow.[1] As Everett C. Goodwin noted, the twentieth century would truly be a “Baptist century,” and by “century’s end, Baptists would imprint their style, their values, and even their quarrels on much of the nations consciousness.”[2]

In the early years of the twentieth century, Baptists in the United States sought ways to work together and to unite with other Baptist groups worldwide. The desire for unity among Baptists was most clearly evident in the formation of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) in 1905.

During the twentieth century, Southern Baptists experience significant numerical and institutional growth. They also increased their worldwide influence, and dealt with several denominational controversies. The growth can be seen in the number of Southern Baptist churches that were present. In 1900, there were only two Southern Baptist churches outside of the south. By 1972, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) had churches in all fifty states. The organization of SBC churches outside of the south led to renewed conflict between Northern and Southern Baptists. The two groups tried to meet on several occasions and iron out rules to deal with conventions in the States. Ultimately, each time the agreements failed because the Southern Baptists did not hold up to the agreements.

Baptists in the twentieth century have faced many trials. There have been many issues to deal with from what to believe to who should be in charge. Perhaps one of the most popular controversies that are discussed today is the Fundamentalist-Moderate controversy or the fundamentalist takeover. “Two factions, Fundamentalists and Moderates, polarized the SBC from 1979-1990. While the war at the national SBC level between the rival parties ended in 1990, the fallout still persists.”[3] With numerous antecedents, the conflict began on 12-14 June, 1979, at the annual meeting of the SBC in Houston, Texas. Three fundamentalist leaders emerged prominently at that meeting and skillfully guided the Fundamentalists to triumph over the Moderates for twelve years. Those three were Paige Patterson, Paul Pressler, and Adrian Rogers. Beginning in the spring of 1979, Pressler and Patterson designed and announced a ten-year plan whereby Fundamentalists could gain political control of the Southern Baptist Convention. They garnered a following by proclaiming that “liberalism” had invaded the entire denominational system and they discovered that they could use the appointive powers of the SBC presidency and thereby dominate the denomination.[4]

Following the 1979 election of Adrian Rogers as SBC president, all of the seven presidents through the election of 1990 were Fundamentalists who used their powers to achieve the fundamentalist agenda by stacking the boards of all trustee agencies, something never done in SBC history. By 1990, hardliners dominated nearly ever SBC agency. Throughout all of this the fundamentalist rallying cry was the inerrancy of the Bible. In all of this, the Fundamentalists want you to believe that they believed the Bible and the Moderates did not. That was wrong and is wrong all though there are evident differences in the way the two parties read the Bible. The two parties have contended over the inerrancy issue and how the Bible is to be interpreted.

Theologically, they wrangled over the role of women and pastoral authority. Fundamentalists insisted on the hierarchy of male-female relationships and denied a woman’s right for ordination to the ministry or the diaconate. Moderates, more egalitarian, advocated equality between women and men and affirmed ordination for women. Fundamentalists stated that with pastoral authority the pastor is to “rule” the church. Moderates believed that this was contrary to what the Bible teaches as well as what Baptists have believed since their beginning. Educationally, the two parties argued over almost every facet of theological education. Much of the heat focused on theological seminaries especially Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Before the battle was over, both of these institutions were firmly in the grasp of fundamentalist control and undergoing radical transformation under fundamentalist presidents. As with other issues, the fundamentalists and moderates disagreed on everything from ethics, missiology, and politics.[5] These were the two sides and there was a nasty war in the middle.

Moderates did not want to give up. After a decade of losing they were exhausted. They quit the politics of the SBC. They continued, however, a process that had begun as early as 1983, creating their own structures. One of these structures was the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship which began in August of 1990. The birth (of the CBF) came about when a group of Baptists separated from the SBC following a decade of heated controversy. The moderates fought back. They worked to get the vote. In 1990, moderates mounted one last effort at the SBC meeting in New Orleans, nominating Daniel Vestal as president. Despite a six week campaign tour, Vestal gained only 42 percent of the vote and was defeated.[6]

Just two months after his defeat, Vestal called for a meeting of moderate Baptists in Atlanta, Georgia. Expecting several hundred to participate, leaders were surprised when over 3,000 participants showed up. This began the planning and implementation of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship that is a growing and thriving fellowship in today’s Baptist world.

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[1] Durso, Pamela R. and Keith Durso. The Story of Baptists in the United States. (Tennessee: Baptist History and Heritage Society: 2006)149.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Shurden, Walter B. Not a Silent People. (Georgia: Smyth and Helwys: 1995) 84.

[4] Ibid. 85.

[5] Ibid. 89.

[6] Durso, Pamela. A Short History of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Movement. (Tennessee: Baptist History and Heritage Society: 2006) 4.

What do Baptists Believe?

“What makes a Baptist a Baptist? The ultimate and final answer, of course, is simple: membership in a local Baptist church… But there are all kinds of Baptist groups and Baptist churches! So what are the spiritual and theological marks of a Baptist? What are the distinctive, convictions or ideals that Baptists rally around and that make a Baptist a Baptist?”[1] Winthrop Hudson, one of Baptist’s best historians and keenest twentieth century interpreters, noted correctly that pioneer Baptists of seventeenth century England did not set out to identify “Baptist distinctive.” Their concern was instead to be faithful and obedient Christians.

Dr. Walter Shurden’s book The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms outlines the four basic beliefs that Baptists have. He said that he arrived at these Baptist Freedoms by analyzing the sermons and addresses given from around the world and at the Baptist World Alliance from 1905 to 1980. He outlines the following four freedoms:

Bible Freedom is the historic Baptist affirmation that the Bible, under the Lordship of Christ, must be central in the life of the individual and church and that Christians, with the best and most scholarly tools of inquiry, are both free and obligated to study and obey the Scripture.

Soul Freedom is the historic affirmation of the inalienable right and responsibility of every person to deal with God without the imposition of creed, the interference of clergy, or the intervention of civil government.

Church Freedom is the historic Baptist affirmation that local churches are free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine their membership and leadership, to order their worship and work, to ordain whom they perceive as gifted for ministry, male or female, and to participate in the larger body of Christ, of whose unity and mission Baptists are proudly a part.

Religious Freedom is the historic Baptist affirmation of freedom OF religion, freedom FOR religion, and freedom FROM religion insisting that Caesar is not Christ and Christ is not Caesar.[2]

Shurden also shared from a document issued by the Baptist Heritage Commission of the Baptist World Alliance in 1989 at Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia). Entitled “Towards a Baptist Identity,” the statement was deliberately descriptive rather than creedal. He used the five summary statements from this document in his book. They are as follows:

Baptists are:

i. -members of the whole Christian family who stress the experience of personal salvation
through faith in Jesus, symbolized both in baptism and the Lord’s Supper;

ii. -those who under the Lordship of Jesus Christ have bonded together in free local congregations, together seeking to obey Christ in faith and in life;

iii. -those who follow the authority of Scriptures in all matters of faith and practice;

iv. -those who have claimed religious liberty for themselves and all people;

v. -those who believe that the Great Commission to take the Gospel to the whole world is the responsibility of the whole membership.[3]

It is interesting to note that Shurden made a distinction by writing that this was more description than creedal. William Tuck wrote in his book a section on creeds and why Baptists are opposed to them. Tuck wrote, “As Baptists, we have never believed that creeds should be imposed on others.”[4] As Baptists, we sometimes have used affirmations or confessions of faith, but these are not to be viewed as creeds. According to Tuck, creeds have always had limitations and inadequacies. “As Baptists, we affirm that no theological statement is ever final or complete. No one person or group of persons can formulate our theology for us and say that this is what we have to believe. Our forefathers and mothers have fought and died for this free tradition.”[5]

“If Baptists experience a rebirth of commitment to Bible Freedom, Soul Freedom, Church Freedom, and Religious Freedom, they would not only rediscover their roots and their identity, they would become prophetically relevant to the world today.”[6] Baptists have the freedom to believe and to worship as they wish. Baptists are surrounded by freedoms but with those freedoms come responsibility. The responsibility is to have authentic faith. Speak what you know and let your actions match your words. Shurden closes The Baptist Identity with the following statement: “The historical Baptist identity, therefore, has been chiseled primarily from freedom rather than control, voluntaryism rather than coercion, individualism rather than a ‘pack mentality,’ personal religion rather than proxy religion, and diversity rather than uniformity.”[7]

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[1] Shurden, Walter B. The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms. (Georgia: Smyth and Helwys: 1993) 1.

[2] Ibid. 4-5.

[3] Ibid. 5-6.

[4] Tuck, William Powell. Our Baptist Tradition. (Georgia: Smyth & Helwys, 1993)22.

[5] Ibid. 19.

[6] Shurden, Walter B. The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms. (Georgia: Smyth and Helwys: 1993)55.

[7] Ibid. 59.

Coming to America

Only thirty years after John Smyth and Thomas Helwys organized the first Baptist church in Amsterdam, the first Baptist baptismal service in America took place.[1] Sometime in early 1639, a group of about twenty believers gathered for worship in Providence, Rhode Island. This group had studied the New Testament and had rejected infant baptism. They concluded that only believers who had professed their faith were to be baptized. They also decided that magistrates should not have control over religious convictions or practices.

Having committed themselves to these Baptist beliefs, the group and their leader decided that the time had come to hold a baptismal service. Their leader was Roger Williams. A fellow believer, Ezekiel Holliman, performed the baptism of Williams and then Williams baptized the other believers.[2] This group had ended up in Rhode Island because of the General Courts appeal to Williams to give up his Separatist and Anabaptist beliefs that were like those of John Smyth.[3] Instead of giving up his beliefs, Roger Williams moved to Providence, Rhode Island with the intent to live in a colony with religious freedom. This place became a haven for those seeking this freedom. The colony’s charter was granted in 1663 and it guaranteed that all citizens could exercise and enjoy “all their civil and religious rights.”[4] During the early years of this colony most of the settlers could be described as Separatists. However, in early 1639, Williams and his followers embraced the New Testament teachings that they had been studying. Williams did not remain a Baptist long. Despite his departure, the Baptist church in Providence survived.

A few years after the formation of this first church, a second Baptist church was formed in Newport, Rhode Island. The Newport church had as its leader, John Clarke. He was born in England and baptized as an infant. He was trained as a physician but was also knowledgeable in law and theology. His Separatist views led him to move his family to New England to escape the influence of the state church. Many historians view Clark as the Father of American Baptists. After the English government granted the charter for Rhode Island the dream of Williams and Clarke had come true. The Baptist Churches in American did begin to sprout up in other colonies, but slowly. Following Rhode Island, Baptists could be found in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine. Following were New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Many of the first Baptists in these colonies were women.[5]

The Middle Colonies did not suffer from the religious intolerance that the New England colonies did. Pennsylvania was the first to have Baptist churches. The first permanent Baptist Association was established in Philadelphia in 1707 when five small churches banded together. Churches in the south also formed. A Baptist church in South Carolina was formed in Charleston when a minister from Maine moved his congregation to get away from the Indian raids. The second Southern colony where a Baptist church was established was Virginia. Virginia Baptists ended up making a plea to the General Baptists in England for help asking them to send qualified clergy. Their request was made over and over. Finally two men were sent and one died in route. The other, Robert Norden formed the Prince George church and they were a General Six Principle Baptist church which was based on the six principles found in Hebrews 6:1-2.[6]

Baptists beliefs slowly spread throughout the colonies and Baptist churches gradually were formed. For about one hundred years Rhode Island served as a major center for Baptists, and until 1750 Baptists in that colony outnumbered Baptists in any other colony.[7] The theological differences among Baptists in early America were most clearly evidenced by the number of Baptist groups that formed from 1639 to 1750. At least eleven Baptist groups organized during that period. [8]

Baptists continued to grow and form congregations all over the colonies. As is evidenced in the number of Baptist groups that were organized, groups could form based on any kind of beliefs and principles, however the one key truth that all Baptist’s believe in is that of believer’s baptism. This is still the strongest belief that holds Baptists together today.

(Photo Credit: Roger Williams: http://www.stockton.edu/~gilmorew/0colhis/v1nwen2.htm)

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[1] Durso, Pamela R. and Keith Durso. The Story of Baptists in the United States. (Tennessee: Baptist History and

Heritage Society: 2006) 25.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid. 28.

[4]Ibid. 29.

[5] Ibid. 36.

[6] Ibid. 39.

[7] Ibid. 40.

[8] Ibid.

In the Beginning

I will be completing a series of blogs on the history of Baptists. This is to complete the requirements for my Church History class. In each church history class we are to complete a PEICH (Plan for Eliminating Ignorance of Church History). This semester, I have decided to complete a series of blogs on the topic of the history of Baptists. I have decided that this is a topic that Baptists themselves know very little about. Therefore, in the following entries I will present historical information and facts. I hope that the blogs are informative as well as fun to read.

In the Beginning…
Bill Tuck said, “Baptists have a rich and wonderful heritage. But I have discovered through listening and reading that many persons in our Baptist churches are unfamiliar with this legacy.”[1] I grew up in a small Baptist church and learned about many missionaries, heard many Bible stories, and listened to many sermons. However, I never learned about the history of the Baptists. I have called myself a Baptist for all these years but I truly never knew what it meant to be Baptist. This is the case for most Baptists. I could ask the oldest member of the church or the youngest, and for the most part, neither would know much about Baptist history.

Sometime in late 1608 or early 1609, a group of English Christians gathered for worship in Amsterdam, Holland. They met in their regular place of worship, which was a bakehouse owned by a wealthy Mennonite. This was not a regular worship service, however. This was the group’s first baptismal service in which each person to be baptized was an adult who had confessed belief in Jesus Christ. No one in this group had experience with believer’s baptism. They had all been baptized as infants in the Church of England. The leader of the group was Mr. John Smyth. He suggested that he baptize himself and then baptize the others. After baptizing himself he baptized the others by pouring water over their heads. And so began the first Baptist church in history.[2]

This small group of Baptists was committed to the belief that church membership should be based on a personal confession of faith followed by believer’s baptism. This was a radical belief since at the time all citizens of England were required to be members of the Church of England and have their baptisms as infants. Since they were refusing to be members of the Church of England and to abide by the interpretations and theology of the Church of England, they were subject to fines, whippings, and imprisonments.[3] Members of this newly formed Baptist church in Amsterdam were English citizens. They did not want to follow the Church of England so the group, along with its leaders John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, fled for Amsterdam.

Little information is known about these earliest Baptists. The exact number who participated in the baptismal service is unknown as well. This much is certain: Smyth and Helwys served as able leaders of the group. Smyth was originally a part of a group of Separatists. When his group was fleeing England, Helwys partially funded their passage to Amsterdam. Eventually, he began to believe the things this group did and joined with his wife. While in Amsterdam, Smyth’s congregation encountered Dutch Mennonites, who advocated religious liberty and baptized believers only.[4] We do not know how much these Mennonites influenced Smyth but we do know that sometime in 1608 or 1609 his religious views shifted once again. After he had been studying the Bible and committing himself to New Testament teachings as closely as possible, Smyth concluded that the true church should be made up of believers who professed their faith publically and then were baptized. Based on this new understanding, Smyth asserted that his Separatist church was not a true church. In 1609 Smyth wrote The Character of the Beast and he not only attacked the practices and teachings of the Church of England and of Separatist churches; he also affirmed his own new commitment to believer’s baptism. All of these new understandings led to the congregation’s baptismal service that was previously explained.

Eventually, Smyth began to question his own self baptism and his beliefs about the true church. He came to believe that he should have allowed the Mennonites to baptize him. He soon repudiated his baptism and asked the other members to do the same. Thirty one members, fourteen men and seventeen women, followed Smyth in renouncing their baptisms, and requested membership in the local Mennonite community. Smyth’s ultimate attempt to join this group failed because he died during the summer of 1612. Eventually the Mennonite group granted membership to the others.[5] However, during this process, Helwys and about ten others of the new Baptist church refused to renounce their baptisms and excommunicated Smyth from the group. Shortly after the break with Smyth, Helwys wrote several documents defending the actions of his group, including a confession of faith. A Declaration of Faith of the English People Remaining at Amsterdam in Holland was released as their confession of faith. During this time, Helwys began to feel guilty for leaving England in the first place to escape the persecution. In 1612, Helwys, along with his few church members, sailed home to England. This group settled near London and established the first Baptist church on English soil. It continued as it had in Amsterdam to baptize new believers. Shortly after arriving in England, Helwys published A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity, which was the first document written in English that called for complete freedom of conscience in matters of religion. Smyth asserted that the king of England had no power to control the religious beliefs of the people.[6]

Smyth ended up being jailed after sending a copy of this document to King James. He remained in jail and died there sometime before 1616. The Baptist faith did not die with him. Other leaders stepped in to lead and despite the opposition of the Church of England and the persecution by the government, the small group of Baptists began to grow and organize new churches. Those who had adopted Helwys’s beliefs came to be identified as General Baptists because of their belief that Christ died for all people and that all who believe in Jesus Christ can be saved. These beliefs reflected those of Jacob Arminius, making the General Baptists “Arminians.” About twenty-five years after the Helwys church returned to England, a new group of Calvinist Baptists called Particular Baptists, organized. This group did not split off from the General Baptists, they emerged separately sometime in the 1630’s. The theology of the Particular Baptists was based on Calvin. From Calvin came the belief that Christ died for a particular group of people-the elect, whom God had chosen or predestined before the foundation of the world. By 1638, these two distinct groups of Baptists existed in England. While both Baptist traditions made their way across the ocean to America, the theology of the Particulars became prominent in England and also became dominant among Baptists in America.[7]

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[1] Tuck, William Powell. Our Baptist Tradition. (Georgia: Smyth & Helwys, 1993) ix.

[2] Durso, Pamela R. and Keith Durso. The Story of Baptists in the United States. (Tennessee:
Baptist History and Heritage Society: 2006) 13.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid. 16.

[5] Ibid. 18.

[6] Ibid. 20.

[7] Ibid. 23

(Photo credit: fellowship meeting 17th century www.google.com)

Daydreaming...

I have seen a lot of news stories lately about bus accidents. They may be due to the bus drivers mistakes or something may have happened to the driver. A few weeks back there was a story of a girl who took over the wheel of the bus and got it stopped. The people on the bus did not suffer life threatening injuries. However, the girl who saved the bus got in trouble because it was determined that she was skipping school. After that story, I read one about a teacher having to take over the wheel of the bus when the driver passed out.
Just today I saw a new story about another accident. In this case the driver had stopped the bus to refuel and use the bathroom. After refueling the bus the driver went to use the bathroom. While using the facilities the bus stared to roll down hill. A child took over the wheel and tried to stop the bus. The bus was stopped by steering it into a bridge pillar. The children jumped out of the side of the bus. Initially I had a question of why the driver left the busy in the first place. The children should have never been left alone.

As I have been thinking about these bus situations I remembered the daydreams I used to have when I was in middle school. I rode bus 126. My driver from 6th to 8th grades was named Barbara Edwards. She was a very old lady (I often thought she was too old to be driving.) She attended my church and knew my parents. Usually I sat on the front seat of the bus. I didn't have many friends on the bus so I would usually sit there and watch how she drove the bus. I watched her shift gears, turn on the lights, put out the stop sign and open the door. I had it down. I often wondered what would happen if she ever passed out. I felt assured that I could take over driving the bus and get it pulled over. I never told anyone of my daydreams because I hoped it would never happen. But secretly I thought I would be able to handle the situation. Thankfully it never happened to me and thankfully the children from the accident today will be ok.

Say...

Over the past few days, I've been hearing John Mayer's song Say on the radio quite a bit. You might have heard it or even remember hearing it at the end of the movie "Bucket List." I've taken a liking to this song, I've been listening to it over and over. The last verse of this song has an inspiring message. It says:

Even if your hands are shakin'
and your faith is broken
Even as the eyes are closin'
Do it with a heart wide open
A wide heart
Say what you need to say

Each time I've heard this song, I've been reminded of something I needed to say. I've composed a list of some of those things. While I will never be able to include all of the things I "need" to say, these are the ones that came to mind as the most important.

-To the homeless man that resides on the corner of Main and Cherry Streets in downtown Richmond, thank you for the smile that you gave me each day that I attended college. You were always there. Even if I spoke or didn't speak, if I gave you a dollar or nothing at all, you gave me a smile. You will never know what that smile meant to me. Some days that was the only smile I saw.

-To the college history professor that didn't give up on me, thank you. You saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. You didn't let me give up. You encouraged me, you guided me, and most of all you offered me your friendship. I'll be finished with that Masters degree in two semesters that I sat in your office and dreamed about. Thank you.

-To a mother and father who have changed my life. One never realizes how much someone means to them until they are separated. I've caused troubles, cost you money, made you smile, helped you, and loved you. However, I'm not sure you know how much you mean to me.


-To the Administrative Assistant to the Associate Dean, thank you. You always put a smile on my face, you make me laugh, and you listen to me. While we may not always have the answers to help each other out, we listen. I'm thankful for your friendship, love, and support. You are AWESOME.

-To the greatest gift that I could have ever received at the Divinity School, I'm thankful for you. No matter what you have been a true friend. A person who cares about me, who has not given up on me, and who loves me. When I was going in the wrong direction, you told me. You revealed to me how God was speaking. You had the courage to SAY what you needed to say. Your friendship means the world to me. So to you, Laura R. I say thank you.


As I sit here in tears, I can think of many more people I need to "say" things to. If I said them all in this blog it would go on forever. Since I can't say them all here, I have a challenge to share with you: Whatever circumstances you find yourself in, may you say what you need to say.