Baptist Traditions

[Chuckster]

Greetings, everyone.

I'm new to the forum and I am looking for some input on baptist traditions. By traditions, I mean things that are commonly done by baptists that are not specifically commanded in scripture that baptists now do.

Some examples of these could be, altar call, youth pastors, missionary boards, Sunday school, standing during scripture readings, bus ministries, etc.

I'm not looking to debate these items. I would like to gather a list of perceived or real traditions that baptists practice, and from there I want to look at the origins of each, and study to see, if in fact, they are traditions or commandments found in scripture.

I'm asking everyone, because I know that there are many traditions out there, and there's no way I could possibly get a comprehensive list only having attended 2 baptist churches in my life.

I am certainly no scholar, so, I may ask for clarification, with your permission of course, on whatever you may be so kind to post.

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[matt wade]

May I ask what the purpose of this study is?

 

[Chuckster]

May I ask what the purpose of this study is?

just for me to gain more knowledge and wisdom....and study is good.

 

[matt wade]

Some examples of these could be, altar call, youth pastors, missionary boards, Sunday school, standing during scripture readings, bus ministries, etc.

I think you are going to have a difficult time narrowing down your list to Baptist traditions. The items you list can be found in churches other than Baptist churches.

 

[Pastor David]

Greetings, everyone.

I'm new to the forum and I am looking for some input on baptist traditions. By traditions, I mean things that are commonly done by baptists that are not specifically commanded in scripture that baptists now do.

Some examples of these could be, altar call, youth pastors, missionary boards, Sunday school, standing during scripture readings, bus ministries, etc.

I'm not looking to debate these items. I would like to gather a list of perceived or real traditions that baptists practice, and from there I want to look at the origins of each, and study to see, if in fact, they are traditions or commandments found in scripture.

I'm asking everyone, because I know that there are many traditions out there, and there's no way I could possibly get a comprehensive list only having attended 2 baptist churches in my life.

I am certainly no scholar, so, I may ask for clarification, with your permission of course, on whatever you may be so kind to post.

Thanks so much for your help!

Historically, the one tradition that seperated Baptists from other Christians was there insistence on baptizing a person by immersion based on a credible profession of faith (credobaptism).

 

[Tom Butler]

Historically, the one tradition that seperated Baptists from other Christians was there insistence on baptizing a person by immersion based on a credible profession of faith (credobaptism).

Add to that the design of baptism. Not sacramental, but to picture the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

 

[Iconoclast]

Standing for the reading of God's word....some like this as an example:

5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people and when he opened it, all the people stood up:

6And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

7Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.
8So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

 

[baptistteacher]

Seems some don't quite understand the OP. He isn't asking for Baptist Distinctives, but things that have become traditional in Baptist churches. Some or many of these traditions may also be found in other groups, and not all Baptist churches have the same traditions.

 

[Salty]

Some examples of these could be, altar call, youth pastors, missionary boards, Sunday school, standing during scripture readings, bus ministries, etc.

I would say that these are not traditions - but rather means that for the most part have been effective at different times.

For example, back in the '70's many churches had bus ministries - today so much - probably due to excessive costs of insurance and fuel.

Mission boards have been found to be effective due to in part of legal requirement esp going to foreign countries.

Activities such as standing while reading scripture is more of respect. Though personally, I do not request the congregation to stand while I read the scripture text.
(note: I have started a thread on this subject)

A tradition is more of a "we've always done it that way - and don't even think of making us change"

 

[baptistteacher]

We usually don't have an altar call on Wednesday nights. I remember the first time I was in a Baptist church with no altar call at that particular service. Seemed so strange at the time. Traditions come and go, the truths of God's Word stand forever.

 

[freeatlast]

Greetings, everyone.

I'm new to the forum and I am looking for some input on baptist traditions. By traditions, I mean things that are commonly done by baptists that are not specifically commanded in scripture that baptists now do.

Some examples of these could be, altar call, youth pastors, missionary boards, Sunday school, standing during scripture readings, bus ministries, etc.

I'm not looking to debate these items. I would like to gather a list of perceived or real traditions that baptists practice, and from there I want to look at the origins of each, and study to see, if in fact, they are traditions or commandments found in scripture.

I'm asking everyone, because I know that there are many traditions out there, and there's no way I could possibly get a comprehensive list only having attended 2 baptist churches in my life.

I am certainly no scholar, so, I may ask for clarification, with your permission of course, on whatever you may be so kind to post.

Thanks so much for your help!

You mentioned you have only attended two Baptust churches in your life. This raises a couple questions. One are a born again believer (have you come to repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ)? Second how are you a Baptist?

 

[David Lamb]

Greetings, everyone.

I'm new to the forum and I am looking for some input on baptist traditions. By traditions, I mean things that are commonly done by baptists that are not specifically commanded in scripture that baptists now do.

Some examples of these could be, altar call, youth pastors, missionary boards, Sunday school, standing during scripture readings, bus ministries, etc.

I'm not looking to debate these items. I would like to gather a list of perceived or real traditions that baptists practice, and from there I want to look at the origins of each, and study to see, if in fact, they are traditions or commandments found in scripture.

I'm asking everyone, because I know that there are many traditions out there, and there's no way I could possibly get a comprehensive list only having attended 2 baptist churches in my life.

I am certainly no scholar, so, I may ask for clarification, with your permission of course, on whatever you may be so kind to post.

Thanks so much for your help!

Welcome to the Baptist Board! One important thing about baptist churches that it is vital to bear in mind when considering questions like these is this: Local baptist churches are not organised in some kind of hierarchy like (say) Anglican churches with their parish churches organised into deanaries under a "dean", dioceses under a "bishop", and provinces under an "archbishop". No, baptist churches see the local church as the unit. That being so, there are baptist church with all sorts of differences, both in their beliefs, and in their practice.

To give you an idea of what I mean, no baptist church I know has altar calls, youth pastors, missionary boards, standing during scripture readings, or bus ministries. I should add that in some cases, this may be because of a difference of American and British English - for instance, I don't really know what "bus ministries" are, though I seem to remember a thread on the Baptist Board a few years ago about "bus children". Several baptist churches I know (but not all) have Sunday Schools, but I have discovered that I need to point out for the sake of folk in the United States that Sunday School here is a teaching/outreach ministry to children.

I cannot think of one "tradition" (in the sense you are using that term) that would be practiced by every baptist church in the world.

I hope you enjoy your time on the Baptist Board.

 

[HankD]

Perhaps this qualifies: Popular in the south and midwest are "revivals".

A Revival is usually a planned series of messages by a team (usually, in my experience) where the saints are prayed to be revived and the lost invited in the hopes that they will be save.

When I went to KC MO to Calvary Bible College (now also a Theological Seminary) we attended an urban Baptist Church.

One day the pastor announced the dates of the coming "revival".

I was astonished - how could he know that there was going to be a revival on certain dates I wondered.

Obviously I had a different view of "revival".

Anyway I liked it, although there was more pulpit shouting than usual.

HankD

 

[glfredrick]

The single most prevalent Baptist tradition that I have found over my years of study is the insistence that being Baptist is Baptist. Baptists are all about being Baptist.

The above is written sort of tongue in cheek, but not completely. It stems from some other Baptist traditional stances such as priesthood of all believers, the Baptist view of autonomy, both of the individual and of the congregation, and individual soul liberty.

This concept is taken so seriously by some Baptists that they have written their own version of Christian history to demonstrate that Baptists have always been in existence, right back to John the Baptist.

 

[Dr. Bob]

Not a tradition, but a rule - if a person is NOT a "Baptist" (regularly attending a Baptist Church) - they CANNOT post in the part of the Baptist Board that is for "Baptists ONLY".

Non-Baptists members on this Forum may post is half of the places - those designed for ALL Christians. The Baptist Board was founded to allow the greatly diverse Baptist community to have an area to dialog without interjection or interference by non-Baptists.

THANK YOU for understanding this rule and abiding by it.