Prayer and the Ministry of the Word

Dear Friends,

My dear wife Susan Kathleen (Jones) and I were married July 25, 1992. She was beautiful then, both inside and out, but she is 140 times as beautiful 14 years later. For Jesus to be fairer than she is, He must be fair indeed, and worthy of much worship. God has blessed us with our precious children, sustained our marriage, and blessed us in a thousand other ways. We are very thankful.

There's one problem, though, which has just occurred to me now, on our anniversary. We were not married in a Baptist church, but at Pantego Bible Church in Arlington, Texas. To make matters worse, the wedding ceremony was conducted by Dr. Elliot Johnson, who is not a Baptist minister. In fact he is (do I dare say it?) an elder in a Bible church, and a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, which is not a Baptist seminary.

We are presently serving in a church here in the states. But what if we are ever led to apply for missionary service with the International Mission Board? Will we have to get re-married?

I ask this because last November, the IMB Board of Trustees passed a new policy indicating that if a candidate for missionary appointment had not been baptized in a Southern Baptist church, or one VERY similar, he should request “baptism” in his local Baptist church for identification with the system of beliefs held by Southern Baptists. Here is the quote:

a. Baptism is a church ordinance. Baptism must take place in a church that practices believer’s baptism by immersion alone, does not view baptism as sacramental or regenerative, and a church that embraces the doctrine of the security of the believer.

b. A candidate who has not been baptized in a Southern Baptist church or in a church which meets the standards listed above is expected to request baptism in his/her Southern Baptist church as a testimony of identification with the system of belief held by Southern Baptist churches.

In adopting this policy, the IMB BOT has created a new breed of hybrid. Their policy is two parts old Landmark ecclesiology, which states that only Baptist churches are real churches, only churches can baptize, and therefore a “baptism” ceremony performed by anyone else is not valid. Hence the need for “real” baptism before entering a Baptist church. Part a. and most of part b. of the new policy are pretty good Landmarkism. Most Southern Baptists, including this author, do not adhere to very much of the Landmark system, but at least the IMB policy is in line with someone's beliefs.

The third part, though, would be disavowed by good Landmark Baptists, and in fact by well-studied Baptists of every stripe. It conveys the idea that the missionary candidate has already been baptized for the biblical reason---to identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ--- but now must be “baptized” again for another reason, to demonstrate that he believes what Southern Baptists believe. If that third part is not derived from Landmarkism, what is its origin? Sadly, it comes from the kind of careless, ignorant ecclesiology that has become all too common of late in our churches. The idea that the person who has already been baptized must be “baptized” again, or, as is commonly said, “re-baptized” to state his denominational affiliation is common among the uninitiated in our churches, but is to be found nowhere in the Bible, certainly, nor anywhere in serious theological scholarship.

(Pardon me a moment---cough, cough, cough---every time I hear the nonsense word “re-baptized” I begin to choke, cough, sneeze, wheeze, and hyperventilate all at the same time. Please give me a moment, and a paper bag. No, not a Wal-mart bag, son! Okay, thanks. Ah, that’s better.)

In all of the hubbub over abstinence from alcohol, church discipline, Calvinism, election of officers, requirements for church membership, and other matters that have consumed the Southern Baptist denomination over the past few weeks, we seem to have lost sight of what started the whole thing---it’s about Baptism!

We are Baptists! We know that baptism is one thing, and one thing only: Baptism is an act of obedience whereby the believer identifies with Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Sure, more can be said about its significance, but that is the bottom line. Do not try to tell us that baptism is a ceremony that means whatever we say it means. Do not try to use baptism as a denominational loyalty pledge. God chose baptism precisely because it is a powerful picture of the heart of the Gospel. The believer is lowered into the water, as Jesus was lowered from the cross and into the tomb. The believer is then raised from the water, as Jesus was raised from the tomb to life! If the IMB BOT wants us to cheapen that God-given ordinance into something we do to identify ourselves as loyal Southern Baptists, they have another thing coming.

Susan and I do not intend to be re-married. We have already been married. We are already married.

Neither do I intend to be “re-baptized” (cough, cough, cough) for any reason, least of all to show that I am a good Southern Baptist.

The IMB BOT’s ridiculous policy must be repealed, and the trustees will see no end of opposition from well-versed Baptists until it is repealed.

Love in Christ,

Jeff