Current Theme | March 2024
Creeds, Confessions, and Cooperation: The Basis of Our Unity
Confessions of faith have fallen on hard times. Some say that they are too restrictive or unnecessarily divisive. But the orthodox, the Protestants, and the Baptists—to name our theological forebears—have always affirmed their faith with written statements. For this is how assemblies guard their life and doctrine, and how cooperating churches do ministry together.
So, this month, we explore the role of confessions in the life of the church, and we hone in on the Southern Baptist Convention to consider the Law Amendment and its implications for the future of this denomination. In doing so, we hope to help Baptists, as well as non-Baptists, to see how confessions are a bulwark to unity and cooperation.
Table of Contents
Concise
February Intermission: From Theology by the Book to Confessing the Faith Together
By David Schrock • Concise Article • March 1
As we move on from considering theology by the Book in February, we consider the importance of Creeds and Confessions for cooperation in March. See where we've come from and where we're going!
Longform
Baptists, A Confessional People
By Michael A.G. Haykin • Longform Essay • March 4
Historically, Baptists have been a people committed to the authority of Scripture. This very commitment to the Bible has also led Baptists to be a confessional people.
Podcast
3.10 Michael A.G. Haykin • Reading • “Baptists, A Confessional People”
By Michael A.G. Haykin • Podcast Reading • March 4
Historically, Baptists have been a people committed to the authority of Scripture. This very commitment to the Bible has also led Baptists to be a confessional people.
Concise
Triage in the Trenches: When do Second-Tier Issues Divide?
By Joe Rigney • Concise Article • March 6
Baptism and the roles of men and women in the church are both second-tier issues. Yet, when it comes to cooperation, we should not think of these issues equally. A refined understanding of theological triage helps us see why.
Concise
A Time-Tested Compass Pointing to True North: The 1689 Second London Baptist Confession
By James Renihan • Concise Article • March 8
Written in response to heterodox teaching, the 1689 London Baptist Confession is still a faithful guide for the church today.
Concise
The Perils of Procrustean Triage: Redefining the Debate on Women’s Ordination
By David Attebury • Concise Article • March 11
Theological triage is a helpful category for considering cooperation amongst friends. However, we also need other categories to guard against destructive doctrine.
Podcast
3.11 Michael A.G. Haykin, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Interview • “Baptists, A Confessional People”
By Michael A.G. Haykin, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Podcast Interview • March 11
Listen in as David Schrock and Stephen Wellum interview church historian Michael Haykin on his longform essay "Baptists, A Confessional People."
Concise
Can the Cooperation Continue? What the End of the BSA Means for the Future of the SBC
By Jon Whitehead • Concise Article • March 14
A series of poor decisions led to the collapse of the Boy Scouts of America. What can the SBC learn from their mistakes to avoid the same fate?
Concise
“The Power and Duty of An Association” (1749): What an Old Treatise Can Teach Today’s Baptists
By Caleb Morell • Concise Article • March 15
In his 18th-century treatise, pastor Benjamin Griffith gives a timely lesson for Baptists today on cooperation and disfellowship.
Longform
The Good Confession: Why Southern Baptists Would Do Well to Embrace Their Confession
By Tom J. Nettles • Longform Essay • March 18
Why should Southern Baptists embrace their confession? Here are four good reasons.
Podcast
3.12 Tom J. Nettles • Reading • “The Good Confession: Why Southern Baptists Would Do Well to Embrace Their Confession”
By Tom J. Nettles • Podcast Reading • March 18
Why should Southern Baptists embrace their confession? Here are four good reasons.
Concise
Why Southern Baptists Would Be Blessed by Stronger Confessionalism
By Chad Van Dixhoorn • Concise Article • March 19
If the reformers were asked, "should we dumb down our statements of faith?"—what would they say?
Concise
Not a Freelance Club: Identity, Association, and Confessionalism in the SBC
By Colin Smothers • Concise Article • March 20
What's in a name? When it comes to Southern Baptists, hopefully a clear confession of faith that defines our identity and governs our association.
Podcast
3.13 Carl Trueman, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Interview • “Creeds and Confessions”
By Carl Trueman, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Podcast Interview • March 20
Listen in as Carl Trueman joins David Schrock and Stephen Wellum to discuss the importance of creeds and confessions in the church.
Concise
Complementarian Confessional Conflagration
By Denny Burk • Concise Article • March 20
The Law Amendment will be voted on at the SBC Annual Meeting in June 2024. There aren’t five reasons to oppose it. There isn’t even one.
Concise
Excerpt From Carl Trueman’s Crisis of Confidence
By Carl Trueman • Concise Article • March 21
Carl Trueman helps us to understand how our age of expressive individualism defies confessionalism in hopes that we might recover a worldview friendly to such ideas.
Concise
The SBC in a Crowded Theater
By Mark Coppenger • Concise Article • March 22
Amidst the chaos of purported abuse in the SBC, we've heard many voices crying out. Before joining in the alarm, however, we should listen with careful discernment.
Concise
“The Power And Duty of An Association”: Have Baptist Associations Historically Disfellowshipped Disorderly Churches?
By Caleb Morell • Longform Essay • March 25
Is local church autonomy at odds with Baptist associations disfellowshipping churches from their membership? This historical study clearly demonstrates that the answer is no.
Podcast
3.14 Caleb Morell • Reading • “‘The Power and Duty of an Association’: Have Baptist Associations Historically Disfellowshipped Disorderly Churches?”
By Caleb Morell • Podcast Reading • March 25
Is local church autonomy at odds with Baptist associations disfellowshipping churches from their membership? This historical study clearly demonstrates that the answer is no.
Concise
Four Vital Areas of Doctrine for Clear Christian Confession
By Tom J. Nettles • Concise Article • March 26
A faithful confession requires clarity in at least four areas: historic biblical orthodoxy, soteriology, the necessity of confessing, and ecclesiology. To remove any of these foundational blocks risks toppling the tower.
Concise
Combatting Self-Salvation: An Insight into the Early Creeds
By Jim Knauss • Concise Article • March 27
When theological questions regarding the trinity and the deity of Christ arose in the early church, they responded with written creeds, and it was these statements of orthodoxy which guarded the gospel of grace.
Podcast
3.15 Tom J. Nettles, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Interview • “The Good Confession: Why Southern Baptists Would Do Well to Embrace Their Confession”
By Tom J. Nettles, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Podcast Interview • March 27
Listen in as Tom Nettles joins David Schrock and Stephen Wellum to discuss his longform essay "The Good Confession: Why Southern Baptists Would Do Well to Embrace Their Confession."
Concise
The SBC Isn’t Drifting, It’s Being Steered: A Sober-Minded Response to Emotional Sabotage
By Michael Carlino • Concise Article • March 28
Emotional sabotage has steered and shaped many of the major decisions of the Southern Baptist Convention from the early 2020s to the present. How? Keep reading.
Concise
On Secondary Issues and Cooperation in the SBC
By Jason Gray • Concise Article • March 28
Should we really take such a strong stance on complementarianism since it's only a secondary issue? Yes. In fact, our convention is defined by agreement on secondary issues.
Concise
Is Roman Catholicism a Creedal Faith?
By Leonardo De Chirico • Concise Article • March 29
Does reciting a creed make a church creedal? It depends on what they think the creed means.
Podcast
3.16 Caleb Morell, David Schrock • Interview • “‘The Power and Duty of An Association’: Have Baptist Associations Historically Disfellowshipped Disorderly Churches?”
By Caleb Morell, David Schrock • Podcast Interview • March 29
Caleb Morell joins David Schrock to discuss his longform essay "'The Power and Duty of An Association': Have Baptist Associations Historically Disfellowshipped Disorderly Churches?"
Concise
ENCORE: Is Nicaea Enough? Protestant Reflections on the Nicene Creed and the Importance of Evangelical Theology
By Brad Green • Concise Article • April 5
The Nicene Creed clearly expresses an orthodox view of the Trinity and the person of Christ, but is it alone a sufficient guide to sound doctrine?
Concise
ENCORE: Sealed with Blood: Missions, Confessions, and Keeping the Faith
By Forrest Strickland • Concise Article • April 29
What's the value of a confession of faith? Here's a historical case study.
Concise
ENCORE: Fake News: Complementarianism and Disinformation
By Jonathan Woodyard • Concise Article • May 10
What do you call arguments that misrepresent complementarianism? Fake news.
Concise
ENCORE: Don’t Flinch: Standing Firm in the Face of the Egalitarian Moment
By Jonathon Woodyard • Concise Article • May 24
In the face of egalitarian pressures from within and without, will Southern Baptists flinch? The Law Amendment will be the test.
Podcast
3.27 Joe Rigney, Michael Carlino, David Schrock • Interview • “The SBC Isn’t Drifting, It’s Being Steered: A Sober-Minded Response to Emotional Sabotage”
By Joe Rigney, Michael Carlino, David Schrock • Podcast Interview • June 3
Listen in as a Joe Rigney and Michael Carlino join David Schrock to discuss Joe's book Leadership and Emotional Sabotage and to apply the lessons from this book to the Southern Baptist Convention.
Longform
The SBC Isn’t Drifting, It’s Being Steered: A Sober-Minded Response to Emotional Sabotage
By Michael Carlino • Longform Essay • June 5
Emotional sabotage has steered and shaped many of the major decisions of the Southern Baptist Convention from the early 2020s to the present. How? Keep reading.
Concise
A Personal Appeal to the SBC Messengers on the Law Amendment
By Mike Law Jr. • Concise Article • June 5
Fidelity. Clarity. Unity. As the 2024 SBC Convention looms, here is one final call from Mike Law on why to adopt the Amendment.
Podcast
3.28 Michael Carlino • Reading • “The SBC Isn’t Drifting, It’s Being Steered: A Sober-Minded Response to Emotional Sabotage”
By Michael Carlino • Podcast Interview • June 6
Emotional sabotage has steered and shaped many of the major decisions of the Southern Baptist Convention from the early 2020s to the present. How? Keep listening.
Longform
ENCORE: Reformed and Reforming the SBC: Christ Over the Law Amendment
By David Schrock • Longform Essay • June 14
What is the next step for conservative SBC churches in light of the Law Amendment falling around 5% short of the needed votes?
Podcast
3.31 David Schrock • Reading • “ENCORE: Reformed and Reforming the SBC: Christ Over the Law Amendment”
By David Schrock • Podcast Reading • June 25
What is the next step for conservative SBC churches in light of the Law Amendment falling around 5% short of the needed votes?
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