BAPTIST CHURCH POLITYLECTURE 25

THE DIFFERENCES IN POLITY AMONGST INDEPENDENT BAPTIST CHURCHESThe photos don’t necessarily have any connection with the content of this lecture, unless one reads into it a lot…

-- ORDINANCESa) baptism only accepted by their own church; totally closed communion with withholding it from any member that is not living a godly lifeb) Baptist only baptism (any Baptist church is ok); Close communion (fellow independent Baptist ok)c) Open Baptism; Open Communion The ordinances are not an issue

-- BIBLEa) KJV is only true Bible in the world (Ruckmanism); only can be saved thru KJVb) KJV is the perfect, preserved Word of God for English speakersc) KJV is the ‘best’ translation availabled) KJV is used, and so are others

-- SOULWINNINGa) Aggressive soulwinning; numbers oriented; 8 or more hours per week; high pressured style; street preachingb) Door to door is done once per week; emphasized but usually dismal participationc) Non-confrontational; focus is on ‘throwing out the seed in the barn’

-- MAIN FOCUS’a) Very obviously focused on just one main thing; i.e. soulwinning, or missions, or Christian school, or building program, or numbers, or music, etc..b) Tries to be balanced in these areas; pushes more for soulwinning than building

-- ORTHODOXYa) Traditional; predictive; no variance from ‘what we’ve always done’; mostly older membersb) Basically follows a traditional format, but does vary some and go ‘out of the box’; is open to new ideasc) Very unconventional; purposely will ‘go against Baptist traditions’; ‘cutting edge’; cavalier

A Jewish Temple

-- INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENTa) Isolationalist mentality; will fellowship only if of exactly the same ‘stripe’, or no gob) Unaffiliated; fellowships only with unaffiliateds; careful posture with all independentsc) Only fellowships with those in their ‘Fellowship’d) Will fellowship with any KJV-only independent Baptist churche) Fellowships outside of independent Baptisdom; ecumenical to some degreeThe Vatican: how spooky!

-- RALLY ROUND THE COLLEGE, THE PAPER, THE FELLOWSHIP, THE BOARD

a) all fellowship and extra-curricular emphasis is on their favorite ______; it is their rallying point…their identityb) Takes a great interest in certain colleges, papers, fellowships, boards, etc. Doesn’t have just one favorite though.c) Totally against any parachurch entity; is basically against a church ministry that has become ‘famous’

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-- PASTORAL AUTHORITYa) Pastor has been there 20 yrs+; an icon; almost a cult-like figure; highly respected and never gone againstb) Pastor is a strong leader, but will delegate and/or share responsibilities and authority with other leadersc) Church authority is highly promoted, whereas pastoral authority is somewhat diminished; 50/50 set upd) Pastor is only a figure-head; just fills the pulpit and makes visits; otherwise is a puppet of a key group/family.

-- ASSOCIATES AND ASSISTANTSa) There is only one pastor; all associates or assistants are non-pastorsb) There is ‘The Pastor’, and then there are his associates and assistants, who are actually pastors, but very juniorc) Co-pastoring; no terms used like ‘associate’ or ‘assistant’ pastors; all are fully a pastor; one is ‘chief’ though.

-- TRAININGa) Train all preacher boys in own church, by the pastor; ladies are not allowed to participate; very formal approachb) Promotes training but all preacher boys are sent to the ‘favorite college’c) Not emphasized; pastor doesn’t want any men to leave.

-- MUSICa) Extremely conservative; no taped accompaniment; definitely no CCM sounding music; no drums at all; no emotionality with singing; some will not even employ instruments other than a pianob) Mixture of old-fashioned hymns and some more contemporary music; allows taped accompaniment; soft CCM is tolerated.c) Music standards are not made much of an issue; drums are allowed on stage; all CCM is ok.

-- MISSION SUPPORTa) Will just have their one obligatory missionary to supportb) Supports many missionaries, and even some para-church organizations with Mission fundsc) Faith Promise is highly promoted; frequent special speakers on it; some will give $100k per year to Missions

-- WOMEN’S ROLESa) Women are not in any leadership roles; men basically do all teaching, including children’s ministries; no make up, long dresses, bonnets, never speak up in a serviceb) Men are the clear leaders, but women allowed to be teachers, etc.; hair , dresses, make up, etc., are not big issuesc) Deaconesses; women adult S.S. teachers; woman choir leader; pants are the norm; equality is a big issue

-- CHILDREN’S MINISTRYa) The children are the key; they are our future; major focus on themb) Balanced approach between children and adultsc) The adult males are the key; children are not focused on at all until their late teens or early twenties

-- STANDARDS

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a) Rules are followed to the “T”; great emphasis put on what the standards are; many call them ‘legalistic’b) Preaches on standards but doesn’t push the issue beyond thatc) Standards are relaxed and not made into an issue; up to one’s own conscience

-- ATTITUDEa) Serious, sober tone; properness to service is paramount; no emotions expressed much; ‘us 4 and no more’…b) Somewhat serious tone, but allows for expressions of joy and praise; known as a ‘friendly’ churchc) Very relaxed, homey; expresses emotions a lot; hugs and lots of ‘praise the Lords’; very open and warm

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