"10 Facts You Should Know About American Baptists"

[ColesCountyDem]

On occasion, I suspect that we have all been asked, "What should I know about your church?". American Baptist Churches USA (f/k/a the Northern Baptist Convention) has recently published a booklet that explains the history of our denomination, our beliefs, practices, organization and governance. On the inside front cover of this booklet is printed "10 Facts You Should Know About American Baptists", and I share these with you. I hope you find them educational, and hope that they will help you to understand why we are proudly a progressive denomination.

"10 Facts You Should Know About American Baptists"

1.) American Baptists believe that Jesus Christ is both Lord and Savior, that the Bible is the divinely inspired word of God and that it serves as the final, written authority for living out the Christian faith.

2.) American Baptists believe that the independent, local church is the fundamental unit of mission in denominational life.

3.) American Baptists partake of two ordinances: believer's baptism and regular observance of the Lord's Supper.

4.) American Baptists believe that the committed, individual Christian can and should approach God directly, and that individual gifts of ministry should be shared.

5.) American Baptists take seriously the call to evangelism and missionary work.

6.) American Baptists support religious freedom, respect the expressions of faith of others and believe in the absolute separation of church and State.

7.) American Baptists acknowledge that God's family extends beyond our local churches, and that God calls us to cooperative ministries with all men of good will.

8.) American Baptists are called to be Christ's witnesses for both justice and inclusion within our broken society.

9.) American Baptists the celebrate racial, ethnic and cultural diversity within our denomination, and affirm the absolute equality of both men and women for the ministry and for church office.

10.) American Baptists heed the biblical call to renewal and for the need to bear public witness in the new millenium.

[JohnHarris]

1. Nice!

I love American Baptists!

[Ptah]

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Answer: No.

Your organizing needs will be met. I have never had an unsatisfied client. Bringing in an organizer provides vision, patience, and light at the end of the tunnel. It can be done, economically and it won't last forever.

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[jtbdad]

3. Hi ColesCountyDem

Howdy; I'm John. I'm a minister of the Gospel as a part of the Celtic Anabaptist Communion. My 3GGF was a circuit rider with the NBC which I believe was a precursor to the ABC. His circuit was in Licking County Ohio. His sponsoring church was Licking Baptist Church which was formerly known as the Beaver Meeting House. Another ancestor of mine was John Rhodes (Roads, Rhoads) who was an anabaptist minister who settled in the Shenandoah Valley. He and his family were martyred by a Native American attack at the very beginning of the hostilities which was eventually called the French and Indian war.

[deinverian]

4. Raise American Baptist

I was raised American Baptist. Many people lump them in with the Southern Baptists, but they're quite different. AB, I found, was quite liberal. And it was an American Baptist pastor who helped me come out as a gay man in college (discussing the other Biblical interpretations of the verses churches use to demonize gay people). I have fond memories of my AB days.

I'm Presbyterian now. Definitely a more liturgical and formal church than the AB church. But they accept my husband, our kids and me as we are. I imagine many AB churches are that accepting as well.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. My last teaching job was at an American Baptist college

I had never heard of the denomination before, so I asked my potential colleagues whether the college would require me to sign doctrinal statements or supervise my personal life. I have heard of Southern Baptist colleges that do both.

Fortunately, the answer in both cases was "no."

[ColesCountyDem]

6. As you discovered, our burden is light, and our yoke is easy, so to speak.

We American Baptists focus first and foremost on having an individual relationship with God, and firmly believe that that relationship is intensely personal and is not subject to church inquiry, scrutiny or forced observance . Furthermore, as you discovered, your personal life is personal, within the bounds of common decency and the law.

You're not alone in not having heard of us: we are much smaller than the SBC, who most people think synonymous with the word 'Baptist'. We are FAR more progressive and, as such, not very interesting to today's MSM.