What Are Church Services Like At Southern Baptist

THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION

AN Assist TO Agreement
Rev. June ane, 2006

CONTACT: Kenyn Cureton
615-782-8609
[email protected]

This brief paper is offered to aid those who wish to understand the Southern Baptist Convention, its work, perspectives, and governance, improve.

BAPTISTS IN AMERICA

A contempo poll plant that almost one American in v claims to exist a Baptist. Baptists in America are divided into more than 50 bodies, but 92 percent of Baptists are found in five of those bodies—the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC); National Baptist Convention, Us, Inc. (NBC); National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.; (NBCA); American Baptist Churches in the USA (ABC); and Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI).1

More than one-half of the Baptists in the country vest to the Southern Baptist Convention, which is the single largest non-Cosmic (or Protestant) denomination in the land.2

CURRENT STATUS OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION

Since its initial system in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has grown to more than 16.2 1000000 members who worship in over 43,000 churches in the U.s..

The Convention assigns and conducts its work through twelve boards and agencies (referred to in SBC parlance as "entities"), which are supported by the churches through their financial contributions to the Cooperative Program. They are organized for ministry, evangelism, missionary, educational, ethical, religious liberty, and other benevolent enterprises.

PURPOSE

Commodity 2 of the SBC constitution states that the purpose of the Convention is to provide a general organization for Baptists in the U.s. and its territories for the promotion of Christian missions at habitation and away, and any other objects such as Christian teaching, benevolent enterprises, and social services which information technology may deem proper and advisable for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God.

Working through 1,182 local associations (equanimous of the churches in unmarried- or multi-county groupings), xl-one land conventions (composed of the churches in single-or multi-land groupings), Southern Baptists are leap together in their cooperative endeavors by basic biblical beliefs and a commitment to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the entire world.

Beliefs

Baptists are people of deep beliefs and cherished doctrines that can be broadly described as evangelical, or orthodox, and expressive of celebrated Christianity. Throughout their history they have been a confessional people, adopting statements of faith as a witness to their behavior, and are formulated with the desire that they embody the teaching of Scripture in uncomplicated form.
The first of these statements of faith, approved by the convention in 1925, was titled the Baptist Organized religion and Message (BF&One thousand). In 1963, the BF&Thou was revised to address certain areas not dealt with in the earlier version. In 1998, a revision was made which included biblical teachings on the family unit. In 2000, the Convention canonical a revised BF&Chiliad which specifically addressed certain moral and upstanding bug that were not spoken to when the 1963 version was approved.
The Baptist Religion and Message is considered to exist a consensus document of things most surely believed amongst the preponderance of Southern Baptists. You lot may print a re-create of the Baptist Faith and Message at www.sbc.net.

PRESUPPOSITIONS BEHIND SOUTHERN BAPTIST POLITY

* The Believers' Church
"A local church or congregation is basically a fellowship of persons each of whom has personal faith in Jesus Christ. Basic in Baptist beliefs is the confidence that a person who has not trusted his life to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and guidance is not ready for church building membership. Baptists believe that no one who does not personally know and follow Christ can practice the bold challenges which Jesus set forth…" (Sullivan)

* The Lordship of Christ
"Baptists also believe that congregational decisions cannot be properly fabricated unless the members discussing and voting on of import spiritual matters in the church are seeking to do God'south will rather than their own. While the church uses democratic processes, it is, in fact, practicing theo republic (democracy under the leadership of God)." (Sullivan)

Individual Christians, who are seen as believer-priests, can be expected to act in keeping with their Great High Priest.

* The Autonomy Of Churches And General Baptist Bodies
A Baptist church is free to make up one's mind its own affairs. This freedom is chosen autonomy, which ways self-rule. Paul taught that each church had a full complement of gifts for leadership and service. The Southern Baptist Convention does non ordain ministers, assign ministers to churches, levy contributions to denominational causes, dictate literature and calendar, or assign persons to churches according to place of residence. These are matters for the local church to decide.

A free church may freely cull to piece of work with other complimentary churches. In Baptist bodies such as associations and conventions, messengers from the churches to these general bodies run into to share counsel and encouragement, discuss common problems, carry business concern, and pool their resources to do ministries together which no 1 church building could exercise alone. This is un-coerced cooperation.

Southern Baptists are wary of interdenominational councils. While Southern Baptists work with other churches on matters such as abortion and pornography, read and hear non-Southern Baptists, they practise not enter into covenants with others who may wish to speak for them.

* The Value Of Cooperation
While self-governance is an indisputable right of every Baptist body, the necessity for, and the duty to, practice interdependence and cooperation temper that right. Churches in the New Attestation partnered together for missions and ministry building, they agreed upon common doctrine, and they adhered to commonly acceptable practices and policies.

It is self-evident that churches can achieve much more past working together in advancing the gospel than they can lonely and isolated. This kind of fruitful partnership is reflected in SBC denominational system. Southern Baptist churches are contained in the surface area of leadership and local system, and interdependent in matters of missions, ministry, and common orthodoxy.

To summarize, Southern Baptists stress both local church autonomy and the power of voluntary cooperation. They do not desire to lose or compromise either of these important principles. Fortunately, they demand non give up either, for freedom and cooperation practise not compete. Instead, they complement each other. Southern Baptist churches are both independent and interdependent.

POLITY—HOW THE CONVENTION WORKS

Southern Baptist churches run across annually in convention. They practise then by electing "messengers" who nourish the Convention, and participate in the business of the Convention. In Southern Baptist parlance, representatives from churches are "messengers," not "delegates." Theoretically, they bring no dominance from the churches over the Convention, and they take no authority from the Convention back to the churches. From the Convention's beginning, this relationship has been based on trust.iii Ordinarily those elected bring back to the church building a written report of the meeting. In this way, all members of the church building tin feel vitally involved in the piece of work of the Convention.

During the almanac convention meeting, thousands of messengers brand decisions relative to the system's worldwide ministry building. When those decisions are made, Convention entities and the Executive Committee comport out those assignments.

Southern Baptist churches provide fiscal support for the work of the denomination through the Cooperative Program (Encounter below.) This unified funding program enables individual churches of any size to bring together with others in carrying out significant national and international projects. At the almanac convention meeting, the messengers hear reports and vote on policies and budget allocations for each of the twelve SBC entities, or ministry agencies. (See below for list of entities.)

Each Southern Baptist church tin ship as many as 10 messengers to this annual convention meeting. The cap on the number of voting messengers is intended to ensure equality of small and large congregations alike. Whatever cooperating church of whatsoever size that contributes to SBC causes tin ship at least one messenger. It may transport an additional messenger for each additional 250 members or $250 in contributions, up to a maximum of ten. When this plan of representation was starting time adopted, nigh churches were minor and had niggling money. At present, withal, churches are larger, and inflation has made $250 worth much less than when this figure was fix a century ago. The effect is that presently more than 70 pct of all Southern Baptist churches could transport the maximum of ten messengers to the Convention. Of course, if they should do so, in that location would not be room in a convention center for all of them.

During each Convention, messengers also elect a Convention president to a i-twelvemonth term, who is eligible to serve two sequent terms. The president presides over Convention concern sessions, and appoints the Committee on Committees that in turn nominates a Committee on Nominations, made up of two representatives from each cooperating state. When elected by the Convention, this committee then nominates persons for election by the Convention to serve equally trustees who oversee the work of the various boards, seminaries, and other Convention entities. Through this appointment procedure, the Convention president tin, in time, greatly influence the policies and directions of the Convention and its work.

The entities of the SBC (not including WMU) are under the management of boards of trustees elected past the Southern Baptist Convention. They select the chief executive officers who oversee general operations. These persons operate under the say-so given them past the trustees nether whom they work. The trustees have no authority except that given them past the Southern Baptist Convention appointing them. Each year in almanac session, the executive officers of the entities subject themselves to public reporting and interrogation. If complex questions are asked to which immediate answers cannot be supplied, those answers are to be determined by research and dealt with by the advisable trustees. Subsequent full reporting is required at the next almanac meeting of the Convention.

THE EXECUTIVE Committee

In order to understand gimmicky Southern Baptist Convention operations, it is of import to understand the work of the Executive Commission. The Executive Commission is to deed on behalf of the Southern Baptist Convention ad interim, or between sessions. It reviews the work of the Convention's entities. This Committee itself is subject area to the review of the Convention.

In 1917, the Southern Baptist Convention altered its basic structure when it authorized the germination of the Executive Committee. Its germination was the outgrowth of 4 years of efforts to bring order to the Convention's growing calendar and complicated construction that had developed over the years. At that fourth dimension at least thirty-3 committees were appointed each year.

In his history of the Executive Committee, Albert McClellan stated, "the use of so many committees created problems: (1) They were in some instances assigned complex problems without full information. (2) They consumed too much of the Convention's time in reporting. Twenty 9 of the committees had to do their work and report to the Convention within a half-dozen day period. (iii) The committees of reference for board reports were barriers between the persons responsible for the boards and the Convention. (four) Too many committees were keeping the Convention preoccupied with mechanics, when information technology should have been concerned with message. (5) The iv committees appointed to plan for the 1911 Convention pointed to the need for continuing committees to work between sessions. (vi) In that location still was no general committee to gather upward the loose ends. Besides much fourth dimension was spent admiring the library, and there was trivial time left to written report the books."four

The Convention elects the members of this Committee, which now number eighty-ii, who come from the 40-one state conventions. The Executive Committee is not a board, only a committee. That is, while it can make recommendations to or nearly entities or result reports on entities; no entity is direct accountable to it. Each entity is direct responsible to the Convention of church messengers in annual session. This provides a directly approach to issues.

The work of the Executive Commission is basically fiscal and advisory. It operates in harmony with the Convention's desire to provide checks and balances essential to effective autonomous processes. The Southern Baptist Convention has assigned information technology two unlike kinds of responsibleness. Get-go, information technology is charged with authoritative duty for the Southern Baptist Convention when it is not in session. Thus, the Executive Committee receives and distributes funds given for the diverse missions, evangelism, educational, and ministry enterprises for the Southern Baptist Convention, plans and manages the annual coming together, publishes the Convention Almanac, assists Convention committees, handles legal matters, and provides staff help to the elected officials of the Convention. The Committee also handles any matters that accept non been otherwise assigned specifically to whatever entity arising between Convention sessions.

The Executive Commission is also assigned plan responsibilities: ane) for Cooperative Program promotion, 2) managing the Southern Baptist Foundation, which manages proceeds from wills, bequests and other investments, 3) operating Baptist Printing, the SBC news service, and 4) providing a convention relations part, which articulates Southern Baptist positions to constituents and to the public through the media as well every bit producing SBC LIFE newsmagazine.

STRUCTURAL RELATIONSHIPS

Churches
The local churches are considered the near basic, and near authoritative, element in Southern Baptist life. They give emphasis to the trustworthiness of the Bible as God's Word, the necessity of men and women trusting Christ lone for salvation, the power of the Gospel to modify anyone who truly believes and receives it, and the importance of missions to the unabridged earth. A church technically becomes Southern Baptist by contributing to the mission causes of the Convention.
If that contribution is fabricated within the fiscal year (October-September) preceding a particular annual coming together (June), the church is entitled to send up to ten messengers to the Convention.
Requirements for a church to be affiliated as a Southern Baptist church building are straightforward and simple. Southern Baptist Convention bylaws on membership state that in social club for a church to represent and vote at the SBC, information technology 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 financial year preceding" (Southern Baptist Convention 2004 Annual, p. 4). No exact corporeality of financial support is specified; it simply must be a "bona fide contributor." Information technology further specifies, "Among churches not in friendly cooperation with the Convention are churches which act to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual beliefs."

"Friendly cooperation" can be demonstrated past diverse ways … the adoption of The Baptist Faith and Message, utilise of Bible study materials published by the Southern Baptist Convention, and so along. It certainly implies that a church should give very serious consideration to whether it understands that it is following the Lord in aligning with the Southern Baptist Convention, and is committed to doing and so.

Ministers
Within the Southern Baptist Convention, the licensing and ordination of ministers is a local church matter.
There is no denominational ordination service. The list of Southern Baptist ministers is simply a compilation from the reports of the churches. The Southern Baptist convention neither frocks nor defrocks ministers.
Individuals
Individuals do non join the Southern Baptist Convention per se. Rather, they become Southern Baptists by virtue of becoming a member of a Southern Baptist church building. Each church building establishes its own individual enrollment procedure, which normally includes the profession of private faith and baptism of each candidate for church membership.
THE SBC Every bit A DENOMINATION
As has been described earlier, the SBC is an brotherhood of contained, autonomous, churches working together voluntarily in friendly cooperation under the heading "Southern Baptist." Southern Baptists have concluded that the denomination gives churches a way to collectively express their convictions and realize their vision. Denominations let churches to exist a part of a larger enterprise, pooling their resources to establish and advance Great Commission work. A denomination tin have an impact larger than the sum of the impacts of the private churches.
Incidentally, you may ask, "Isn't a convention a meeting and not a denomination?" In one sense of the word, the Southern Baptist Convention exists for only two days a twelvemonth, at the almanac gathering. During the grade of the rest of the year, denominational entities carry out the instructions of the messengers to the Convention.

However, the SBC oft identifies itself with the term "denomination" or i of its forms. Thus, it is correct to speak of the Southern Baptist Convention as a denomination.

UNIFIED FUNDING Machinery — THE COOPERATIVE PROGRAM

Cooperation helps fuel the fire of Southern Baptist mission and ministry around the globe. Following its founding in 1845, support of Convention work depended on the societal financial principle, i.eastward., support flowed to the specific enterprises of the Convention based on the bewitchery of the enterprise and persuasive powers of the diverse leaders.

In 1925, Southern Baptists instituted the Cooperative Plan through which they have since funded the advance of the gospel locally, statewide, nationally and internationally. This unified program for funding Convention work has fabricated possible the more comprehensive denominationalism contemporary Southern Baptists have come to look.

The Cooperative Program has been described past some equally "the greatest voluntary funding program in the history of Christendom," providing back up for approximately x,500 foreign and domestic missionaries, theological education through the six Southern Baptist seminaries, ethical challenge and leadership through the Ideals and Religious Liberty Commission, plus the facilitating ministries of the Executive Committee and the GuideStone Financial Resources.

The Adult female's Missionary Union, an auxiliary to the SBC, serves in partnership with the International Mission Board and the Due north American Mission Board in encouraging the churches to requite generously through the Cooperative Program.

COOPERATIVE PROGRAM Support STATISTICS

Cooperative Programme giving for national causes in 2004-05 finished above giving for the previous year, the 11th rise in 12 years. Receipts totaled $195,948,422.55, an increase of $half-dozen,083,167.70, or 3.20 percent over the 2003-04 amount of $189,865,254.85.

Chiefly, 2004-05 contributions exceeded the approved budget by $12,496,728.55 and because of budget actions taken in September, the actress amount will be redirected to come across boggling hurricane recovery needs of Southern Baptists.

On September 19, the Executive Committee, acting ad interim on behalf of the Southern Baptist Convention, voted unanimously to use beyond-the-budget Cooperative Programme contributions for SBC national causes, received for the fiscal year ending September xxx, in three areas of great demand amongst Southern Baptists. One-half of the total is earmarked for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (to aid faculty and students recover from losses and to assistance rebuild the campus), i-fourth will go to the 3 state conventions most afflicted by the hurricane (to keep ministers in the field and to assist churches in recovery) and ane-fourth to the Due north American Mission Board (to support the extensive hurricane disaster relief operations).

The commission besides voted that the same formula be followed with beyond-the-budget receipts for the Cooperative Program Allotment Budget during the get-go quarter (Oct, November, December) of the new fiscal year.

As of September xxx, 2005, Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong mission offering gifts totaled $173,433,970.01.

The SBC operates on an October ane-September xxx fiscal twelvemonth.

If information technology were not for the Cooperative Program, this opportunity and artery for emergency relief would have never happened!

Faithful Southern Baptists continue to provide funds in record amounts in obedience to the Bully Commission; to accomplish the peoples of the world with the good news that the Bible is truthful, God's intendance for men and women is real and strong, and eternal life in Jesus Christ is bachelor for all through God's grace.

AGENCIES/ENTITIES OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION

The Southern Baptist Convention operates twelve agencies or entities, as we now call them:
* Globe mission ministries are the International Mission Lath, and the Northward American Mission Lath.
* Theological educational activity ministries are Southern Seminary, Southwestern Seminary, New Orleans Seminary, Gilded Gate Seminary, Southeastern Seminary, and Midwestern Seminary.
* Christian ethics and religious liberty ministry building is assigned to the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
* Very expansive church enrichment ministry building and literature publication are assignments of LifeWay Christian Resources.
* The GuideStone Financial Resource (formerly the Annuity Lath), which manages ministerial retirement and insurance needs, and the Executive Committee are facilitating ministries.

* (Notation) The Woman's Missionary Wedlock is non owned and nor operated past the Convention, and is the sole auxiliary of the SBC. It cooperates very closely with the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board to encourage churches to give generously through the Cooperative Program.

STATISTICAL SNAPSHOT

Southern Baptists believe that God is at work in their efforts around the world. The following data illustrates some of what the Lord has done through Southern Baptists' service and sacrifice.

Data below is from the last complete almanac written report.

Evangelism and Church Growth
* Baptisms – 371,850 people were baptized in Southern Baptist churches in the U.S., and 459,725 were baptized in SBC related churches overseas. This averages near one baptism every 38 seconds.
* Southern Baptists started 1,717 new congregations in the United States, an average of iv.7 new churches every mean solar day.

Theological Education
* The six seminaries operated past the Southern Baptist Convention provided theological training for 16,163 students for ministry at abode and around the world.
* In addition, Seminary Extension provided biblical and theological courses to 3,436 laymen and lay ministers through 450 extension centers.

Moral Concerns
* The SBC Ethics and Religious Freedom Committee is leading Southern Baptists to study and act upon a wide range of social and moral bug such as alcohol abuse, gambling, racism, pornography, homosexuality, abortion, world hunger, AIDS, homelessness, religious liberty, religious persecution, euthanasia, and bioethical bug similar human cloning and fetal stem cell enquiry.

Helping Ministry building Families in Demand
* In add-on to assisting pastors in insurance and retirement needs, GuideStone Fiscal Resource of the Southern Baptist Convention (formerly the SBC Annuity Lath) provided direct financial assistance to 1,856 depression-income retired ministers, and their spouses or widows last yr.

International Ministry
* Southern Baptists supported approximately five,100 IMB missionaries, reaching 1,193 people groups. They reported 459,725 baptisms and 17,676 new churches started outside the United States.

* Southern Baptists continue to step upwardly in tape numbers to serve in curt-term volunteer projects overseas with more than than 30,000 volunteers participating last year. That compares to 12,756 volunteers in 1994 and vi,066 in 1984.

Ministry in N America
* Southern Baptists supported approximately v,364 missionaries and more than 400,000 volunteers served in mission projects in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands through the North American Mission Board — the greatest number in SBC history.

* SBC Disaster Relief teams answer to ice storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, and chemic spills beyond the U.S. Disaster Relief operations accept included long-term rebuilding in the wake of flooding and flood cleanup efforts. Southern Baptist volunteers set most of the meals distributed by the American Ruby Cantankerous besides every bit provide cleanup and recovery, communications, childcare and other vital disaster services. Southern Baptists are the third-largest disaster relief operation in the country backside the Red Cross and The Salvation Army, with more fifty,000 trained volunteers and 730 mobile disaster response units on call for local, land and national emergencies.

* In 1996, Elizabeth Dole of the American Ruddy Cross declared that Southern Baptists fed more meals in disaster situations under Blood-red Cross auspices since Hurricane Hugo in 1989 than whatever private or religious group in the nation – nearly 80 per centum of the total! (BP – 9/ix/96).

* In 2001, a dramatic Disaster Relief endeavor was made in response to the September 11 attack. Inside hours of the news, Disaster Relief units manned past Southern Baptist volunteers mobilized and began providing relief for victims, family members, and the New York City community. More than than 3,800 volunteers from Southern Baptist churches around the land partnered with the Carmine Cross, the Salvation Ground forces, and more than 200 Southern Baptist churches in the New York City area to fix 1,250,000 meals; clean and sanitize almost 700 apartments from debris; care for more 850 children at mobile child intendance units while their parents sought assist from individual, governmental, and religious charities. The SBC N American Mission Lath sent some 90 chaplains from 18 states to New York City, where they counseled with victims and their families in the city morgue and throughout the city. During the 9/11 relief efforts a Blood-red Cantankerous worker in New York said, "Everywhere I turn there'south a Southern Baptist!"

* In early 2005, Southern Baptists were involved in international relief efforts in the aftermath of the southern asia tsunami and the earthquake in Pakistan, giving over $16 1000000 toward seismic sea wave relief efforts alone..

* In late 2005, Southern Baptists responded to the deadly hurricanes. Some 500 Southern Baptist Disaster Relief units representing 41 country conventions operated for 184 days, utilizing 21,000 volunteers whose time amounted to 165,748 volunteer days. That deemed for more than 14.5 1000000 of the 17,124,738 meals prepared by Southern Baptist crews all year. (BP 4/28/06) In addition, Southern Baptists contributed more than $21 million to hurricane relief efforts in 2005 (BP 12/29/05).

World Hunger Relief
* In 2005, Southern Baptists contributed $5,848,345 to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Relief Fund, none of which was used for administration. Southern Baptists provided nutrient and poverty relief help through 325 projects in 62 countries overseas. Last year in the U.South. and Canada, Southern Baptist hunger ministries provided over half-dozen one thousand thousand meals which opened the door to 550,000 opportunities to share the gospel resulting in over 33,000 profession of faith.

SBC COMPARISON WITH MAINLINE DENOMINATIONS

SBC and Mainline Denomination Membership Trends
1961-1998
(Source: Adherents.com)

* Methodists: 1961 –11,709,629; 1998 – 8,500,000. Subtract about 27%

* Episcopal: 1961 – 3,500,000; 1998 – 2,500,000. Subtract about 28%

* Presbyterian Church Us: 1965 – iv,000,000; 1999 – ii,600,000. Subtract about 36%

* Christian Church (Disciples of Christ): 1961 – 1,800,000; 1998 – 879,000. Decrease about 52%

* The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America formed in 1987 as a result of the merging of the Lutheran Church building of America, the American Lutheran Church, and the Association of Evangelical Lutherans. In 1987 they reported membership of 5,290,000 – in 1998 they reported five,185,055 (in 2002 they report 5,125,919).

* American Baptist Churches in the U.s. reported ane,500,000 in 1960 and 1,503,267 in 1998 (the Baptist Globe Brotherhood Website reported i,455,855 in 2000)

* Southern Baptist Convention: 1961 – nine,978,000; 1998 – xv,851,356. Increase about 59%

CONCLUSION:

The polity of the Southern Baptist Convention is practically unique in the world of religious denominations. Though unusual, it has been remarkably effective in facilitating the cooperative work of the more 43,000 Southern Baptist churches together through the Convention.

SOURCES AND CITATIONS:

James 50. Sullivan, How Southern Baptists Work Together, Baptist Heritage, pamphlet series, (1979).
Neb Merrell, Article, "A Distressing Story Of Seven Sisters", SBC Life, May 1996.

ENDNOTES:

1 Albert Westward. Wardin, Baptists Effectually the World (Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1995) p. 367

two Ibid., p. 367.

3 H. Leon McBeth, Autonomy and Cooperation, Foundations of Baptist Heritage, pamphlet series, (1989).

4 Albert McClelland, The Executive Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention 1917-1984 (Nashville: Broadman Printing, 1985) p.41

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