Who Are The Southern Baptists?

The Southern Baptist Church is unique among the other denominations of Orthodox Christianity. Southern Baptists fiercely believe in two things as touching Church government. First, they hold that each Baptist Church is an independent entity, functioning under the leadership of their Christ appointed Pastor and Deacons. Second, they understand that the Church is more than just the local assembly - it is composed of believers saved by Grace in Christ everywhere - therefore they understand the need to band together with other like minded believers in order to accomplish Christ's will on earth. For this reason Baptist Churches unite in local associations, and these associations further unite in state conventions. The conventions do not control the associations, nor do the associations control the local Churches, yet united we contribute funds to the larger assemblies in order to promote missionary work and the common good of each assembly.

This system frequently confuses members of other denominations. When you visit one Southern Baptist Church you may find its assembly governed by a plurality of elders, much like the Presbyterian Churches are. Yet on visiting another Church you may find it governed by the Pastor and Deacons, or only the Pastor. You cannot visit one Southern Baptist Church and say, "I know all about the Baptists", for their very autonomy makes this impossible: each Church functions as an independent entity as it feels led of the Lord.

How do you become a Southern Baptist Church? Well, if your assembly feels led of God to join with us under this banner, your Pastor or elders submit the written constitution of your Church to the local Southern Baptist Association. As a minimum your assembly should agree with the basic doctrinal tenets of the Southern Baptist reflected in the Southern Baptist Faith and Message. The Church itself comes under the "Watchcare" of the assembly for one year (in most instances), and during that one year you are, as an assembly, under a type of probation. If, after that year has lapsed, your Church still wants to be affiliated with the Southern Baptists, you as an assembly become fully accepted into the Southern Baptist Association.

I say all this to explain something to those not affiliated with the Southern Baptists. In recent times we have had some Churches that were affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention who departed from the truths contained in the Baptist Faith and Message. To be more specific, some Churches decided that it was fine to condone homosexual behavior as appropriate for the Christian, and these Churches justified this position by teaching that the Word of God is not, in fact, inerrant or truthful in all that it affirms. These Churches were brought before the State Convention that they were in, given an opportunity to repent, refused to do so, and were consequently removed from the Southern Baptist Convention.

Autonomy does not mean unaccountability. You as a Church are accountable to those you promised to stand beside, and accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ the inerrant Scripture teaches. Churches that do not affirm the minimum standards of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message do not belong with the Southern Baptists. This does not mean that these people are cursed, for we believe there are many saved people in many denominations all over the face of this earth. Yet if you will stand as a Southern Baptist, then you must affirm the Baptist Faith and Message.

There are several historic creeds that were adopted by our forefathers, these creeds forming the basis of the modern Southern Baptist movement. Baptists were not always Arminian in theology, but were, during the foundation of the Church, heavily Calvinistic. These traits are reflected in the following ancient creeds or Statements of Faith: