Celebrating 100 Years

I was a Baptist before I was a Christian. Yes, I understand and affirm the biblical doctrine of regeneration. What I mean, is I have been in a Southern Baptist Church from the time I was born. I grew up in Southern Baptist childrens and youth ministries. I was a Royal Ambassador, I went to a Georgia Baptist College, and I got my M.Div. from Southern Baptist’s flagship seminary, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I was ordained in a Southern Baptist Church and I pastor a Southern Baptist Church. I am 40 years old, but I am grateful for the men and women who contended for the faith 100 years ago and cooperated together the make Christ known among the nations.

Southern Baptist have a rich confessional heritage in the Baptist Faith and Message and have a rich spirit of cooperation in mission through the cooperative program. It was this 100 year anniversary of The Baptist Faith and Message and the Cooperative Program that prompted the creation of this ministry, “Doctrine and Mission: Grounded in Truth, Going Forward in Mission.”

Doctrine and Mission are often pitted against each other, but Southern Baptist have proved they are not. We must be committed to both theological depth, growing deeper in our understanding of God and His word, and missional breadth, taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.

This is what I love about Southern Baptists. We are fiercely committed to doctrine and mission. This ministry was established to encourage others in both sound doctrine, and in a commitment to the Great Commission. It is created with Southern Baptists in mind, by a southern baptist, but it is not exclusively for southern baptists. Perhaps you are from a different denominational heritage. I hope that you too will be committed to both doctrine and mission, developing your own mind as you study God’s Word, and directing your steps to make Christ known in the world.