Article 6 in the Baptist Faith and Message is the only one that has been amended since the Convention adopted the full revision in 2000. The change left some wondering, “How did that happen?” and “Is that allowed?”
The revision came by a motion from the floor at the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Even the messenger who brought the motion said later he expected it to be referred to the Executive Committee for study and subsequent action, but instead it was brought for a vote in rapid order.
The Article 6 revision was directly related to a matter already on the floor, amending the SBC Constitution to strengthen the language on male-only pastors. This small adjustment in the BF&M seemed to be an expression of the will of the Convention that came without amending the Constitution: “…the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
The revision made two important distinctions: the office of pastor is for men only, and the definition of pastor was clarified to include three biblical words that sometimes have been viewed as separate offices. By the Baptist Faith and Message (as amended in 2023), “pastor” equals “elder” equals “overseer.” That last word is translated as “bishop” in some versions of the Bible and in some denominations that have bishops.
By implication, that puts these positions on a level field, and all of them may only be held by men. While the Convention may debate further reinforcements of “male-only” language within the SBC Constitution, the widely accepted statement of faith has already spoken on the issue.
Why ‘local’ is important
The story is told of a Texas pastor who phoned the state convention office one day. The new receptionist answered, “Baptist Headquarters, how may I direct your call?”
“Young lady,” he rumbled, “That is not ‘Baptist Headquarters.’ I am standing in ‘Baptist Headquarters!’ I am calling from First Baptist Church!”
His point was made. Ours is a grassroots denomination. Southern Baptist governance is from the pew upward. The next time he phoned, the call was answered, “Baptist Building”—a very important distinction.
This article is our clearest official declaration of the denomination’s ecclesial distinctives: As the Body of Christ, the church is an organism, not an organization. And the local church is autonomous, self-governing, and operated by democratic processes. The local congregation is, so to speak, headquarters.
The local church may voluntarily associate with other churches in shared mission endeavors, but no larger hierarchical organization can make demands on the local church.
Admittedly this concept has been challenged in recent years by requirements for local churches to address issues of sexual abuse, racism, and women in a lead pastor role, but a church’s decision to comply in order to remain in “friendly cooperation” with the national Convention is strictly voluntary.
As for governance by “democratic processes,” decision-by-business-meeting wherein most every member speaks up on most every issue has shifted somewhat. Not as many churches have monthly business meetings. And more churches rely on pastoral staff or other designated leaders to handle more of their business.
Operating a non-profit has become complicated with rules and regulations and insurance and facilities maintenance and financial reports and HR policies, and the list goes on. But so long as the members elect their leaders, be they pastors, elders, or deacons, the democratic nature of congregational government is preserved—and with it, eligibility for association with the SBC network of churches.
In this article, the Baptist distinctive of a regenerate membership is identified as a core belief. Only those who have been saved and made a public profession of their faith by baptism are accepted as members in a Baptist church.
In an essay on Article 6 (Baptist Press, 2002), Church History Professor Gregory Wills of Southern Seminary pointed out that the doctrine on the church comes from God. “Baptists in the past generally held that the doctrine of the church was a revealed doctrine. Many still do.
“Others are returning to this conviction,” Wills wrote. “Ecclesiology, in its fundamental aspects, is a matter of revelation.” In other words, the church, as we understand it and seek to practice it, is not a human contrivance. God planned the church.
Doesn’t that elevate the role of the church in the world and in our lives? Church, which was once the center of community life and the hub of family activity, is still God’s Plan A for reaching the world, for bringing his people together to advance the gospel, and, along with marriage, the living example of covenant relationship.
Church attendance was on the slide before the Covid pandemic, but now even “regular” church goers are present with fellow believers only a couple of times a month. It’s the centrality of the church in our earthly lives and our heavenly purpose that Article 6 espouses. And it’s that rightful place for the church we must restore.
Finally, the article makes clear that the whole Church (often called the capital “C” church) is the body of believers in all places, across all times, who will gather at the throne to worship Jesus Christ our Savior for all eternity. In that sense, worship by the church in the local context is but a preview of the glory to come.
— Eric Reed
