4.54 Marc Minter, David Schrock & Stephen Wellum • Interview • “Liberty, Not Separation: The Historic Development of Baptist Perspectives on Church and State”

Episode 194
67 Min
November 24, 2025
ABOUT THE EPISODE
Listen in as David Schrock & Stephen Wellum interview Marc Minter on his Longform essay, "Liberty Not Separation: The Historic Development of Baptist Perspectives on Church and State"
Timestamps
  • 00:48 – Intro
  • 05:52 – Marc Minter and His Academic Aspirations
  • 10:30 – The State of Political Theology in the SBC
  • 14:48 – Influences on Political Theology
  • 19:00 – The Significance of Everson v. Board of Education 1947
  • 21:42 – How This Case Shaped Subsequent Generations’ Worldviews
  • 24:27 – Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists
  • 30:10 – How Much Did Jefferson’s Views Change Between 1776-1802?
  • 33:37 – The Distinction Between Reformation and Enlightment Traditions
  • 37:55 – The Two Notions of the Term ‘Separation’
  • 43:05 – Have We Adopted an Anabaptist Tradition of Church & State?
  • 45:47 – E.Y. Mullins’ Views on the State
  • 49:10 – Mullins’ Interjection into the Baptist Faith & Message
  • 58:48 – What Should Pastors Do In Light of All This?
  • 1:04:24 – Readings for Baptist Political Theology
  • 1:06:10 – Outro
Resources to Click
Books to Read
ON THIS EPISODE

Authors

  • Marc Minter has served as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church Diana, in Diana, Texas, since 2014. He is married to Cassie and has two sons, Micah and Malachi. He has an M.Div. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a Ph.D. student in historical theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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  • David Schrock is the pastor for preaching and theology at Occoquan Bible Church in Woodbridge, Virginia. David is a two-time graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a founding faculty member and professor of theology at Indianapolis Theology Seminary. And he is the author of Royal Priesthood and Glory of God along with many journal articles and online essays.

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  • Stephen Wellum is professor of Christian theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He received his MDiv and PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author of numerous essays, articles, and books. He is also the co-author with Peter Gentry of Kingdom through Covenant, 2nd edition (Crossway, 2012, 2018) and the author of God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of the Person of Christ (Crossway, 2016) and Systematic Theology, Volume 1: From Canon to Concept (B&H Academic, 2024).

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