FAQs - Frequently
Asked Questions
Many, if not most, answers to common questions about the
Southern Baptist Convention can be found by reviewing the material posted under
the "Faith &
Facts" menu choice on SBC.net,
the "home website for all things Southern Baptist." However,
below is a sampling of the most common questions with our responses.
1. How can our church
cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention?
In order for a church to be recognized as a cooperating
church with the SBC, it must "be in friendly cooperation with the
Convention and sympathetic with its purposes and work,” and be "a bona
fide contributor to the Convention's work during the fiscal year
preceding" (Article III, Southern
Baptist Convention Constitution).
The standard method of contribution is through the Cooperative Program, our
unified method of supporting SBC mission causes, and the most common avenue for
contribution is through the church's respective Baptist state convention
office. You can locate the convention office in your state by clicking here http://www.sbc.net/stateconvassoc.asp.
The staff in that office will be happy to assist you.
The Southern Baptist Convention meets once each year in
June. A church would be qualified to send messengers to the annual meeting during
any June if it has taken formal action to cooperate (such as a vote of the
church body)
and has contributed to the work of the Convention during the preceding fiscal
year (which ends each September 30).
2. What is the
procedure for ordination in the SBC?
Actually, there is no standard process or policy concerning
ordination in the SBC. In fact, the SBC cannot ordain anyone. The
matter of ordination is addressed strictly on a local church level. Every
Southern Baptist church is autonomous and decides individually whether or not to
ordain, or whether to require ordination of its pastor. When a church senses
that God has led a person into pastoral ministry, it is a common practice to
have a council (usually of pastors) review his testimony of salvation, his
pastoral calling from the Lord, and his qualifications (including theological
preparation and scriptural qualifications according to 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and
Titus 1:7-9) for pastoral ministry. Based upon that interview the church
typically decides whether or not ordination would be appropriate.
Some SBC churches require seminary training from an SBC
seminary, while others may not, such a requirement is entirely up to the
church.
Of course, every SBC church is free to approach ordination
in the manner it deems best.
If you are a member of an SBC
church and sense the Lord may be leading you into ministry, you may want to
speak to the pastor and ask for his assistance.
3. Can a divorced
person serve as a pastor (or deacon) in an SBC church?
4. Can a divorced pastor
conduct baptisms or serve the Lord's Supper in an SBC church?
Once again, because of the autonomous nature of SBC
churches, there is no policy within the Convention that addresses these
matters. Each church directs its own affairs apart from outside
intervention, deciding for itself how to deal with such
matters.
Some Southern Baptist churches have called pastors or
elected deacons who had been divorced, but there is no way of knowing how many
have done so. There are Southern Baptist churches that would not base their
decision on the issue of divorce. Others would want to know if the divorce fell
within the parameters of what some refer to as a "biblically allowed"
divorce. Still other Southern Baptist churches view I Timothy 3:2 as barring
any divorced man from pastoral or deacon ministry. Again, there is no way for
us to know the actual numbers, but there likely is a significant number of
churches representing each view. Most churches probably fall into either
of the last two categories.
5. I believe our
pastor (or my church) has acted inappropriately. What will the SBC do
about it?
Actually, the Southern Baptist Convention is not in a
position to take any disciplinary action regarding pastors or churches. Again,
because of the autonomy of the local church, each SBC church is responsible
before God to set its own policies regarding pastors or problems in the church.
Such policies are entirely up to the individual congregation.
According to our constitution, if a church no longer makes a
bona fide contribution to the Convention's work, or if it acts to "affirm,
approve, or endorse homosexual behavior," it no longer complies with the
Constitution of the Southern Baptist Convention and is not permitted to send
messengers to the annual meeting. These, however, are the only explicitly
stated instances in which the SBC has the prerogative to take action.
Failure to remain in "friendly cooperation" would also disqualify a
church from sending messengers, and is obviously more of a subjective test.
Most SBC churches would look to their own constitutions and
bylaws for the answer to this question, often these documents address this very
issue.
6. Why is the SBC so
committed to the autonomy of the local church?
We recognize that in the New Testament there was no
centralized ecclesiastical authority over the churches that forced the churches
into any form of compliance. There was encouragement, exhortation, and
admonition, but there was never enforcement. We strongly adhere to that
principle. Jesus Christ is the head of the local church - we are not. Each
church is responsible before God for the policies it sets and decisions it
makes.
7. What is the SBC's
official view of the doctrine commonly known as "Calvinism?"
The Southern Baptist Convention has not taken an official
stance on either Calvinism or Arminianism. If you surveyed Southern Baptists
across the nation you would likely find adherents at both ends of the spectrum
with plenty at each point in between.
8. What is the SBC’s
official view of "speaking in tongues" and other
"charismatic" gifts?
There is no official SBC view or stance on the issue.
If you polled SBC churches across the nation on the topic of
"charismatic" practices you would likely find a variety of
perspectives. Probably most believe that the "gift of tongues" as
described in the Bible ceased upon the completion of the Bible. Some may view
speaking in tongues as a spiritual gift given to some Christians enabling them
to communicate the Gospel to foreign cultures in a language the speaker had not
known previously. A very small minority might accept what is commonly
practiced today in charismatic churches as valid.
9. Can women be
pastors or deacons in the SBC?
Southern Baptists have long valued the priceless
contribution of women as they have ministered to advance God's Kingdom. The Baptist Faith and Message
(BF&M) affirms the vital role of women serving in the
church. Yet it recognizes the biblical restriction concerning the office
of pastor, saying: "While both men and women are gifted for service in the
church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture."
The passages that restrict the office of pastor to men do not negate the
essential equality of men and women before God, but rather focus on the
assignment of roles.
The Southern Baptist Convention also passed a resolution in
the early 1980s recognizing that offices requiring ordination are restricted to
men. However the BF&M and resolutions are not binding upon local
churches. Each church is responsible to prayerfully search the Scriptures
and establish its own policy.
We've included links below to the BF&M ("Article
VI: The Church" applies), as well as a link to an article that we ran in
SBC LIFE several years back addressing this issue. These should prove helpful
in studying the topic.
The Southern Baptist Convention has not addressed the issue
of all the available avenues through which a woman may serve, only the biblical
restrictions concerning pastoral ministry and ministry requiring
ordination. The potential opportunities for women to serve in vocational
ministry within the SBC are indeed vast.
10. What is the SBC's stance on the KJV Bible?
11. What is the SBC's stance on requirements for church
membership?
12. What is the SBC's stance on who may partake of the
Lord's Supper?
13. What is the SBC's stance on dancing?
14. What is the SBC's stance on a church having elders?
15. What is the SBC's stance on raising money in bake sales
or bazaars?
The Southern Baptist Convention has not taken an official
stance on these matters. Because each church is autonomous, each issue is
addressed and determined by the local church.
16. I was baptized as
an infant. Why does my local SBC church require me to be rebaptized in
order to be a member?
Because of its autonomy, each Southern Baptist church determines
such policies for itself--there is no denominational requirement in this
regard. However, Southern Baptists have historically held to the mode
that we believe to be the most consistent with the Bible - believer's baptism
by immersion. When Jesus gave His command in Matthew 28:18-20 to make
disciples, the directive was to baptize those new believers/disciples, and the
word for baptism was literally "to immerse." It was a practice
reserved for those who had decided to follow Him.
Baptizing a believer by immersion conveys the picture of a
person dying with Christ, being buried with Him, and being raised with Him in a
new life (Romans 6:3,4). This act is a voluntary declaration to all witnesses
that the person has openly and unreservedly placed his/her faith in the Lord
and will follow Him.
When a person is baptized as a baby, he/she has no knowledge
of the Lord, repentance, salvation, discipleship, or any of the essentials
related to following Him. This baptism may be meaningful to the family and may
convey their deepest desire to dedicate that baby fully to the Lord, but
because a baby cannot make such choices, baptism could not convey these
essential truths directly associated with a believer's baptism.
When a Southern Baptist church requires baptism by immersion
for membership, it is not inferring that a person who has been baptized by
sprinkling is in any way inferior, or second class, or unsaved. It is not
attempting to insult anyone or elevate itself as superior; it is merely
striving to be faithful to the Lord and His command, and asking those who wish
to be members to do the same. For the church to do otherwise would be
compromise. Even worse, it would be disobedience.
17. Our
old Baptist Hymnal had a "church covenant" in it.
Where did that come from?
According to the Encyclopedia of the Southern Baptist
Convention, the version most common among Southern Baptists dates back to 1833,
when J. Newton Brown is said to have attached it to his confessional statement,
which he submitted to the New Hampshire Baptist Convention. He reportedly
published the confession and covenant in 1853 under the title "the New
Hampshire Confession of Faith." That larger document served as the
model for the first version of the Baptist Faith and Message in 1925.
18. What is the SBC's
stance on the end times?
There is no official stance in the SBC beyond what you find
in the Baptist Faith
and Message. The views among Southern Baptists regarding the end
times are broad. If you surveyed Southern Baptists, you would likely find many
who hold to the "Pre-Tribulational" view of the rapture, others who
hold to a "Mid-Trib" view, some to a "Post-Trib" rapture,
some who hold to historical premillennialism, and perhaps even a few who don't
agree with any of these views.
19. What is the SBC's
stance on "Freemasonry?"
The SBC passed a resolution in 1992 opposing membership and
participation in organizations that contradict the Bible (http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/amResolution.asp?ID=328),
but these resolutions are not binding upon local churches.
In its 1993 report, the SBC stated that there were aspects
of Freemasonry that are incompatible with Christianity. The main
conclusion of the report states:
We conclude that many tenets and teachings of Freemasonry
are not compatible with Christianity or Southern Baptist doctrine.
20. Is Fred Phelps
(the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church and leader of those who protest
under the slogan "God Hates Fags") or his church affiliated with the
SBC?
We share concern over the unbiblical views and offensive
tactics of Fred Phelps and his followers at Westboro (Independent) Baptist
Church in Topeka, Kansas. Westboro does not have now, nor has ever had, any
relationship with the Southern Baptist Convention. His extreme positions not
only stand in contrast to the SBC, more importantly, they stand in contrast to
God's Word. Scripture clearly teaches that homosexual behavior is sinful in the
eyes of a just and holy God; but the Bible also clearly proclaims God’s love
for all sinners, including homosexuals, and that He offers forgiveness to all
who repent and place their faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ for our
sins.
21. How do I find out
the official SBC stance on various issues?
The Southern Baptist Convention makes official statements
regarding specific issues by means of resolutions passed at
our annual gatherings each June. Southern Baptist polity views these
resolutions as expressions of opinions or concern which are representative of
the messengers attending the meeting, but are not binding upon any individual
church or successive Convention. Generally speaking, resolutions are
snapshots of views widely held among Southern Baptists at the time and in the
social contest in which they are passed, but they are not deemed to be
doctrinal or creedal (tests of fellowship). The archive of resolutions previously
passed is accessible atSBC.net under the
menu choice "SBCSearch."
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