What Is a Baptist?

Each June, the Southern Baptist Convention holds its annual meeting. While I had the mixed fortune of missing this year’s gathering, reading all the news articles and blogs before, during, and after—from various sources and points of view—made me think again about what it means to be a Baptist.

There’s an old joke that says when three Baptists gather together, you will have four points of view. But that’s not really accurate. It is much worse than that! There are many, many groups of Baptists. Just to name a few, there are Southern Baptists, American Baptists, Independent Baptists, National Baptists, Cooperative Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Missionary Baptists, Free Will Baptists, Landmark Baptists, Seventh Day Baptists, Reformed Baptists (and probably some Deformed Baptists) , Foot Washing Baptists —well, you get the picture. And the churches (and the individuals in those churches) in each of these groups may (and probably do) have some variations of thought and belief.

In fact, on a Baptist church’s website I was perusing recently, there was a link that was something like, “What Kind of Baptists We Are.” How appropriate! Some claim on their websites to be “faithful and free Baptists.” (Although I haven’t come across it yet, I am sure there must be a church out there that advertises itself as “faithless and in bondage Baptists”!)

It makes you wonder what people “out there” think when they see the word “Baptist.” What caricature comes to their minds, and where did that caricature come from?

It makes you wonder what good a label is if it doesn’t communicate a certain idea clearly.

We could explore that trail of thought down a couple of different forks; it would probably be good to do so. But that will be for another time.

Instead, I want to say a few words about my own understanding of what it means to be Baptist by sharing what I consider some of the distinctive characteristics. Now, this will be "off the top of my head" stuff rather than textbook, so I am sure I could "clean it up" a little and say it better if I wanted to take more time.

1. Baptists believe the Bible is the word of God. Instead of using any “shibboleths” (see Judges 12.1-6 if you need some explanation of that metaphor) by using fancy words to further explain, I will leave it that simply.
2. Baptists believe that having right standing with God through the forgiveness of our sins comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone. We can't work our way to a right relationship with God and heaven. However, true faith always blossoms forth in a changed life that seeks to live according to God's plan.
   
3. Baptists highlight the priesthood of the believer, a biblical concept that says we all have equal access to God without the need for anyone other than Jesus to go to God on our behalf. At its highest level, it means every believer can act as a “priest” to others, pointing people to Jesus.
4. The idea of “soul competency” derives from the last, saying that each soul has the competence to come before God without the need of a priest of a church. This idea rightly says that faith cannot be forced or coerced but must be freely entered into by each person. Unfortunately, many people reduce this idea to, “As a Baptist I can believe anything I want to believe.” While soul competency does lead to the idea of freedom of interpretation, there is a balance. This distinctive must, in my mind, submit to the first. And sometimes the Bible is so clear that it is impossible to hide defective interpretation behind this idea.
5. Each congregation is free to govern itself under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Every church has some kind of human government. Some have hierarchical government. Examples are Catholic and United Methodist, where the pope or bishops make pronouncements that are handed down to each church. Some churches have elder rule, where a group of persons discern God’s will for the entire group. Because of the idea of every believer competent to discern God’s will, Baptists have for the most part been congregational, that is, each church directs its own affairs, often with the entire church discussing and coming to agreement, most often by vote. (If agreement wasn’t reached and the subject was of great importance in the minds of the members, there can often be a new church started!) The main thing is that each Baptist church is independent under God and cooperates with other churches voluntarily. No outside body tells a Baptist church what to do. Individual Baptist churches may be pastor-led, deacon-led, committee or team-led, elder-led, or congregational-led (each church decides that!), but they make that decision on their own. They own and build their own buildings. Groups of Baptists may gather for missions, for discussion, for fellowship, etc., but they do so voluntarily. A group of churches may choose not to associate with another church for whatever reason, but it does not affect what Baptists call “the autonomy” of the local church. (Now you know why there are so many different kinds of Baptists!)
6. Baptism is a symbol—an important symbol—of the Christian faith (rather than a means of grace). This “ordinance”—the word given to baptism and the Lord’s Supper by Baptists—is a command given by Jesus. The most correct understanding of baptism is that it is for believers (and not infants, for instance) and is by immersion. Several other Christian groups have a similar concept of baptism. Baptism is a wonderful symbol that communicates on three levels. Only baptism of believers by immersion encompasses all three. First, baptism symbolizes the washing away of sin. Second, baptism tells the story of Jesus—specifically his death, burial and resurrection. When one is placed under the water, it is symbolic of burial. When a person is brought out of the water, it proclaims the glorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ! Third, baptism tells the story of the new believer: the Scripture says, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6.4). When one is baptized, he or she is proclaiming, “The old me—who did not follow Jesus—is dead. There is a new me! I have been raised with Christ and am now following Him!” Again, the Bible says it best (in 2 Corinthians 5.17): “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” It’s kind of hard to see how any other group could understand baptism differently when they read the words of the Bible. I could have shared more on this, but that is all I want to do at this time.
7. Baptists believe in a free church in a free state. We realized early on that if there was an established church in the U.S., it wouldn't be Baptist! Baptists insisted early on for freedom of religion, and like-minded people joined together to insure that freedom in our Bill of Rights.
   

Baptists also have been characterized by their moral standards. As one example, most Baptists, at least in the U.S., have championed abstaining from alcoholic beverages over the years, many going so far as placing that in their church covenant. This stand goes actually beyond the mandate of Scripture, which labels drunkenness as sin and counsels any consumption of alcohol in moderation. Of course, it is easy to see, with all the heartaches caused by drunkenness and alcoholism over the years, why Baptists felt it an evil to be completely avoided. While I myself have always been a teetotaler and encourage others to see the advantage of such a decision, I think we should be careful in making absolute mandates when the Bible does not. Again, we could write several pages about this subject—and probably will at some point.

One more thing to place Baptists in context: Baptists are one expression of the Christian faith--not the only expression. (Though there are some Baptists who would disagree!) To help the novice a little more, what is termed "Christianity" has today three primary expressions--Catholic (from the roots of the "western" church), Orthodox (from the roots of the "eastern" church), and Protestant (churches that "protested" against practices of the Catholic church centuries ago, and most Catholics today would likely agree that those practices were indeed wrong). The movement of Protestantism had many expressions over the years and centuries--Lutherans, Presbyterians, Anglicans, and Methodists, to name a few. Most people, including me, would count Baptists among that number. Some do not like to label Baptists as Protestants but as a separate movement altogether, because early baptistic people were persecuted by Protestants, so I guess they certainly have a point there. However, Baptists are certainly closely related to Protestants and are generally classified by most (again, me included) as evangelicals, a subset of Protestantism who see the need for each person to have a spiritual rebirth that happens when a persons places his or her faith in Jesus Christ.

Wow! This sounds a lot more complicated than it really is!

Well, I figure you are past bored—if you indeed got this far, so I’ll stop for today. Let me end by saying that I am indeed a Baptist—at least the way I understand it! But the most important quality, the one that makes it more simple than it may sound, is number one—the Bible is the word of God. All other distinctives—like the last one we talked about—must be judged by the first. And we should be willing to change any of the others if we come to understand they are not in keeping with the Bible. I hope all churches everywhere would take that stand. (Then maybe we would all be Baptists!);>)

Father’s Day 2006

I have five children. The first was a girl—we named her Hannah Eve. (There’s a story there—ask me about it sometime.) The second was a girl—we named her Lydia Marie. The third was a girl—we named her Abigail Susan. The fourth was a girl—we named her Rebekah Joy.

You may notice that the first names were all Bible names.

Well, we discovered we were pregnant again. Now, I went to Georgia Tech, and I thought I saw a pattern emerging as I reviewed the history our first four children. Rather than waste time picking out a name for a boy, we just settled on Sarah Grace for the name of our fifth daughter.

Well, our fifth child arrived—and what a surprise! It was a boy! (And there’s a nice story about his birth, too, but that will also have to wait.) Having no ready names for boys picked out, he had to settle for mine (and my dad’s), so he is named Fred O. Pitts III.

On this Father’s Day, I would like for you to know just how blessed I am.

Hannah is my favorite child. She is twenty (almost 21!), and she is a junior at Georgia Tech. She is a wonderful Christian young lady who is engaged to a wonderful Christian young man named Rick. I had the privilege of leading them through pre-marital guidance, and it was a blessing to hear how they want to honor Jesus with their lives. Rick is graduating in August from Georgia Tech, and they will be married soon after. (Rick already has a job lined up after graduation!) They will live in married housing at GT for another year until Hannah graduates. She also has a line on a job, too. We are excited to see what God is doing in their lives. Hannah is absolutely a daddy’s girl.

Lydia is my favorite child. An accomplished musician, she is a student at Georgia State University (though she wants everyone to know that she was accepted to Georgia Tech, too!), where she is majoring in Music Education. She plays the oboe and the piano, though the oboe is her instrument at school. At this time, she senses that God is calling her to one day be an international missionary. We will be thrilled if God continues to guide her in that direction, but we will be just as thrilled if He calls her to stay right here in the U.S., too. We are excited to see the next steps. Lydia loves her dad.

Abigail is my favorite child. She is a rising senior in High School and is very high spirited. A homeschooled student, she is also active in Artios Academy—a Christian program for the visual and performing arts. She is a talented actress and singer and wants to pursue these arts in college. More important, she is pursuing her relationship with God with all of her heart. She actively talks to others about Jesus, even while she has a million questions about her faith. (And she is never reluctant to ask them—which is wonderful!) Abigail has always been close to her dad and remains that way today.

Rebekah is my favorite child. Being the fourth in a series of girls is not the best way to be noticed in a family! But Rebekah occupies that position with grace and poise. She, too, is a member of Artios Academy and has blossomed into a wonderful actress in her own right. In earlier years, she was actively involved in gymnastics, the only one in our family to branch out into that activity. Earlier this year, I gave the opportunity for people in our congregation to stand up in the middle of my message and declare, “Jesus is my Lord!” I was surprised and pleased when Rebekah—who is sometimes quiet about such things—was one of the first to stand up and make that declaration. I am proud to say that Rebekah tells her dad often how much she loves him.

Fred O. III is my favorite child. The only boy, he has shown us first hand that boys and girls are indeed different by nature! He and I have always enjoyed reading stories together. (Of course, I read with the girls, too, but as he has gotten older, the kinds of stories have been different.) Fred O enjoys baseball and swimming and all kinds of boy activities, both inside and out of doors. Recently, Fred O and I went on a trip together to the Grand Canyon. (I have taken a trip with each of my children when they reach 13—this was my last of that fabulous series—and that also is another blog.) We rode mules to the bottom and back up again the next day. We enjoyed our time together. Thinking he might be feeling a little old to hear me say it—or return it—I will sometimes say to him, “L-Y-S” (“Love you, son”). Invariably, though, he comes back with, “Love you too, Dad!”

Cindy is my favorite wife. She has been the glue that keeps our family together. She has tirelessly homeschooled the children and trained them up in the way of the Lord. She has set demanding standards—I am sure the children thought them too demanding at times!—and has seen the children meet them. She has planned dozens and dozens of family activities, prepared countless home-cooked meals, made school fun and exciting, and made birthdays extra special. She is extra special, too, especially since she goes on and on even when underappreciated and taken for granted—which happens at least 364 days a year. Like the children, Cindy loves me, too.

My, what a blessed man I am! Surely the words from Psalm 128 are mine this Father’s Day:

Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways.
You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.
May the LORD bless you from all the days of your life;
may you live to see your children's children.

May it be so!

Fred O. Pitts

The Most Important Thing We Do

Everyone is looking for meaning in life. Life is short! We want to make sure we don't miss what it's all about. We can pursue money (and what it can buy), power, fame, luxury, thrills, highs, sensuality, or a number of other things. When it is all said and done, will we have accomplished the purpose for which we were created--that is, if we were created by someone for something?

Jesus, the one I follow, said that our highest purpose is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” (Of course, He was quick to add a close second: love your neighbor as yourself!)

So, our greatest purpose is loving God with all of our being.

How do we do that? Perhaps the grandest way we communicate our love to God is through worship, both public and private. The English word worship comes from the word “worth” and signifies that we worship when we express to God how much He is worth to us. And to the follower of Jesus, God is worth all we that have and all that we are! When we truly worship God, we are motivated and empowered to go out and minister in His name in our world, which is really simply an extension of our worship.

Some Christians believe that evangelism is the most important thing we do. While I have sympathy with that view, the truth is, the most important thing we do is worship. It is the driver for evangelism and everything else we do.

Having already said that worship is both public and private and includes our behavior as we live, I would like to talk some about that important area of public worship. What a shame it is that worship is the most important thing we do, and yet many believers spend a lot of time divided over worship today. Let's think together about it for a few minutes. Let's start with a verse from the Psalms:

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.” Psalm 95.6-7

Notice that in the portion of Scripture reproduced above, King David encourages “us” to worship—that is, he is speaking of the need to gather with other believers to worship. As you consider joining in to worship at any particular church, you might have some questions:

• What is worship?
• What can I expect at a certain church?
• What “style” of worship is practiced?

Good questions! I would like to give you my philosophy from my understanding of the Scriptures and how we try to put that into practice at the church I pastor.

So, what is worship? Let me share the answer in a couple of ways that may seem strange to you at first glance, but I think they will make sense to you in the end.

First, Worship is a verb. That means it is something you do, not something you merely attend. At the close of a “worship service,” even though all have gathered at the same time and place and experienced the same songs, prayers, and words, it is likely that some have truly worshiped and some have not. It is not a matter of being in a “worship service,” it is a matter of a heart turned toward God in adoration, prayer, and praise and a hunger to hear a word from Him in return.

Second, Worship is a balance. When we come together as worshipers, we come from a variety of backgrounds and a variety of tastes and a variety of styles. And most of us have a favorite way that we experience worship. But we must be careful not to define worship according to our own tastes and somehow criticize others because they worship in a different manner. In fact, we should learn to appreciate different aspects of worship, because God may want to speak to us in different ways on different days.

Let me share with you three balances that we see in worship.

First, there is the balance of spirit and truth. Jesus says that those who want to worship God—and the kinds of worshipers that God desires—must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4.23-24). What does it mean to worship in spirit? I am not sure I will ever totally fathom that concept, but of this much I am sure: to have spirit, our worship must be alive. It must be more than going through the motions. It must be more than ritual. While I would be hesitant to say that some worship is dead, I might be bold enough to say that a lot of it seems to be on life support!

But there also must be truth. To have truth, our worship must be biblical. While there are many ways to legitimately worship, we always seek to evaluate our worship by what God reveals to us in His word. Some churches have a lot of spirit but seem to be lacking in the truth of God's word in many of their practices as well as their doctrines.

Second, there is the balance of old and new. The Bible says, “Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past” (Deuteronomy 32.7). It also says, “Sing to the Lord a new song!” (Psalm 96.1 as one example). Again, we see a balance of worship: we must always keep a vital connection with the church throughout the ages, but each generation of believers must also make fresh declarations of praise based on their personal experiences with Him. Another way to say that is that each generation must sing God's praises in its own "language." At our church, we are intentional in seeking to have worship that is multigenerational. We believe that God wants us to learn to appreciate the variety of worship in the community of faith, hope, and love. We will see this balance achieved over months and not necessarily every week.

Third, there is the balance of celebration and meditation. The writer says in one of the Psalms, “Clap your hands all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” In the previous Psalm, though, we read that God says to us, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 47 and Psalm 46). Not every week’s worship should be the same; we must not get locked into only one mode or “style” of worship. We need celebration and we need meditation. Some services will be more celebrative in nature—perhaps most are! But we must also have times for meditation and contemplation. Worship is unbalanced over time if there is only one or the other.

So, trying to put these into practive at our own church, Clairmont Hills Baptist Church (but realizing we do not always achieve our desire), you can expect an easily understandable worship, you can expect to be greeted by people who are genuinely glad that you are there, you can expect a variety of styles of music and other modes of worship over time, and you can expect a message based on the Bible that at once honors God and is relevant to the lives of those living in our community. You can also expect not to be put on the spot in any way.

But there is one thing more you should expect. And this is the most important expectation of all. Expect that God will speak to you and bless you when you come ready to worship Him!

Yes, expect to give yourself to God through worship, and expect to receive from God in the process. It's the most important thing we do.