question for a Missionary Baptist

Having been a "Missionary Baptist" for over 35yrs. & my husband even longer(his dad was a miss.bapt.preacher), I have found that there are more than one kind of missionary baptist. We were ABA & yes, the uncompromising ones do continue to stick with the Old Book, the KJBible. In the old days, an ABA pastor would never share his pulpit with another "kind" of Baptist & sometimes, not even with "some" missionary baptists . I have known a few pastors to go to SBC pulpits if they asked him to, because they expressed an interest in changing over. One of the reasons we are not affiliated with any ABA now is because the few in our area have become carnal & worldly; not too far behind the SBC here.

 

Hi, tatertot. That is interesting, and out of curiosity I would be interested in knowing with which group of missionary Baptists this pastor is affiliated. As far as the statement "having been correctly read," I don't know for sure, but I do know this - in the south, and especially in southern LA & southern MS, there is an expression that is used after the reading of the scriptures by a number of ministers. The way I have heard it mainly is like this: immediately upon conclusion of the reading of the text, the minister will say, "If correctly read, that is Matthew chapter 28 (or whatever text it is that they are reading)." It could be different in your particular case, but it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the KJV - just an admission that the reading is that text of the word of God if they have read it correctly without making any mistakes. Does that make sense? A similar thing that is common among the Absolute Predestinarian Primitive Baptists in these parts is that when a minister concludes he will say something like, "I pray that God will bless the truth and pardon any error."

 

That would be a great prayer for all speakers, abosolute predestinarian or not. I hear too may preachers come across as if they could never make an error.

 

It has been a long time since I have heard of the congregation voting whether a guest speaker could preach or not. It happened to me several times when I was in the ABA. I always found it to be humorous...what if the vote had been in the negative? Wouldn't that have been embarrassing? I guess they were trying to be sure they did not commit one of the "unpardonable sins" which the ABA guarded against so much in those days..."pulpit affiliation." As I said in my introductory post, I was ABA for 17 years before switching to SBC. Other than being saved and choosing my mate, it was the greatest decision I ever made. Still trying to figure out why it took me so long! I have no contact with the ABA folks now, so I don't know how adamant they are about such issues today.

 

It used to be very common for churches of the ABA (and other associations) to vote on a guest speaker filling the pulpit. But I don't think it really had much to do with pulpit affiliation. It had more to do with the idea of the church rather than the pastor having the authority over the pulpit (congregational government and all). Most pastors would never even put a guest speaker up for vote if he was questionable.

 

I suspect you are correct. Certainly pastors need to be kept in line lest they "get too big for their britches!" Seriously, I now laugh at many ABA issues that I used to lose a lot of sleep over...for example: I have been in ABA churches during communion when those serving communion would tell guests who happened to take one of the elements to put it back in the plate because they were not members of that particular church (closed communion). I knew an ABA pastor who refused to attend the ordination of his son as a deacon in a Southern Baptist Church. He was real proud of the fact that he was "keeping the faith." One other....try this one on....I even knew of some ABA churches who refused to accept members by letter who were baptized by a Southern Baptist church. They considered it "alien immersion." I don't mean to demean the wonderful people in ABA churches. In fact, I still praise them for their missionary zeal. I'm simply amused as I look back over my years in the ABA and recall the many unusual things I experienced in the name of "doctrinal purity."

 

I have family in an ABA started church, that has for the most part been able to avoid those issues because the pastor doesn't make such things an issue. I remember preaching there once and using an NIV of NASB and hearing the comment that it was nice to hear a bible verse read that was understandable. So I guess not all Missionary Baptist folks are cut from the same cloth. I will say this, they are all about spreading the Gospel of Christ and building churches and that isn't such a bad thing!

 

My wife and i just recently left an ABA church here because of such 'purity' issues. we were told by the pastor that we were heretics and that there were no other actual churches in the area, that they were all heretical (there are four other baptist churches in this small town). What gets me is that this church will condemn every other church in town, yet will associate with the ABA, which includes churches that practise things that they consider heretical (open communion, not using KJV only, etc.) My wife was so put off by them that she was almost turned off of church altogether.

I'm by no means a baptist history scholar, but I believe many of the groups that landmarkers point to as baptist ancestors had practises that the church like i went to would condemn today, and therefore they would have nothing to do with that church.

 

FaithRemains: Sorry about the problems you experienced with the church...and especially regarding the way it affected your wife. Remind her there are Baptist churches out there that are biblically sound and yet are still loving. My experience with ABA churches was that their paranoia over maintaining strict Landmark doctrine left them a little short on the loving-people-end. I know that for years as an ABA pastor I proudly boasted that I loved all Christians. But as I look back, I realize that what I really meant was that I loved ABA Landmark Baptists. Sad isn't it? Thank God for the change He brought about in my heart!! I do want to emphasize that the ABA churches as a whole are very mission minded as far as establishing churches. Most of their missions (and existing churches) remain numerically small. It is not unusual to find an ABA church of 25 people in regular attendance sponsoring a mission work. You have to admire their desire to establish new churches around the world. Here is a new twist on things....I recently was talking to a person who is a lifelong ABA church member. This person was complaining that "all" the young pastors in the ABA are wanting to be foreign missionaries, not pastors of stateside churches. Isn't that interesting?

 

I was a BMA laypreacher, and "interim" pastor. I preached in ABA churches and BMA churches, and I heard many preachers from both. Some did use different versions of the Bible, but a majority would use the KJV or the NKJV. I personally at that time used the KJV. But the churches we've visited here in the Nashville, TN area, some have used other versions, and it was a refreshing change.

 

I surrendered to the ministry in a former ABA church in Oregon almost 3 years ago. I preached at ABA and some independent churches around the state. One church i did have to give a testimony of my salvation, my baptism, and my call to preach before the church, then they voted whether or not to allow me to preach. It struck me as odd.

looking back, it seems that the people i knew in those churches said they loved all christians, but they thought that if you weren't a missionary baptist, you weren't a christian. it was actually my wife that challenged me and caused me to reevaluate what i had been taught.

I moved to montana partly because i was assured by my parent's church here (also ABA) that there were many opportunities to preach and for mission work. unfortunatly, my mother-in-law passed away unexpectedly and i had to return to oregon with my wife for a week and miss a sunday that i was supposed to preach. Soon after that i was told by the pastor that there were not very many opportunities for me.

I have found that while there are some great people in ABA and missionary baptist churches, as a whole they seem, in my experience, to be rather, well, full of themselves.

 

it was actually my wife that challenged me and caused me to reevaluate what i had been taught.

"Any relation to EVE???

 

TaterTot,

I am a Landmark Missionary Baptist (BMA type). I assure you the Pastor will fall right in line with SBC teaching in most instances. Just bear in mind that we see the SBC as not as conservative as us I have noticed that many of the issues that people get "upset" over are things that they do not fully understand. The vote is really an ENDORSEMENT. It is to say "we all agree we want to hear this man".

Having hung around the BB for a while I see that we are different. There are things SBC does not understand about us. Just as I cannot under stand what is going on in the SBC for the life of me!!! LOL.

Whey

 

I wonder if "correctly read" has anything to do with the physical stance?

Some churches I have been in do not stand during scripture reading, but many do out of respect.

In the Ukraine, they also stand during any prayer also, for the same reason. Why be slouchy when talking wiht God.

 

Yea Granny, God forbid anyone listen to their wife.

 

Yea Granny, God forbid anyone listen to their wife.

"Well, Grasshopper".....That was said in jest, but since ya insist! ~1Corinthians 11:3(KJV)

 

May I cut in and ask what really is a "Missionary Baptist?" I know it is not bound by types of Baptist, because i've been to both SBC missionary baptist and IFB missionary baptist churches. I was a member of a missionary baptist church...the church I am a member of now definitely gives well to missions, but doesn't have "missionary" in the name. Someone fill me in please