One more reason why I can't be Southern Baptist

I'm a recovering Southern Baptist who attends a Southern Baptist church.

I have been critical of the convention for many, many years over what I considered to be some witch hunting that accompanied the Resurgence and the politicization of the convention. I prefer the 1963 BF&M to its recent incarnations. I am Augustinian in soteriology and have never been in a church with such inclinations.

All that said, none it affects where I attend church; my church is full of good people who want to serve Christ. The actions of the convention are almost inconsequential in that context. In all my years in Baptist churches, none has asked me to subscribe to any flavor of the BF&M, much less any of the innumerable resolutions, some of which I applaud and many of which I ignore or oppose.

The truth is that churches and pastors are increasingly post-convention in their outlook and don't consider themselves bound by what's decided in Nashville or even the outdated annual meetings that generate more heat than light.

 

A dozen years ago I began looking for a church and was led — by an improbable series of circumstances — to my current church. Those included my car dying on the way to visit another church and a curiosity about a church at which a singer I remembered from my teenage years presenting a concert at the church I'm now attending.

It had nothing to do with the convention or the BF&M. I was welcomed and offered an opportunity to serve when what I really wanted was just to sit the pew for a while and heal.

 

My experience with several SBC churches (both large and small) is the average member does not care about the SBC except in giving to missions. Many pastors that I know would have left the SBC long ago if it were not for their congregation being either bound by tradition (they are Southern Baptists) or advocating support for SBC foreign missions. The last thing that I'd worry about is SBC affiliation (although it wouldn't hurt my feelings if my church left the SBC....it wouldn't change anything, except perhaps a few dollars spent elsewhere).

 

Our executive disfellowship a church in our association - after the pastor divorced his wife and married the church secretary.
Our DOM did talk to the church, but they did not see any reason to boot their pastor out.
As TC said - that's all we could do.

 

"Let your conscience be your guild."

It is one of the Baptist Distinctives and overlaps with "Priesthood of the Believer."