Southern Baptist

The two Alaska mission trips are supported by the Southern Baptist Convention. According to the SBC doctrine of faith, making disciples is the duty of every believer and should be continuously practiced through verbal witness and Christian lifestyle. One belief that might be controversial is the idea that the office of pastor is for men. I also noticed heavy emphasis on the male gender in their written statement.

What does all this information about the differences between Protestants and Baptists mean for me? I expect to be surrounded by short-term missionaries of the Baptist persuasion and want to relate to them in a way that creates unity in our efforts to show people who Jesus is. I want to be prepared to answer the pre-Christians who ask whether or not they’ll go to heaven if they’ve not been baptized. I want to be prepared to talk about how the Nicene Creed relates to the Bible.

What other questions might arise that I should be prepared to discuss? Is it even possible to prepare ahead of time and also be genuine and authentic when relating to pre-Christians?

Protestant or Baptist?

I know that Protestantism is one major division of Christianity as is Catholicism – Eastern Orthodoxy and Anglican are the other two. I know that several denominations exist within Protestantism and found there are only a few doctrines common to them all: justification by grace through faith and not through works, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the ultimate authority. Some similarities between Baptist and Protestant exist as well: the virgin birth of Christ, the Bible as the sole authority, and salvation through faith in Christ.

Historically, the Anabaptists (from whom the Baptists came) existed centuries before the Reformation from which Protestantism emerged. Doctrinally, several tenets set Anabaptists apart from Protestants: (1) baptism by immersion rather than pouring or sprinkling; (2) baptism as a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership; (3) baptism as necessary before taking part in communion; (4) Baptists reject organizational oversight; (5) Baptists adhere to the Bible alone as compared to those who adopt creeds, catechisms, and other written doctrines; (6) strict separation of church and state.

Based on history and doctrine, it could be said that Baptists are not Protestant…but then again, it could also be said that they are.