I am a Baptist. The first church I ever attended after my mom became born-again, was Baptist. It might have been too liberal, though, and mom left to attend a more conservative Open Brethren assembly (planted by this one). That’s where I was exposed to Dispensational theology. The main teaching elder at the time had a ThM from Dallas Seminary. As a result my mom bought books by Dallas professors, principally The Bible Knowledge Commentary and John Walvoord. And that stuck. But over time, that church changed, too.
When I came of age, and had to decide for myself what church to attend. I initially went Pentecostal, but after hearing a sermon on losing your salvation as punishment for not doing enough evangelism, I left and joined a Baptist one. Later, my sister and grandmother joined and still attend there.
When I moved for college, I split my time between my home church, an SBC student plant that since closed, and a Baptist church with Armenian roots near my apartment.
When I moved to the US, and settled in Denton, I attended a Brethren assembly that you all know, but ended up joining another Baptist church, where I’m now a pastor of the contemporary service.
“Baptist” is not a denomination, so much as a tradition. We’re all too independent to be a centralized denomination. And when I read articles like this, it reminds me why it’s wise to be independent.
The article is from a very liberal “Baptist” news site. It relates a recent event held to encourage homosexuals and women to become Baptist pastors. The justification is because they feel called to the ministry:
“Every person who spoke at this event—from greeters to prayers to testifiers—identifies within the LGBTQ community. For once, the rest of us sat down and listened. And what we heard were eloquent voices of men and women called by God to serve the church. The testimonies were powerful and persuasive.”
“Every person who spoke gave compelling evidence of a call to vocational ministry, as did others in the room who did not speak. Which led me to ponder: What is God up to in this moment?”
The author doesn’t say what evidence they presented for their calls to ministry, but he evidently believes that truth is decided by numbers, not Scripture:
“But for men and women who are secure in their sexual orientation or gender identity to definitively testify to God calling them to service just as they are—that’s a game changer. Especially when it’s not just one or two random people but instead a pattern among people who never knew each other before.”
That’s not a “game changer” for anyone who thinks truth is objective, and who believes God’s Word is the highest and final authority for doctrine and the application of doctrine (not to mention for all of epistemology).
This group is called the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. I’m thinking a name change may soon be in order. Would Carnal Baptist Fellowship be more appropriate?
