As I was preparing for the class that I will be teaching on Wednesday nights this term, I came across a resource that I obtained in print a few years ago. I discovered that this book is now available free of cost in an electronic (PDF) format. (It is even available in Spanish). This book is a collection of papers on Baptist history, beliefs, and ways in which Baptists have worked together for the cause of the kingdom. I thought about sharing this resource with you, one of our CBC leaders, because it offers interesting and helpful information for our heritage as a Texas Baptist congregation. Below are the links to access this book and download it. I also explain the rationale for offering this book (and for the class that I will offer this term) below.
Baptists: History, Distinctives, Relationships
Los Bautistas: Historia, Distintivos, Relaciones
I have observed during the 4 1/2 years that God has allowed me to serve as Lead Pastor here at Calvary about how blessed we are to have such a diverse congregation. We have addressed the ethnic and language diversity before. But we are also very diverse in terms of religious and denominational background. In our congregation we have folks that come from Roman Catholic, Methodist, Evangelical Free, Baptist, Assemblies of God, Interdenominational, Church of Christ, Mennonite, Seventh Day Adventist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Church of God of Prophecy, independent churches or no church background at all, to name a few. (Even some of our staff comes from diverse denominational background). Additionally, even within the Baptist rank, we have folks who have been long-time Southern Baptists, others who come from Independent-Fundamentalist Baptist churches/institutions, some who serve in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and some who come from Hispanic Baptist churches. In addition to church sub-cultures, methods for doing church, worship styles, manners for supporting missionaries/missions, you can imagine the theological diversity that exists within our ranks; from ultra-conservative to moderate. It is a gift of God that people from such diverse backgrounds find in Calvary a place to belong, to worship, to grow and to serve!
Perhaps one of the reasons people join the CBC ranks is because we believe that we are first and foremost Christ-followers and we have a commitment to the authority of the Scriptures. Our most visible identity is that of Bible-believing followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And rightly so! The challenge comes when our members, volunteers and leaders are not sure what we believe, or when people don't understand why we do what we do they way we do it, not to mention when they know little about our denominational relationships. These things matter!
Why do we have deacons? What is their role? What is the role of the pastor(s)? Why do we have committees? Why do we have Church in Conference? What is the BGCT? Are we Southern Baptists? What's the CFB, the RGVBA, the IMB, NAMB, SBC, SBTC, BSM, Buckner? (So many acronyms!) Why do we give so much money to some of these entities? Why and how do we relate to non-Baptist entities such as Campus Crusade, Intervarsity Fellowship, the Navigators, BSF, RGBI, etc., etc.? Why is the Perspectives course so cross-denominational? Why and how do we ever cooperate with Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and even Roman Catholics?
You can quickly see how it is important that we understand our identity and the implications of that identity, heritage and ethos for the mission God has given us. We do happen to be Baptist! While some people may feel that is not important, I disagree. (If it isn't, then we should get rid of the name and of our Baptist relationships and decide what we want to be instead). I abhor denominational arrogance, exclusivity, and narrow-mindedness. However, I do think that we should own our heritage and identity. (I haven't always been Baptist. I don't think Baptists are the only ones going to heaven and I don't think that Baptists are perfect. But I am thankful to be Baptist!). In order to own our identity and hertiage we need to understand them. I believe that when you are confident in your identity you can build more significant relationships, whether they are with those who are like you or those who are different from you. Furthermore, I believe that meaningful innovation for the future requires thoughtful information from the past.
That is the reason I have designed the 8-week course "CBC Heritage and Ethos." While this may not address all the important issues, I believe it is a good place to begin this process of information and reflection. As one of our Calvary leaders, you are invited to participate in this class on Wednesday nights from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM in the parlor (January 21 thru March 11). I realize many of you are either teaching children, working with students, teaching another EQUIP course or rehearsing in the choir at this time, and I am deeply grateful for your service there. But perhaps you know of someone who might benefit from the class, feel free to send them our way.
I also don't want to imply that my class is the most important class for adults on Wednesday night. There are some fine classes led by fine people taking place and I encourage you to consider them. Below is a link to the brochure that lists all the classes, their descriptions, leaders, and meeting places. I have also placed a link below with the syllabus for my class, should it be of interest to you and a link to register for any of the EQUIP courses online.
CBC Heritage & Ethos Syllabus
EQUIP Spring 2015 Session 1 Brochure
Online Registration for EQUIP courses
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