Series Two--Conflict in Our World

Session One: Denominational Divisions

The original questions prompting this session were:
"Why are there so many different types of Baptist religions? What does a Southern Baptist believe that is different from other Baptists?"

When we read 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, we see that Christians started a long time ago dividing into factions. The divisions in the Corinth church seem to have started from personal loyalties to various Christian leaders. The evidence of the rest of the Corinthian correspondence suggests that the divisions, like the emphases on possessing certain spiritual gifts, resulted from immaturity on the part of the believers. Paul informed the Corinthians that the differences we Christians experience are not supposed to divide us into separate camps. In fact, our differences help us to be complete as an entire body (see 1 Cor. 12:12-26). If we observe a wide variety of strengths, interests, and concerns within the church, that is good as long as we recognize that we are to serve each other with those gifts rather than compete to see who is most spiritual.

Much of Christian history consists of the efforts to follow Paul's advice and the failures to achieve the unity in diversity he so strongly encouraged. Although the Baptist denomination was a late entrant into the fray, we Baptists have certainly had our contentions and resulting factions (see Baptist History and Heritage Society). While many Protestant denominations have a central historical figure to serve as a reference point (e.g., Luther and Melanchthon for Lutheranism, Calvin for Reformed Church), Baptists look to no single foundational theologian. In fact, the earliest Baptist were distinguished more as practitioners than theologians. And their practices didn't always agree.

What makes a person or church Baptist is adherence to a collection of principles (see below). (Of course there are people who call themselves "Baptist" who have never thought about why they are Baptists and not Presbyterians, Orthodox, or even Hindus. For this discussion we are focusing on consciously organized expressions of Baptist life.) As church history professor Dr. Bill Leonard has noted, "[D]octrines help us define what it means to be Baptist. They reveal that in every age, Baptists confront a challenging task: how to maintain balance, even tension, among the doctrines and activities to which they are committed. The difficulty of that challenge means that often Baptists split. . . . Because such divisions occur so frequently in Baptist churches, we sometimes say that Baptists multiply by dividing, as new Baptist churches and denominations develop out of controversy" (Baptist Ideals: Distinctives of Our Faith, 1987, p. 5)

Let's look at some of those principles.

Four principles characteristic of all Christian groups

1. God, creator, sustainer, and redeemer of the universe, manifests himself to humans as Father, Son, and Spirit.
2. Jesus, the only sinless human, born of a virgin, provides redemption from sin for the rest of humanity through his atoning death.
3. The resurrection of Jesus is both the evidence and the means of God's power to save believers for eternity.
4. At the end of time, Jesus will vanquish evil and reign forever with his followers.

In addition to these Christian principles, Baptists have distinguished themselves from other Christian belivers with the following.

Six principles characteristic of all Baptist groups

1. The Bible is the sole norm for faith and practice.
2. The church is composed of baptized believers.
3. Priesthood of the believer implies privilege and responsibility.
4. The local congregation is autonomous.
5. Church and state are two separate entities.
6. Religious liberty is a fundamental right.

As you go through the Baptist principles, think about how these work out in your church. Can you think of other ways that they might be expressed? What do they imply about what Baptists are not? If you used these principles to establish a new Baptist denomination, what would be the practices of your church? How would you interact with Baptist churches that had a different take on worship practices and theological interpretations? Remember that one of the principles of Baptists is that each church is autonomous. While Baptists do associate with other Baptists, we tend to resist adhering to a uniform procedure on a global basis.

Some distinctives of Southern Baptists

National convention, state/regional conventions, and local associations of Southern Baptist churches have separate memberships and are not hierarchical

Funding of seminaries and missions enterprises comes primarily from Cooperative Program monies which consist of voluntary contributions from individuals and churches

Largest Protestant denomination in the US

International missions efforts focus on evangelism

Listings of Baptist entities
Baptist World Alliance member bodies
Baptist denomination worldwide (84 pages)
Baptist groups in North America