3. ABC/USA Statement & Baptist Distinctive
The ABC is a diverse, Christ-centered, missional, and biblically rooted denomination. It is committed to the Triune God, the local church, and social justice. There is no one specific ABC church, because the denomination is composed of theologically and ethnically diverse congregations located in rural and urban areas, however, through the common confession that “Jesus is Lord” the ABC emerges as a Christian denomination united in its diversity. I find a home in the ABC, because I am evangelical, Baptist, and ecumenical – all traits of the ABC.
The ABC is a distinctively Baptist denomination in that it promotes believer’s baptism, soul competency, local church autonomy, separation of church and state, and religious freedom. Baptists recognize that confession precedes baptism and that the church consists of regenerate members. They also promote soul competency – the “dangerous idea of Christianity” (Alister McGrath) – which contends that individuals can interpret the Bible themselves and are relieved of any outside pressure to confess a specific dogma. Local church autonomy is another distinctive mark of the Baptist church. It contends that God’s mission is manifest through local churches active in their neighborhood, and it is most fully expressed in the “priesthood of all believers,” or when all members of a local church actively participate in that mission (congregationalism). Historically, Baptists have also promoted separation of church and state. This means that the state should not impose specific religious convictions on any religious body, Christian or otherwise, nor should the church seek to establish a theocracy. This distinctive is undergirded by another Baptist distinctive – religious freedom. Individuals are free to voluntarily choose his/her local church. This idea contrasts the “parish model” where Christians of a certain geographical area will automatically belong to his/her closest church. Baptists confess that no government should inhibit an individual from joining a religious movement or church of his/her choosing.
Baptists are also distinctive in that they tend to be broadly evangelical in confession. This means that they tend to be Christocentric, Spirit-led, pietistic, biblical, missional, social justice orientated, and ecumenical.
Although it has taken me seven years to become a Baptist I find that my theological orientation and confession settle well in Baptist convictions.
