Let the Local (SBC) Church Decide

I am happy to be a Southern Baptist because I believe SBC doctrine is biblical. I am pleased that this is worked out in effective international missions.

I am not pleased that Southern Baptists, at least at the denominational level, always seem to be fighting or arguing about something. Quite honestly, all the bickering just gets tiring after a while. Current acrimony exists over alien immersion (not baptism of Martians, but baptism in churches of non-Baptist denominations), speaking in tongues, women's role in ministry, Calvinism, Baptist identity, support of the Cooperative Program, and inflated church membership numbers. Even the latest Lifeway report showing a decreased number of baptisms has led to arguments. I'm sure there are other issues people are fighting about that I haven't even mentioned here.

We must get past all of this in-fighting. First, it does not please God. Jesus made it abundantly clear that He wants His church to be united (see John 17). Second, it gives a black eye to the church when we fight. The world just looks and laughs. Third, it keeps us from focusing on the purpose of the convention: missions.

Let me be clear: the purpose of the church is to glorify God. One way this happens is through missions. However, the sole purpose of the SBC, as far as I can tell, is to glorify God by helping local churches in missions work. If not for missions, we might as well do away with the SBC as a whole.

I propose a simple solution for all this SBC in-fighting. First, let's agree on core doctrinal issues such as are stated in the Nicene Creed. Let's agree on the truth of scripture. Let's agree on the importance of believer's baptism. Let's agree on the sanctity of both marriage and human life. Let's agree on the autonomy of the local church.

Second, let's let the local church decide what it wants to believe about other issues. The local church, after studying scripture, should decide what it wants to do about issues that we are currently fighting over in the SBC. With about 45,000 churches, we are far too large of a convention to agree on everything. Let's leave it to local bodies to decide, for example, what they should believe about speaking in tongues, Calvinism, and inflated membership numbers.

We must remember that the SBC is not a denomination like many others. We purposefully have no structure above the local church that can tell it what to do. It will decrease arguing at the denominational level if we will simply leave some of these secondary issues to the local church.

Understanding, then, that there will be differences in some beliefs between SBC churches, could we not still work together to take the gospel to the ends of the earth? Do we all have to believe exactly the same thing in order to share the gospel with people who have never heard?

As a convention, we must stop fighting. It is an insult to God. We must strive to work together for the spread of the gospel. Leave the secondary issues to the local church. We must trust the local church to seek God's will through the scriptures, and then make the right decisions.

Unity and Galatians 1

The issue of unity within the body of Christ is a key topic that often gets overlooked in churches. If it is addressed, it is usually discussed it terms of that particular local church being united, or all the churches within that one denomination being united. Rarely do I hear talk about all Christians being united. In fact, I hear a lot more about it in the blog world (on blogs such as this, this, this, this, and this) than I do in the local church.

Is unity even important? Our Lord Jesus certainly thought it was. In John 17:20-23, He prayed, "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."

I have been wondering about one thing related to this: At what point does unity end? Is there a point, and if so, where is it? It doesn't seem that God would want us to be confused on this, so where do we draw the line?

After pondering this for some time, I've come to the conclusion that we can learn quite a bit from Galatians 1:6-9. This text reads, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed."

When Paul writes this letter, he quickly jumps into the severe problems facing the Galatian churches. They appear to be departing from the gospel of grace that he taught them in preference for a works-based salvation taught by false teachers.

Where does Paul tell the Galatians to draw the line in this situation? He says the dividing line is the gospel. He is clear in this by repeating himself in verses eight and nine. The gospel itself is the place where they are to take a stand.

We can generalize from the Galatian situation to our current situation today. Where do we break unity? Is it over the sacraments/ordinances? Is it over church polity? Is it over philosophy of ministry? Is it over Reformed vs. Arminian theology? I don't think so.

Paul appears to be setting the dividing line, and therefore the point at which we break unity, at the gospel itself.