by Randy Harp
I once saw a man on a bridge about to jump. I said, “Don’t do it!” He said, “Nobody loves me.” I said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”
MAN:“Yes.”
ME: “Are you a Christian or a Jew?”
MAN: “A Christian.”
ME: “Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?”
MAN: “Protestant.”
ME: “Me, too! What denomination?”
MAN: “Baptist.”
ME: “Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”
MAN: “Northern Baptist.”
ME: “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”
MAN: “Northern Conservative Baptist.”
ME: “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?”
MAN: “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.”
ME: “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?”
MAN: “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.”
ME: “Die, heretic!” And I pushed him over.
Sure, the above scenario is just a joke, but the underlying principle is a reminder of how often we focus on areas where we disagree with others. It has well been observed that when two pastors get together, there are often three opinions. If we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace in our Fellowship of churches, here are nine basics that have generally been held in common by most pastors and churches throughout the history of the BBFI. One might even consider these the unofficial core values of the BBFI.
BIBLICAL CENTRALITY. While attending Baptist Bible College, multiple professors repeated the phrase, “What does the Bible say?” This is not only taught in our colleges but is also lived out in our churches. The Bible is the primary textbook and the only real source of preaching and practice.
DOCTRINAL UNITY. The BBFI unifies around is the 20 Articles of Faith. These are found on the BBFI website and are often copied onto church websites and used in the examination portion of the ordination of BBFI pastors.
WORLDWIDE MISSIONS. A popular rallying cry of the BBFI is, “The strong right arm of the Fellowship is missions.” With over 800 career missionaries serving in 89 different countries and over $1 billion given to date through the BBFI Mission Office, it is hard to argue with that statement. BBFI churches promote and partner with BBFI missionaries through monthly support, special projects, short-term mission trips, mission conferences, and other creative endeavors.
CHURCH PLANTING FOCUS. Thousands of churches have been started by BBFI pastors and can be found in all 50 states. In 2004, a third branch was added to the organization of the BBFI as the Judea-Samaria fund was officially transferred to the National Church Planting Office (NCPO). It was renamed APEX in 2015. The vision of APEX is for every single BBFI church to be passionately engaged in planting, funding, and serving a new church.
PRACTICAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING. While each of our colleges strive for academic excellence, the strength lies in the practicality of their training. Our students learn theology and apologetics, and they also learn homiletics and soul-winning. Students are privileged to learn from some of the greatest leaders through chapel and local church services. Training doesn’t end with formal education, however. Many churches host ministry training events and three times per year our pastors gather together for further training and encouragement.
SOUL-WINNING PRIORITY. When Elmer Towns wrote The Ten Largest Sunday Schools and What Makes Them Grow in the 1960s, half of the list included BBFI churches. His explanation was the strong soul-winning focus of BBFI churches. This was true with the founding of the BBFI and it is still true of the church plants today.
PERSONAL HOLINESS. High standards of morality, accountability, character, ethics, and integrity have been preached and practiced. Yes, some have failed in this regard, but this is a strong value most pastors strive for.
LOCAL CHURCH AUTONOMY. One of the strongest characteristics of an independent Baptist church is its autonomy. That is why two BBFI churches could agree completely with the 20 Articles of Faith and share all nine of these listed commonalities and still look and feel entirely different. No other church or parachurch organization (including the BBFI) has any authority over a local, independent church.
VOLUNTARY PARTNERSHIPS. While every church is autonomous, BBFI pastors voluntarily work together for the furtherance of the Gospel. This is seen in sending and supporting missionaries, starting new churches, and supporting the BBFI entities. This is also seen in the mutual encouragement through Fellowship meetings both on the state and national level.
It is possible some BBFI churches may not find commonality with this entire list of nine characteristics, but in our day where biblical Christianity is under attack, it is much more important to focus on the areas where we can find common ground than to focus on those areas where we may differ. As the Scriptures say, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” Ephesians 4:3.