12 November 2008

neo-baptist blog

[One of our regular readers pointed me to http://neobaptist.com/about/, and I thought it was worth pasting the intro blurb to this blog....]

Welcome to neo-baptist. This was originally a place of collective wisdom for Baptist types. It turns out that Baptist types don’t really blog so now this blog is for all types of Christians engaged in leadership of a local church, hip cool emergent pub gathering, or any other format of Christian community.

This blog is based in Australia but welcomes participation from around the world. Although there are differences between Baptists and other types there is much in common.
The word ‘neo’ can be understood in a few ways. The meaning intended for this blog is ‘new’. The Baptist church in Australia [and in other countries] occupies the middle ground of Protestantism between the liturgical traditions to the left and the Pentecostal traditions to the right, or on another linear scale the liberal to the left and the redneck to the right [although there are plenty of hardline conservative baptist churches within the State unions].

The most hardline conservative baptists have made life easier for the rest of us by congregating in their own independently aligned churches, replete with their KJV’s and 3-piece suits. There is plenty of variety within union affiliated Baptist churches. Having said that I observe that there is such a thing as a ‘typical suburban’ Baptist church, or any other denomination for that matter other than the church of Rome which has rock solid branding.

Aside from the large flagship mega-churches, and the eclectic charismatic Baptist churches, there is a fairly large middle ground. The churches that are found within this grouping have much in common.

Right now many pastors and leaders in churches are wrestling with some of the key challenges which face the churches. Our congregations straddle a number of key generations [and the cultural assumptions that come with each era], and we straddle the great modernist/postmodern divide. Many churches are dwindling due to an ageing congregation that is not being replenished by new blood. We are wrestling with proposed changes to the way we do church government, ordination etc. Many of us are wrestling with the challenges and critique thrown up by the ‘emerging church’ movement.

In my view, the churches that are thriving are the ones who are prepared to be ‘neo’ where required. Progressive Baptists are ’small-b’ baptists. I count myself as one of them. We prefer to see our identity primarily as Christians. We are evangelical by persuasion, and we can be described as baptist in that we identify with those distinctives [which we share in common with others] and obviously because we find ourselves either belonging to or ministering in a Baptist church. Leaders in other denominations share this desire to be identified in Christ alone.

Just what we are to be ‘neo’ about is up for grabs. This blog is a place where we can discuss these challenges and hopefully grow and learn together. I intend this blog to have free posting, unless of course it is abused either by spammers or people who want to be abusive. At that point it may have to move to regulated posting or registered members to the blog. Hopefully it can work without resorting to those control levels.

Let’s see where our collective wisdom can take us. Feel free to leave your thoughts.

http://neobaptist.com/about/

3 comments:

Groseys messages said...

I guess this has about died?

Groseys Pericopes said...

The Union Movement does not go out with the idea of allegiance to doctrine and loyalty to the teachings of Jesus Christ. It goes on a spiritual camouflage of these doctrines. It asks the people to lay down their convictions of the truth. They propose for [...] all to lay down their former convictions and go into a church of scrambled religion. The church they would organize would sprinkle, pour and immerse. You would not have to claim any experience of grace to become a member. If you were opposed to baptism in any form or mode you could get in. You would neither have to have religious conviction nor moral character to be a member. You would have no distinctive doctrine to bind you. You would have to be led solely by a desire to get together in some form of worship so that you would save money in church buildings and local expenses, and be more efficient, as they think. All this sort of molly-coddle talk is tomfoolery. It is against the strength of character produced by conviction and allegiance to the truth of God. I am for Unionism as far as men can unite on a conviction and a loyalty to the Word of God and Jesus Christ. I am not for a patched up, convictionless Unionism. Unless there is unity in faith, doctrine and practice there can be no union and successful effort following. Christ laid down a program for uniting all people. It was that they should all repent of their sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and by open and public confession of their faith in Him, by a baptism which was an immersion in water, and by a union with His regularly constituted church, followed by a life of loyalty to Him and His truth as laid down in the New Testament, and of heartful and spiritual service for the winning of the world to the Savior and the building up of His glorious kingdom. Any union of religion based on any other program is contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ, and cannot hold and will not hold together. If men cannot agree on the doctrines of the Word of God they should not unite in a church through which they propose to worship and serve God. But they can and should co-operate as far as their convictions of the truth will allow them, for the general good and uplift of humanity.

L.R. Scarborough, Editor-in-Chief, or C.B. Williams, Managing Editor, The Southwestern Journal of Theology, 3.1 (1919): 5-6

Steve Finnell said...

YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN

Jesus said you must be born again to enter the kingdom of God. What did He mean by that statement?

John 3:1-3......3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly , I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."(NKJV)

Jesus did not tell Nicodemus that he had to be born the first time in order to enter the kingdom of God. He said you must be born again!

Jesus did not tell Nicodemus that he had to exist in order to enter the kingdom of God. Every person alive, exists, how could that be a requirement to enter the kingdom of God? Jesus said he had to be born again.

Being born of water (amniotic fluid) by natural birth is being born the first time, it is not being born again.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (NKJV)

Jesus said you must born of water and the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. Remember in John 3:3 Jesus said "You must be born again." Water can mean nothing but water baptism (immersion). Water and the Spirit are both qualifications in order to be born again.

John 3:5 Jesus answered: I tell you for certain that before you can get into God's kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. (Contemporary English Version)

John 3:5 Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition)

John 3:5 Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth. This new birth is by water and by the Spirit. No person can enter God's kingdom if he has not been born that way. (Worldwide English New Testament)

WATER BAPTISM IS A REQUIREMENT TO BE BORN AGAIN.

(SEE: Acts 2:38, WATER BAPTISM AND THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT....YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN! )

YOU ARE INVITED TO FOLLOW MY BLOG. http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com