Baptist doctrine may not be what it used to be.
A survey conducted by the Southern Baptist LifeWay Research organization for the Kentucky Baptist Convention shows that many state Baptist hold beliefs that are contrary to long-cherished denominational doctrines. Doctrines that are challenged by state Baptists include the idea that people can go to heaven from non-Christian religions or that Christians can loose their salvation if they don't work at it.
A survey of 223 Kentucky adults who identify themselves as Southern Baptists found support for the importance of serving God but only sporadic scripture reading, volunteering in church and sharing their faith with others.
Steve Rice, Director of Discipleship and Assimilation (Resistance is futile. We are the Baptist.) for the Kentucky Baptist Convention attributed the results to the fact that less than half of those surveyed read the Bible a few times a week or more.
"These are Kentucky Southern Baptists – that's why it really stands out to me," Rice said. "We have work to do among those sitting in our pews."
So basically, church leaders are saying that Baptists will accept church doctrine more readily if they just read their Bible more. It's like this in every denomination: Doctrine that seems wacky would make perfect sense if you just pray for enough faith to accept it. But instead of pursuing that avenue of attack Baptist leaders might do better reexamining the tenets of their faith.
What if, instead of proclaiming that "once saved, always saved", Baptist leaders took a hint from the Epistle to the Philippians, wherein the author advises believers to "work out your salvation"? (Philippians 2:12) What if, instead of preaching that salvation is a goal Baptist preached that salvation was part of a life long process? What if Baptist sermons did not focus on a God who apparently is ready to smite his beloved children at the drop of a hat?
Coincidently, on the same day that the Courier Journal reported on the Baptist survey, the newspaper ran an obituary Wayne Dehoney, a two-term president of the Southern Baptist Convention before the denomination got hijacked by conservatives.
Dehoney was also the pastor of Louisville's oldest Baptist church. During his time in the pulpit, the church grew to 6,300 members. And those members weren't all Caucasian, as is the practice in so many SBC churches. Dehoney's church had white members and black members sitting side by side. Low-income church members mingled freely with the wealthy.
How did Dehoney pull off this miracle? Did he get his congregation to focus on the issue of abortion? Did he play to his flock's worst fears about marauding gangs of gays and lesbians who might move in next door?
No. Dehoney's ministry was defined by a simple motto: "Find a need and fill it. Find a hurt and heal it."
If only all Southern Baptists could live that creed.