Elder Council Position Paper Qualifications for Baptism or Church Membership Baptism 1. Scripture teaches that only saved people should be baptized (Matt 28:19; Acts 2:41). 2. Scripture teaches that every saved person should be baptized (Matt 28:19; Acts 2:41; 8:26-36). 3. There are biblical indications that children can be baptized (Acts 11:14; 16:15, 31-33; 18:8). 4. There does seem to be some age at which a person becomes accountable for his/her sins (2 Sam. 12:23; Rom 7:9) and needs to receive Christ, and thus baptism. 5. The church must be careful to baptize only those people who are truly saved (Matt. 28: 18-19; Acts 2:41; 8:12, 36-39; 10:47-48). 6. The church must avoid establishing rules regarding baptism, which the Bible itself does not make (Acts 15:10; Gal. 5:1). 7. Since the Bible does not establish a specific minimum or maximum age when a person can be saved, the church must not establish a specific minimum or maximum age for a person to be baptized. 8. Since the Bible does not give any other qualification for baptism, other than it happen subsequently to salvation, no other qualification should be added by the church. Church Membership 1. The Bible supports the concept of church membership (Rom 12:4-5; 1 Cor 12:12-27). 2. Since the Bible does not mention anyone who was saved and refused to be baptized, but does give many examples of people who were saved and then baptized, we can assume that saved and baptized individuals were members of the church. (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 36-39; 10:47-48; 16:14-15; 31-33; 18:8) 1
3. There are no specific qualifications mentioned in scripture for church membership other than salvation. 4. The church must be careful to accept only saved people into membership. 5. The church must avoid establishing specific minimum or maximum ages at which a person can become a member. 6. Scripture does teach that church membership should be restricted from those persons who practice lifestyle sin, sew seeds of disunity, or commit certain sexual sins (Matt 18; 15-18; Rom 16:17; 1 Cor 5:1-2,11). Summary Statement: We believe that the Bible teaches only believers and all believers should be baptized subsequent to salvation. While the Scripture does affirm church membership, it does not provide a list of specific qualifications for church membership, with the exceptions of salvation and a godly life. 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY It is the recommendation of the Ministry of the Word Sub Team that the Elder Council adopt the position that baptism is for all and every believer, and that church membership should be restricted to saved persons who are seeking to live godly lives. We do not believe that baptism should be used as an initiation rite for church membership. However, we also recommend that the position should not become policy related to By- Law changes at this time. In part, this is because the Bible itself does not establish a specific set of qualifications for church membership. Perhaps the Lord allows individual fellowships to establish their own standards. Henderson Hills Baptist Church has operated with the qualification of baptism for church membership throughout its history and it would prove needlessly disruptive to the body to change it at this time. There is also an argument that in the spiritual realm, salvation is followed by the Baptism of the Spirit (Rom 6:1-8; 1 Cor 12:12) and then membership in the Universal Church. This argument continues that local church membership should follow the same pattern. While we reject this argument, we do recognize that theologians whom we respect hold it. 3
South Carolina Church Faces Ouster Over Baptism By Greg Warner SPARTANBURG, S.C. (ABP) -- Fernwood Baptist Church in Spartanburg may join a growing list of South Carolina churches kicked out of local associations for accepting members who have not been baptized by immersion. The 500-member church was notified by letter Nov. 21 that the Spartanburg County Baptist Network, an association of Baptist churches, considered Fernwood s baptism practices to be a "breach of fellowship." In the past three years, similar disputes have resulted in splits between two South Carolina Baptist churches and their local associations. Since 1990 Fernwood Baptist has accepted 27 Christians into membership who were baptized in other denominations, even though that previous baptism didn t involve total immersion under water. Only in October did the church s practice become an issue, said Randall Wright, Fernwood s pastor for 18 years. Jim Goodroe, the network s director of missions, raised the issue in an October phone call to Wright. The Nov. 21 notification letter, sent by an associational committee to the church s deacon chair, also returned Fernwood s $529 October contribution to the network. Wright characterized the network's action as "severing ties with the church." "I think it's a pretty significant symbol of their determination not to participate with us that they returned our good-faith offerings," he said. "To send that back was quite a sad day." But Goodroe told the Greenville News the church could "remedy" the breach by returning to the traditional requirement of immersion. A vote to oust Fernwood could come at the network's semi-annual meeting in April. Many Baptists believe that, while believer's baptism is not a requirement for salvation, it is a distinctive practice observed by Baptists and is a non-negotiable doctrine. "Our very name as Baptists draws from our insistence on believer's baptism," noted the seven pastors on the associational committee that wrote Fernwood. "When our churches receive 4
members by letter, they need to be confident that transfer members have been immersed as believers." Wright disagreed. In a letter to the Fernwood congregation, he said: To use Christian baptism as a membership requirement or initiation ritual into a particular expression of the Body of Christ -- in this case, a Baptist church -- weakens the significance of baptism as a symbol to celebrate one s faith in Christ. To use Christian baptism as such an administrative, clerical or technical requirement is to abuse this beautiful symbol. Wright said the church s more open practice promotes unity and cooperation, resulting in a more productive advance of the Kingdom of God and growth in Christendom. Earlier this year, First Baptist Church of Greenville was declared out of compliance with the Greenville Baptist Association for accepting members who had previously made professions of Christian faith in other denominations. Boulevard Baptist Church in Anderson was expelled from Saluda Baptist Association in 2000 in a baptism dispute. Decades earlier, First Baptist of Greenwood (1970) and First Baptist of Clemson (1975) were dismissed from their associations for the same thing. A S S O C I A T E D B A P T I S T P R E S S ****************************************************************** Editor: Bob Allen Phone: (904) 262-6626 Executive Editor: Greg Warner Fax: (904) 262-7745 December 03, 2002 Volume: 02-113 5