SBCWitness

What makes Baptists different from other Christians? Is there a uniquely "Baptist" vision for the Christian life? What are the distinctive convictions Baptists hold about the local church? Imporant questions, all. And to help us answer them, our friends at Southwestern Seminary are hosting their second annual Baptist Distinctives Conference in Fort Worth on September 29-30. The theme of this year's conference is "Maintaining the Integrity of the Local Church in a Seeker Sensitive World: The Baptist Perspective on Baptism, the Lord's Supper and Church Discipline." The conference will include a wide number of scholars from across Southern Baptist life. The following is a list of conference speakers and topics:

Mark Dever, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, "Regaining Meaningful Church Membership"

John Hammett, Southeastern Seminary, "Regenerate Church Membership"

David Allen, Southwestern Seminary, "The Proper Mode of Baptism"

Daniel Akin, Southeastern Seminary, "The Meaning of Baptism"

Stan Norman, New Orleans Seminary, "The Reestablishment of Proper Church Discipline"

Jason Lee, Southwestern Seminary, "Baptism and Covenant"

Gregory Wills, Southern Seminary, "The Historical Development and Loss of Discipline in Baptist Churches"

Malcolm Yarnell, Southwestern Seminary, "The Priesthood of the Believers"

Thomas White, Southwestern Seminary, "A Baptist Theology of the Lord's Supper"

Emir Caner, Southwestern Seminary, "The Lord's Supper: It's Participants and Relationship to Church Discipline"

In a day of theological confusion and doctrinal compromise, this conference promises to be a wake up call and perhaps the beginning of a needed course correction in Southern Baptist ecclesiology. For more information see the conference webpage here.

Tags: Uncategorized by Nathan Finn
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Anyone familiar with the events that have transpired over the last year in the SBC knows of Wade Burleson. He serves as a Southern Baptist pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Oklahoma. Also, he is an IMB trustee. If you were at the SBC in Greensboro, you would've heard him speak on a number of occasions from the floor.

Pastor Burleson also is an avid blogger (which is why he has become so well known). Recently, he reflected on his actions and many others' actions during the Conservative Resurgence. He talks about how we should think of and treat those who are commonly labeled "moderate" or "liberal". As you read his argument (which I'll link to below), unfortunately, you'll notice a scary similarity to the arguments used by liberals to try to convince Southern Baptists that the Conservative Resurgence was wrong. To say the least, this has caused quite a stir on the blogosphere. And rightly so.

As Southern Baptists it is crucial that we understand the thinking of those who we put in leadership positions. Thankfully, Burleson is honest, something that couldn't always be said throughout the 70s and 80s of our leaders. Unfortunately, I believe, he is in dangerous territory. 

I don't want to get too lengthy here, just want to bring it to your attention. If you want to hear fuller treatments, check out Nathan Finn's other blog at

  http://nathanfinn.blogspot.com/

or Scott Lamb's blog at

http://www.thoughtsandadventures.com/

But it's best if you read Burleson's words first. You can find them here

http://kerussocharis.blogspot.com/2006/08/back-to-past-for-map-of-future.html

Tags: Southern Baptist Convention by Jedidiah Coppenger
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