Baptists
Who'd be a Baptist?
The response to this question is a responding 'we would!', spoken around the world by thirty seven million people who are members of the Baptist churches.
Baptist churches are found in almost every country in the world. As part of the world wide Christian church, Baptists form one of the largest families of faith. Baptists see themselves as part of the wider world church of God, with a common mission to live and preach the Good News of Jesus, and to bring people everywhere into God's family.
For Baptists, the concept of a 'family' is important. The church is not so much a particular place or building, but rather a family of believers, committed to Christ, to one another and to the service of God in the world. In other Christian traditions, church membership is not always clearly defined. In a Baptist context, baptism involves not only commitment to Christ, but also commitment to Christ's Church. For Baptists, church membership involves a commitment not only to work together to extend Christ's Kingdom, but also to love one another and stand by one another whatever the cost.
In the Baptist family everybody is equal, for everybody has a part to play in the service of God. There is no hierarchy of bishops or priests exercising authority over their members. Equality of status, however, does not mean that all have the same role. Each local Baptist church appoints its own leaders - or 'ministers' - to have particular responsibility for preaching, teaching and pastoral care. Working alongside these ministers are also 'deacons', who together with the minister form the leadership team of the local Baptist church.
Baptists do not have 'priests' - rather they believe in the 'priesthood of all believers'. That is to say they believe that all Christians are equal before God and that all are equally called to serve God in the local church - and the wider world. However they also believe that some are called to lead local churches in their mission to the world, and so they appoint 'ministers', 'deacons' and in many churches 'elders'.
Baptists are very much grass-roots people, with a particular emphasis on the local church. These local churches are self-govening and self-supporting, ranging in size from twenty or so members to many hundreds. Although each Baptist church is an independent entity, Baptists nonetheless have always believed in associating with one another - and so the churches come together in local, regional, national and international spheres to promote and support the fellowship of Baptists everywhere.
In this country, the majority of Baptist churches together make up the Baptist Union of Great Britain. The Baptist Union acts as a major resource for local churches. Its aims are to encourage, support and initiate strategies for mission; to act as a channel through which stronger churches can support weaker churches; and to help Baptists maintain their distinctive Baptist identity.
The Baptist way of being the church is living together in community - in a family if you like.
Baptist roots: Radical dissent
Baptists are radicals in the sense that they believe in returning to the roots of Christian faith (note that the English word 'radical' comes from the Latin word 'radix' which means root). This means that they seek to root their life together in the Biblical pattern of being the church.
Baptists have need for personal faith. Instead of baptising babies, Baptists have reserved baptism for those who are able to make a personal confession of Jesus as Lord and Saviour. In the 16th century, when the modern Baptist movement was born, this emphasis on personal faith was perceived as a threat to the state church, to which all were expected to belong, with or without faith. In 17th century England, Baptists refused to conform and be members of the Church of England, arguing that Christ, and not the King (or Queen), was head of the Church. Baptists have been described as 'dissenters' or 'nonconformists' - they stand in the 'Free Church' tradition.
Persecuted for their beliefs throughout the 17th century, Baptists at one stage developed into two 'streams' of theological thought; the 'General' Baptists believed that when Christ died on the cross he died for everyone in 'general'; the 'Particular' Baptists, however, believed that Christ died for the 'elect' i.e. a 'particular' group of people. Later, these two streams came together to form the present Baptist Union of Great Britain.
Baptists in the UK grew significantly in the 19th century. This was the age of the pulpit giants - Charles Haddon Spurgeon of London, for instance, and Alexander MacClaren in Manchester, drew congregations of many thousands. It was also during this era that Baptists such as John Clifford, in London, were much involved in the quest for social justice and were prominent in the fight against slavery and racism.
Like every other denomination in England and Wales, Baptists went through a period of decline at the beginning of the 20th century. However, in the 1980s a new spirit of hope and commitment began to take root. Today, with some 2150 churches and a total membership of almost 150,000, the Baptist churches who form the Baptist Union of Great Britain represent a significant force for radical Christian discipleship.
What makes a Baptist?
There is no one distinctive Baptist belief! Although probably most people think of believers' baptism as the primary Baptist distinctive, Baptists are not the only Christians to practise believers' baptism. Nor are they the only Christians to believe in congregational church goverment, the priesthood of all believers, or the separation of church and state. It is the combination of these various beliefs which make Baptists distinctive. Baptist distinctives may be likened to a set of genes which, because of their particular arrangement, produce a family likeness wherever they are found. We believe in...
1. The Lordship of Christ
'Jesus is Lord' is the distinctive confession of faith. As individuals and as churches, Baptist seek to make Jesus Lord of every aspect of their lives.
2. The authority of the Bible
Baptists believe that the Bible is the Word of God and that the Holy Spirit through the scriptures shows us God's way for living. As radical believers Baptists seek to root their lives in the revelation of God's truth.
3. Believers' baptism
On the basis of the New Testament, Baptists claim that baptism is for believers only. Baptism is only for those who are able to declare 'Jesus is Lord'. As a symbol of Jesus' claim on their lives, Baptists practise baptism by 'immersion', in which candidates symbolise their desire to 'die to self' and to live for Christ.
4. A believers' church
Baptists understand the church as a community of believers gathered by the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ for worship, witness and service. Central to Baptist worship is prayer and praise, listening to God's word in preaching and a gathering around the Lord's Table.
5. The priesthood of all believers
In the Baptist model of a believers' church, every member has a role to play, whether in teaching, faith-sharing, evangelism, social action, pastoring, guiding, serving, prophetic insight, praying, healing, administration or hospitality.
6. The church meeting
In a Baptist church, one expression of the 'priesthood of all believers' is the church meeting. This is the occasion when members come together to prayerfully discern God's will for their life together. In Baptist churches the finial authority rests not with the ministers or deacons but with the members gathered together in church meetings. It is the church meeting which, for instance, appoints leaders, agrees financial policy and determines mission strategy. Church meetings tend to take place mid-week, normally on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.
7. Associating together
Baptist churches have always come together in regional, national and international 'associations' for support and fellowship. On the basis of the New Testament, Baptists believe that churches should not live in isolation from one another but rather be 'interdependent', both as Baptists and as part of the Church Universal.
8. The missionary task
Compelled by the Holy Spirit, Baptists seek to be missionary communities. Baptists believe that each Christian has a duty to share their faith with others. William Carey was a Baptist who is known as the father of the modern missionary movement. Along with this emphasis on evangalism, however, Baptists recognise that mission includes social action and involves promoting justice, social welfare, healing, education and peace in the world.
9. Religious freedom
Religious freedom for all has always been a keystone of the Baptist way. Within Baptist churches, tolerance for differences of outlook and diversity of practice is encouraged.
The Baptist Family
Individual Church Member
For baptists, Christian faith begins with a personal commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. This personal commitment, dramatised in a service of believers' baptism, works itself out in a life of service to God. Currently there are some 150,000 members of Baptist churches associated with the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
Local Baptist Churches
With their emphasis on the grass roots, local churches form the front-line of Baptist mission. Around 2,150 churches belong to the Baptist Union of Great Britain, each of them self-funding and the majority of them financially independent.
Regional Associations
Baptist churches have always linked together in regional associations to support one another in their task of reaching out with the Good News of Jesus. Associations today provide a vital link between the churches and the Baptist Union.
The Baptist Union is made up of local churches, assoications and colleges in England and Wales. The Baptist Union is primarily a mission agency. It exists to: encourage, support and initiate effective strategies in evangelism and other aspects of God's mission; develop a distinctive Baptist identity; promote the greater sharing of people, money and other resources. The Union operates through a council which organises its work through four major commitees:
General Purpose and Finance Executive
With special responsibility for finance, legal, Home Mission grants, staffing and overall policy co-ordination.
Mission Executive
Covers research, training and development in all aspects of mission - such as evangelism, church planting, racial justice, social action, public education, children's issues and youth work.
Faith & Unity Executive
Looks after relations with the wider Baptist family: partner unions, the EBF and the BWA and nurtures dialogue and co-operation with other denominations and ecumenical bodies at the local, regional, national, European and international levels.
Ministry
Takes care of all matters related to people in the various kinds of ministry Baptists recognise. This includes the way a call to ministry is followed through and the extensive ways people are supported once in office.
Fellowship of British Baptists
The fellowship brings together all the Baptist churches in Great Britain, in membership with the Baptist Union of Scotland, the Baptist Union of Wales and the Baptist Union of Great Britain. The fellowship also includes BMS World Mission, which relates to all three Unions.
The Worldwide Family
The Baptist vision of the church is not constrained by national borders. Baptists see themselves as part of the World Church with a mission, through the gospel, to bring people everywhere into God's family. Baptists live and work in every corner of the globe and various regional associations exist to help them in their mission. The Baptist Union of Great Britain is one of the founder members of the European Baptist Federation (1948) and the Baptist World Alliance (1905) which represents nearly 150,000 churches and more than 43 million members.
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