Who doesn’t love a baby dedication service? Cute babies wiggle, cry, and coo while their parents self-consciously attempt to maintain a level of decorum. After the parents utter a brief vow filled with biblical language, they all scurry back to the nursery. Though mom and dad appreciate the communal recognition, most parents would confess that the blue Bibles, pink flowers, and paper certificates that mark the day lacked transformational power. So why do Baptists do the dedications?
Read More
Adoniram Judson's First Missionary Test
What does someone need before being sent out by the church to serve in cross-cultural missions? Certainly, one should have a clear profession of faith and give some evidence of fruitfulness in evangelism and discipleship. One should have a sense of calling for the work, both subjectively and objectively. There will need to be a team of financial and spiritual supporters. Anything else?
Here’s something that often gets overlooked: Ecclesiology! Before being sent out, they should have a biblical, convictional understanding of the church. This was a lesson that Adoniram Judson learned the hard way.
Read More
John Smyth: The Danger of Haste
John Smyth won fame from himself when he established the first English Baptist Church in 1608. Yet, few Baptists know of Smyth’s contribution to the Baptist faith because he undermined his own legacy, rapidly changing his theological convictions.
Read More
Gateway to Paradise: Medieval and Renaissance Views of Baptism
The door to the local baptistery truly became the gates to paradise for members of the Florentine congregation as the hope and promise of eternal life surely did lay on the other side of its waters. As beautiful and haunting as the door’s images, the hopeful minds of parents carrying their children through the gates to be ushered into the Kingdom of God can be just as jarring. No angel with flaming sword guarding this path, Ghiberti’s gates swung wide to receive all who wished to pass on their beliefs to the next generation.
Read More
Irenaeus and the Ecclesiastical Constitution of the Church
In our day, there has been a revival of discussion surrounding church membership and other aspects of church polity. But are these matters simply modern inventions? How did the early church think about these matters?
Writing in the 2nd century AD, Irenaeus bishop of Lyons combated the Gnosticism of his day in his most famous work, Against the Heresies. Throughout his work, he appeals to sound reasons and the Scriptures to combat the Gnostic teachings of Valentinus, Marcion, and other heretics. However, Irenaeus shows himself to be not only a theologian but also a devoted churchman.
Read More