Baptist Faith and Practice

I just finished the assigned reading for my class this Thursday night, a Seminary Wives Institute class on the Southern Baptist Convention. I'm looking over my notes from last week (we have quizzes!), and thinking about Baptist faith and practice.

Faith and practice were the central themes of last week's lecture by Dr. Gregory Wills. He stressed to us that, around the time of the founding of the SBC (1845), Baptist culture had settled into uniformity of both faith and practice.

As concerns faith, Baptists were generally united by Calvinistic doctrine. This uniformity in Calvinistic doctrine is interesting because, until the 19th century, this was precisely what divided Baptists. They were divided for centuries into general baptists, who were Arminian, and particular baptists, who were Calvinist.

All right, that's what I learned last week (in a nutshell) about Baptist faith. And what about practice?

This part was fascinating to me. Dr. Wills described in detail how churches proceeded (still talking 1845 here) to receive new members, baptize believers, and carry out church discipline. I could go on about this, but, in general, I found their procedures to be much more stringent, though much more biblical, than most modern churches.

I can hardly wait to learn more this Thursday night!

Back to School

Ken is back to school now; he's oh-so-happy! The evidence is all around me. Greek vocab cards in little piles around the house, chapel programs on the counter, books and highlighters on the mantle. Can you picture it?

And that also means that I am back to Seminary Wives Institute! Yea!

This term, I am in a class on the Southern Baptist Convention. The first three weeks will be about the history of the baptists. The second three weeks, I believe, will be about the institutions and resources of the SBC.

Last night was my first session and I was delighted to learn from Dr. Thomas Nettles, one of the foremost baptist historians in America. He took us, at breakneck speed, from the English Reformation of the 1500's to the first baptist missionaries in 1810.

Ken had a church history class with Dr. Nettles last spring, and he also took a seminary-level SBC class this past summer. It is fun to get a taste of what Ken learned over the past year.

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The Power of the Cross

Here are the lyrics for this powerful hymn from Stuart and Krysten Getty:

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev'ry bitter thought,
Ev'ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the vict'ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

FINAL CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

The SBC in Indianapolis

I had the privilege of attending the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting this week. I want to share some of my thoughts about the meeting over a series of blogs. Today I want to comment on the highlights of the convention for me personally.

First, I was able to meet with Dr. Paige Patterson for a 30-minute interview. For those of you who are not familiar with SBC life, Dr. Patterson is one of the most well-known persons in all of SBC life. He currently serves as the President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas. He is a kind and gracious man. When we sat down he asked me about me and my family. He answered every question I had and then shared some invaluable advice to me as a young pastor. I walked away from this interview praising God that he has raised up men like Dr. Patterson to defend the faith earnestly.

Second, Stuart and Krysten Getty, modern day hymn writers led us in worship for one session. These two are amazing, they have written two of my favorite hymns: In Christ Alone and The Power of the Cross. If you have not heard their hymns, check out their music at this site.

Third, the Southern Seminary Alumni and Friends Luncheon was first-class. I love Southern Seminary and it was so much fun seeing old friends and hearing how God is using them. My pastoral heart was overjoyed to hear of many serving in local churches across the country. I also met some great alumni. Dr. John Newland, newly elected 2nd Vice President of the SBC, sat at my table and we had a nice visit. He pastors a church in Indianapolis and he shared with me the need for churches in Indiana (nearly 80% of all Indianians are unchurched).

That is enough, more later...