Be The Fruit

Book Review: Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Proposal

by Bill Blair on 12/08/08 at 5:35 am

I had a conversation some time ago about the transition of a “traditional” Baptist church. In the conversation, a statement was made that the church looks more like a non-denominational church than a Baptist church. This statement made me think, “What is it that makes a Baptist church Baptist anyway?” It is not the music and style of worship, although there could be some distinctive aspects to it. It is not what clothes the people wear, what time they meet or anything like that. It seems to me that Baptist churches should be defined by their core theological beliefs rather than methods of ministry or culture. The trouble with the viewpoint of the man I had the conversation with was that he was only looking at external differences rather than the theological beliefs that should be driving Baptist beliefs.

In Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal, David Dockery does a great job laying out what he believes should be the core distinctives of Baptist churches in the future. Dockery explains his proposal by giving an excellent historical account of how Baptist beliefs have developed over the years. It was interesting to see how much of the time the changes in beliefs were driven through reactions to previously held ideas.

Dockery makes it clear that there is quite a variety of beliefs among Baptists, but he believes that there are core beliefs that Baptists should stand for. His main idea is that Baptists should be confessional in that they should focus on core theological beliefs that have been stated in various confessions and seek to achieve unity in those areas. Dockery explains that it is most important that Baptists agree on the trustworthiness of the Bible, and all faith and practice should develop from there.

I think Dockery is correct that we should focus on confessional beliefs. One of the interesting aspects of the history that Dockery lays out is how what we know as “traditional” was very programmatic in nature where most of what was Baptist revolved around the programs or means of ministry. Much of these things were merely cultural in nature with little based on core beliefs. Such practices were essentially a checklist that gauged one’s spirituality where if you hit the list of programs, you were a good Baptist. Dockery states, “These practices were to Southern Baptists what Latin Mass was to Roman Catholics” (7). Looking back to the conversation I mentioned earlier, much of the practices that looked “non-denominational” in that particular church appear to be reactions to the “traditional” practices that Dockery describes. The trouble with such an approach is that in many cases, old traditions are replaced with new traditions that are just as programmatic. Sunday School, potlucks, and hymns are replace by casual clothes, praise music, and small groups. In either case, “who we are” depends on the things we do rather than what we believe, and when this happens all beliefs are subject to change. By becoming more confessional, as Dockery proposes, Baptist faith and practice will be more clear and stable. To put it simply, by being more confessional, we keep the main things the main things.

One of the most thought-provoking areas of Dockery’s proposal was that of education. As a student at Southern Seminary, I was deeply moved thinking about the level of education I am receiving for such a great value because of the cooperative program. I am amazed by all the things I have learned that I am using now and will use in the future. I can see firsthand how Baptists can work together by funding the Seminaries in order to better prepare pastors for their work. It surely is a great benefit for all Baptists – and all Christians for that matter — to have more well-educated pastors, but Dockery takes his vision a step further. Dockery explains how historically, Baptists have funded institutions for higher education, but how many of such schools have become something other than a Christian college. Dockery proposes that there could be institutions of higher learning funded by the convention that are based on confessional beliefs. I was struck by the idea that such institutions could exist not only to provide people with good educations, but also to train and teach people to think more christianly in their lives. He proposed that such institutions could practice rigorous research, but could do so based on decidedly Christian beliefs. A good example would be for such an institution to be developing rigorous scientific research based on Creation rather than evolution. In the world we live in today, there is a great need for more people who know how to orient all aspects of their lives – family, work, and hobbies – around what the Bible teaches; therefore, his goal is on right track.

I recommend that anybody who has thought of themselves as a Baptist pick up this book and give his proposal some thought. Dockery wrote many things that need further development and discussion, but his emphasis on the core Baptist beliefs begin in the right place to answer my question, “What is it that makes a Baptist church Baptist anyway?”