In this article I will discuss the ramifications of the "Independence" of a Baptist Church... what it means and truly... Why you are not really a Baptist if you are not "Independent".
For starters lets look at the Baptist Distinctives: These are the very things that make a Baptist Church a "BAPTIST" church and not a "Methodist" or "Lutheran" or whatever else there is to be.
A Baptist Church is one that is Baptist in
Doctrine and Practice not by "
Affiliation".
Wikipedia gives the following accrostic Bacronym of BAPTIST and since it is well written allready I see no reason to rewrite it... (But this acrostic is fairly common in doctrinal books regarding our beliefs.)
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BaptistsThe following
acrostic backronym, spelling BAPTISTS, represents a useful summary of Baptists' distinguishing beliefs:
[8]Biblical authority (
Matthew 24:35;
1 Peter 1:23;
2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Autonomy of the local church (
Matt. 18:15–17;
1 Cor. 6:1-3)
Priesthood of all believers (
1 Peter 2:5-9;
1 Timothy 5)
Two ordinances (believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper) (
Acts 2:41–47;
1 Cor. 11:23-32)
Individual soul liberty (
Romans 14:5–12)
Separation of Church and State (
Matthew 22:15–22)
Two offices of the church (pastor-elder and deacon) (
1 Timothy 3:1-13;
Titus 1–2)
Saved church membership (
Matthew 16:18;
Ephesians 5:23–32;
Colossians 1:18)
What I now would like to call to your attention is the second letter in the acrostic above.. The letter A= Autonomy
Local Church Autonomy is what is actually in question when we talk about "To be or not to be... an Independent Baptist".
To be truly an Independent organization it is not possable to be a "Part" or a "Piece" of another Organization. This may seem like a play on words but there is far more to this than meets the eye.
So the reader understands... I was Born into and raised inside a Baptist Church that was a part of the Southern Baptist Convention. I am now the Pastor of an Independent Baptist Congregation. I have been in both worlds and now after much study and with personal experience in both Missions and Church problems I am now looking at this situation with a larger view... A view of the past... (where we have come from) and a view to the future... (where this thing is heading).
First let it be said that the Church that Christ left here on earth to do his will was not.... I repeat not "catholic". The word catholic means "Universal" which is the opposite of the word "Seperated". The Bible clearly teaches that the church is to be a seperated body and not inclusive of other doctrines. The "Catholic Church" originated with its incorporation by Constitine around 313 AD While the Catholic Church may be considered by some to be the trunk of the "Christian Tree", this does not fit with the fact that it was made up from previously existing churches and bishops who gave up thier liberty and individual freedoms... I say they gave up their "Local Church Autonomy" to belong to what amounts to the worlds first "Convention" and they were never the same after that.
For going on 2000 years there have always been independent churches. Churches that were not part of the "Catholic" or "Universal" church. These churches have always been persecuted by the Catholic church and by the Governments wich it has dominated... As such persecuted churches were normally exterminated with extreme predjudice their history is normally only visable from glimpses taken from inside the journals of the men who persecuted them.
Baptist succesionism is not the topic of this Blog but is an important study for any Baptist.
The reader needs to understand that there are people in high places who would rather we forget the past. They are doing all they can to change our history so that we do just that... forget.
Remember the past... For the first 1800 years the true churches existed as hunted refugees as it is written: Mt 26:31 ¶ Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
From the time of the Apostles untill today the church has always had Independent Congregations. While they held various names over the centuries and in various places... Many have been called Baptist or Ana-Baptist.
Many Churches today that bare the name "Baptist" have either joined Conventions or have been started under Convention involvment during the past 200 years. However it is important first to realize that Baptist Churches (regardless of what name was given them at the time) have existed without a "Convention" for over 1700 years. It was not until after Adoniram Judson and associates and thier missionary work to the east Indies and Burma that the first conventions were started.
I am not against "Missions Agencies" and this is what the conventions of today started out as. But while it is just fine for a dog to wag his tail.. It is another matter for a tail to wag a dog.
Long gone are the days when the convention involvment was simply a board of directors who after being apointed as delagates by thier local church went and worked together to pledge support to missionaries.
Today the modern convention is involved in every aspect of a local churches life... From the appointing and ordaining of its pastors to planting churches and even building hospitals (What's wrong with that? ) and other profit making institutions with the money that was once pledged for missionaries.
Whats wrong with that:
First; The money pledged was for missionary activities... not to build profit making businesses... Hospitals are big business. Using the Missions budget for private venture is called FRAUD!!!
Second: It is the job of the Local Independent Church to Ordain and send Pastors and Missionaries.
Remember that Jesus delights in... The Church!!!
Third: Local Church Autonomy cannot be realized if or when any other organization has the ability (even in Theory) of stepping in and influencing the decisions of the pulpit or congregation.
Again... I am not against a convention acting as a Appointed Missions Agency that is used by the churches but has no say or authority over the churches that support it.
But I am very much against any organization regardless of what it is titled that has to have "Membership" which by its very nature has strings attached to it that bind the churches and their pulpits.
While I am against the current situation in the Conventions today I want to make it clear that I am not against the good works that they do or against the men who make up the conventions or churches that belong to conventions...
They are doing the best that they know how with what they have recieved... For the most part I believe that these men are some of the best Christians in the world.
But little by little over time the Devil has blinded their eyes to his "wiles" and has changed what started as a good idea into a series of new Catholistic Baptist Movements. (That is a major contradiction in terms.)
Many Baptist leaders of today have graduated from seminaries and colleges that are at least second or third generation of teachers who either don't understand the difference between Independent and Convention Churches or who know and rationalize their own personal views on grounds of "situational ethics" (the ends justify the means) The fact is that situational ethics should never dictate Baptist Doctrines. Remember distinctive number one? The Bible is our Soul Authority on all matters of faith, practice and doctrine.
I hope that at some point my Brothers and sisters will realize that they have everthing they need inside the Local church... including the ability to ordain ministers, send missionaries and support those missionaries.
The Local churches can work together without "Contracts".
Pastor... Is your word good? Can you promise a missionary support and make it good?
Can you talk to a few of your friends from other churches and work together to support a project?
Faithfully?
You can do it... I know you can.
There is no reason for 20-40% (or more) of the money you send to a "Convention" to be eaten up by expenses and salaries.
There is no reason for the decline in foreign missionaries due to "lack of support".
How many missionaries does it take to witness to the Golf courses of the world gentlemen?
How many non-existant orphanages and schools that are still carried on the books long after they went under... just to keep the books in line.
A few extremely well paid "missionaries" to exotic places and a bunch of real missionaries and missions churches that are living hand to mouth or being forced to return to the USA for lack of funds.
Pastor you have the control of how your church views its missions budget.
You can lead your church (that is your job isn't it?) to support the missionaries directly and bypass the middle man. You are the leader of a Local Church... a Baptist Church is supposed to be an Autonomous Local Church.
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