Dr. Mohler on being Baptist...

From time to time I will pick up the book entitled, "Why I Am A Baptist" edited by Tom J. Nettles and Russell D. Moore so that I can read what individuals have to say about being a Baptist. On this occasion it was Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. that I came across. Dr. Mohler is probably the face of the Southern Baptist Convention right now. He is the President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky; the flagship school of the SBC. SBTS is one of the largest seminaries in the world and even in these tough economical times the school continues to grow and thrive. I truly enjoy reading and listening to Dr. Mohler because of his knowledge for church history and his desire to be known for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I thank God for what He is doing through Dr. Mohler and the rest of the leadership at SBTS.

I have pulled the following from Dr. Mohler's article in the book. This information and a little more about Dr. Mohler can be found on pages 58-64 of "Why I Am A Baptist" edited by Tom J. Nettles and Russell D. Moore. I hope the following give us Baptists a little more understanding on why we are Baptist.

THE INTEGRITY OF THE GOSPEL

Baptists are gospel people. We cherish the gospel of Jesus Christ as the means of salvation to all who believe. We know that there is salvation in the name of Jesus and in no other name. Sinners come to Christ by faith, and are justified by faith alone. Grace is our theme and the gospel of Jesus Christ is our message. As the 1644 London Confession stated: "The tenders of the absolutely necessary, any qualifications, preparations, terrors of the Law, or preceding ministry of the Law, but only and alone the naked soul, as a sinner and ungodly to receive Christ, as crucified, dead, and buried, and risen again, being made a Prince and a Savior for such sinners."
Believer's baptism is essential to our understanding of the gospel, for it is our public profession of faith in Christ. It underscores the necessity of personal confession of Christ as Savior and Lord, and denies any faith by proxy. Our rejection of infant baptism is rooted in the clear and normative New Testament witness to the baptism of believers by immersion. But we are also chastened by the knowledge that millions of persons, baptized as infants, consider themselves Christians while never confessing Christ as Savior. I am a Baptist because we defend the integrity of the gospel.

THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE

Every denomination operates under some concept of spiritual authority, however vague or unbiblical it may be. Baptists often describe their churches as "spiritual democracies." This is a true statement, but it can be dangerously misunderstood. Christ rules in his church, and he rules through his Word.
The Bible, and the Bible alone, hold ultimate authority in a Baptist congregation. The Second London Confession of Faith (1677) put the issue plainly: "The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own Glory, man's salvation, Faith and Life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture; unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new Revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men."
Baptist congregationalism is an exercise in bringing ourselves under submission to the Word of God--not in exercising our own authority in the place of Scripture.

THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH

Congregationalism is more than a system of church polity; it is the Baptist vision of the visible church as revealed in the New Testament. The core of congregationalism is the affirmation of our responsibility, under the lordship of Christ and the authority of Scripture, to come together as believers under a covenant of faithfulness to Christ. No one is a Baptist alone.
Seeking to define the church, the New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1833) states that a visible church is a "congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word." Every word of this definition is essential to the New Testament vision of the church.
In a Baptist congregation, every believer is in covenant with brothers and sisters in Christ. Believer's baptism by immersion, faithfully following the example and instruction of our Lord, is the sign of that covenant, and is prerequisite to membership. We are a congregation of believer priests, serving the Lord in the preaching of the Word, the observation of the ordinances, discipline in accord with God's laws, and the proclamation of the gospel.
I cannot reconcile any other form of church government with the New Testament. Believer's baptism is so central and essential to our understanding of the church that we can see no church without this ordinance and can recognize no other baptism as true baptism. We came by our name honestly.
Baptist by family heritage, I am a Baptist by conviction. With thankfulness to God, I claim this heritage as my own and pray that the Baptists of this generation will stand in faithful obedience before God. By God's grace, this is why I am a Baptist. -Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.

In Christ Alone,
Mr. V.

"Simple Church" by Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger...

"Simple Church" was recommended a few months back and I was told that it was a must read so I went over to the Holy Land of the SBC (Lifeway) and purchased a copy.

I was immediately drawn to the book because it had

the word "simple" in the title. I found out soon enough something that I had known for quit some time now, church has become anything but simple.




The author's begin by comforting me that this isn't another one of those "do it this way and I'll guarantee your church will become the next mega church in America" kind of book. They tell the story of a normal church pastor who truly cares and worries for his flock. The pastor wonders why he spends most of his time in counseling rather then working toward feeding the flock and all the while he wonders if his church is being transformed. I would say that a lot of pastors across this country know exactly how this guy feels. Our example pastor does figure it out though. He asks himself the following; "Is his church making real disciples, the kind of disciples Jesus made? Or is everyone just busy?"




Chapter one wastes no time in bringing forth simple yet mind blowing information. Rainer and Geiger speak of a couple of things that are very popular and very simple. Actually, they reveal that a major reason why these things are so popular is because they are so simple. They call two companies revolutionaries against complexity. The first company is Apple, which has created the greatness of the iphone and ipod. The ipod has one button that does just about everything you need in order to control it. The other being Google, which is one of the fastest growing companies in American history. Take a look at Google's website sometime; there is nothing on it. It's simple.



This book is a basic walk through of two types of churches and how they "do ministry." First Church has many activities and/or programs while Simple Church has very few. First Church has a different mission statement for every activity while Simple Church has every activity revolve around one mission statement. First Church hires staff that are considered the best in their field, while Simple Church hires staff that fits the mold of how they do ministry. The authors point out that while First Church has the most well known staff, they are also in competition with other staff to make their ministry the best in the church. Instead of working as a team to promote the gospel they are over working their people to be apart of as many programs as possible, thus leading them to burnout. One of my favorite points of the book is the comparison of how each church handled new ideas. Both churches had found that they where dealing with marriage issues. First Church decided to set aside an entire weekend for a marriage conference at the church. Simple Church on the other hand decided to implement ways to better its members marriages by putting the material in their Sunday school/small group studies. The reason why I found this so interesting is because First Church, which is already pulling at its members from all different directions decides to expect those members take even more time out of their busy schedule to attend another program. By Simple Church placing the material in their Sunday school/small groups they are accomplishing multiple tasks. Those accomplishments are as follows:

1. 
   
   Couples are being trained weekly.


2. 
   
   Couples become closer as a group because they learn about each other.


3. 
   
   Those that might not want to attend Bible Study just might because of the material.


4. 
   
   By accomplishing the above Simple Church is growing disciples which is their main goal.

Ultimately the book reveals that church leadership must never be afraid to say "no." People may come into your church with well intentions or ideas, but if those ideas don't fit your churches underlining mission then it's not needed. The book does say that it's not easy to become simple, but can actually be very difficult. The leadership must not falter in the goal and direction of the church. Keep sharing the vision of your church with your members even when it seems like people are tired of hearing it.

Rainer & Geiger do a great job with this book and I highly recommend it to anyone in church leadership. Our society has gotten so complex with the rise in technology that it's time to get back to the basics of offering scripture as being sufficient for our church members.

In Christ Alone,

Mr. V.