by Gene Scarborough » Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:34 am
Tim---
I like the way you organized the basics of following Christ! It is hard, but simple.
Is this part of the Methodist tenants of the faith required of each ordained clergy for acceptance?
For Baptists is has been based on some "belief" rather than some activity of following and living. Our stuff pales in comparison to the depth and wisdom of what you cite.
The simple basics I was taught in Baptistland were: Baptism by immersion / Bible is God's Word / Jesus is our criterion of faith / we band together in giving to the Cooperative Program / Matthew 28:19-20 is our marching order.
Autonomy was our basis of working together despite differences on fine points of theology and local church practice. Each church operated as it chose by majority vote of the congregation. No entity other than the local church could tell anyone what to do. If someone did not wish to cooperate at the local level, there was little any Pastor could do to make them. On rare occasions a church might quietly invite someone to leave. It was unheard of to "church" a member---that is to hold a formal church conference with charges of offense worthy of forcing them out or censuring them for immoral conduct.
In old frontier days, Baptist churches served as a basis of social conduct and control. Absent formal law enforcement and courts, it was assumed a person "in good standing" at his Baptist church was a moral person. Churches held a monthly or quarterly Conference to deal with church business in a formal way. Any church which has old minutes to read shows a practice of calling any offensive member before the church to answer formal charges and be submitted to a vote over their membership. If they failed to show, then a committee of 3 men was sent out to meet with them and bring back a report as to whether they had violated the acceptable conduct as a member. Such actions ended with a formal vote to either kick them out or keep them.
One case I found at the Noonday Baptist Church (dates back to 1833) I pastored involved a lady accused of violating their church faith. She was interviewed by the committe of 3 which brought back this report: "Sister Smith has, indeed, lost her faith---she has become a Methodist!"
A church letter was the key to joining another congregation of Baptists. It stated that the person was "in good standing" with the church he was leaving. A "statement of good standing" was acceptable should the individual not have a formal letter of membership with them. Otherwise a person could join by "Profession of Faith" and be baptized into membership. In many churches the doors of the church were open only during the Revival Meeting in the Spring or Fall.
The deal was more social than theological. Pre-Sunday School literature, most churches just used the Bible as the basis for their faith and guidance. Without formal education, few Pastors or church members had much theological training. Many of the sermons and theologies were simply straight from the Pastor who was thought to be the expert interpreter. There was great suspicion in the average church of anyone "educated out of true faith." You just got your call / announced it to the church / got reviewed and ordained by the local church. A few times the local Association ordained ministers. There was no real requirement beyond being "called by God." The result was a wide range of conservative views on religion and the worst thing could be said against a minister was that he was liberal and ungodly as a result. If a church became crossed with its Pastor, he could be voted out. Many church had an "annual call" which meant each year the Pastor got a vote of confidence to stay or leave. Many Pastors stayed a year or 2 and moved around. The well-liked ones often came back 2-3 times over the years of ministry in the same area.
I hope this gives a good background of "Baptist in the South" approaches. Other parts of the country had slightly different practices. Up north there was more respect for formal education. In the South, rural churches tended to whoop and shout while, in the big cities like Atlanta or Charlston, they went so far as to have robed clergy, liturgy, even a split chancel. Most state conventions established some school for higher education. Mercer was for GA / Furman was for SC / Wake Forest was for NC in the 3 states I have served and lived.
Gene Scarborough