The Challenge of Being Baptist: Owning a Scandalous Past and an Uncertain Future

Preface: What’s in a Name?

1 Preface What’s in a Name? V ix It has been already seen, that the claim, for the church and for the conscience, of freedom from all human control, was a distinguishing and characteristic trait of the Baptists in former reigns. The divine saying, “FAITH IS THE GIFT OF GOD,” moved, animated, strengthened them. Its practical assertion brought them into collision with every form of human invention in the worship of God. Edward Bean Underhill, 1847, describing seventeenth-century Baptists1 It was the order of the day (though I am sorry to say it) that we were constantly followed by a certain set of proselyting Baptist preachers. These new and wicked settlements were seldom visited by these Baptist preachers until the Methodist preacher entered them; then, when a revival was gotten up, or the work of God revived, these Baptist preachers came rushing in, and they generally sung their sermons; and when they struck the long roll, or their sing-song mode of preaching, in substance it was “water!” “water!” “you must follow your blessed Lord down to the water!”. . . Indeed, they made so much ado about baptism x the challenge of being Baptist by immersion that the uninformed would suppose that heaven was an island, and there was no way to get there but by diving or swimming. Peter Cartwright, nineteenth-century Methodist2 Our old name was confusing to many people. And the word Baptist? A lot of people think that Baptists are very legalistic or that Baptists are political. We are not any of that. We’re a nondenominational, Bible-believing church. Brad Powell, pastor of Northridge Church, Plymouth Township, Michigan3 If the name Baptist was good enough for the first “Baptist” preacher to be called “the Baptist” by the Holy Spirit, it ought to be good enough for us today. Many churches are dropping the name “Baptist” in order to separate from the Biblical distinctions which have identified us with a particular body of faith. By doing so, they must compromise their doctrine to accommodate the very people whose forefathers have persecuted the true church down through history! This is a “trampling under foot” the blood of millions who gave their lives for the faith. Neuse Baptist Church, Raleigh, North Carolina4 In many respects, the people called Baptists always seem in transition . Congregational polity, individual conversion, biblical interpretations, and doctrinal intensity provoked unity, diversity, and schism from the beginning of the movement. In fact, Baptist identity has often been a way station for persons who then moved on to other religious communions. Former Baptists are to be found among the early Quaker, Universalist, Unitarian, Shaker, Oneida, Mormon, Restorationist, Adventist, and Pentecostal movements. In the quest for the true New Testament church or the clearest biblical revelation, Baptists have not always remained Baptist. preface xi More recently, however, Baptist identity itself seems to be perched on the edge of oblivion, with individuals, congregations, and denominations revisiting, ignoring, or uncertain about the nature of Baptistness as a viable tradition for the future. As a student of Baptist history, I am increasingly invited to address such questions as “Why would anyone want to be a Baptist?” “What are the best reasons for remaining Baptist?” and “Does the name Baptist hurt more than it helps?” This book is one attempt to address those questions by examining certain distinguishing marks of Baptist identity with particular attention to past approaches and current confusions. It explores classic Baptist approaches to polity, Scripture, conversion, and mission as they have impacted a Baptist witness in the church and the public square. My hope is that it will be helpful to those who confront the permanent transition that seems to have fallen on innumerable religious institutions throughout the world. Numerous programs and projects facilitated this study. Some of the research was done for a conference on “Synodality” (church polity) held in Bruges, Belgium, at which I was the only Baptist representative . That gathering, composed primarily of European and American Catholic scholars, highlighted the sectarian messiness of Baptist theology and polity in contrast to older establishmentarian traditions. Other research grew out of preparations for an address given at the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the British Baptist Historical Society meeting in Prague, Czech Republic . Once again, European colleagues offered helpful responses to my reflections on Baptist identity. The three chapters of the book that deal with biblical hermeneutics, conversion, and ecclesiastical sacramentalism were...