Baptist History and Denominational Development — Unit 9: The Family of Baptists: Southern, Independent, Free Will, Reformed, American, and National Conventions

Key Verse

"endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:3, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Explain why Baptists have so many different groups, and what the principles of church autonomy and voluntary cooperation have to do with it.

2. Describe the Southern Baptist Convention, the American Baptist Churches, and the National Baptist and Progressive National Baptist conventions.

3. Describe independent and fundamental Baptists, Free Will Baptists, and Reformed Baptists, and say how each differs from the others.

4. Tell the difference between the beliefs all Baptists share and the matters on which faithful Baptists disagree.

5. State the main objections to Baptist division and give the Baptist answer from Scripture.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the Baptist tradition, for Baptist students. It is theologically conservative. When it says "we," it means Baptists who hold the Bible to be the inspired and authoritative Word of God. In this unit we describe groups that differ from one another and sometimes from the conservative view of this course. We describe each one fairly, in the way its own members would recognize, and then we say where Baptists should stand.

One Family, Many Households

Anyone who travels will find that Baptist churches do not all look alike. In one city there may be a church that belongs to a large national convention, another that belongs to no convention at all, and another that calls itself Reformed. A visitor may ask: "Which of these is the real Baptist church?" A pastor needs to be able to answer.

The first thing to understand is that there is no Baptist pope, and no Baptist headquarters that rules over all the churches. We have seen in earlier units that every Baptist church governs itself under Christ. Churches join together voluntarily to do what they cannot do alone: to send missionaries, to train pastors, to help the needy and to print Bibles. They join because they agree, as Amos asks, "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3:3). When agreement fails, they may separate. This freedom is a strength, because no human power can force a church to give up the Bible. It also explains why Baptists are many. Disputes have often led to new groups, and some of them were necessary and some were not.

A second thing to understand is that Baptist groups differ for several kinds of reason. Some arose from history and geography, such as the Southern and Northern conventions or the national conventions of different countries. Some arose from race and the history of slavery and segregation in the United States. Some arose from doctrine, such as the debate between Calvinists and Arminians. Some arose from controversy, as we saw in Unit 8. Keeping these reasons in mind will help you to understand each group.

The Southern Baptist Convention

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) began in 1845 at Augusta, Georgia, as Unit 7 explained. It is among the largest Protestant bodies in the United States and the largest Baptist body in the world, by most counts. It is not a church. It is a convention of churches that choose to cooperate. Each church sends messengers, not delegates, to the annual meeting. The word is chosen carefully: a messenger carries the message of his church, and the convention cannot command any church.

Its churches support missions and ministry together through the Cooperative Program, which began in 1925. A church gives a share of its offerings to its state convention and to the national convention. The money funds mission boards, seminaries and other work. This is the "voluntary cooperation" of Baptist tradition in practical form.

Southern Baptists hold the Baptist Faith and Message (1925, 1963, 2000) as their common statement. Inside this body there are several views on salvation. Most Southern Baptists hold the free offer of the gospel to all, and many hold that the security of the believer is certain. Some are Calvinists, and others are not. In 2012 a group of Southern Baptist leaders issued a statement of the "traditional" understanding of salvation, which stressed God's love for all people and the human response of faith. We shall look at this debate in Course 2.

The American Baptist Churches

The American Baptist Churches in the USA are the heirs of the Northern Baptists. As Unit 8 explained, the Northern Baptist Convention began in 1907, was renamed the American Baptist Convention in 1950, and took its present name in 1972. Its roots go back to the Triennial Convention of 1814 and to early Baptist work in the North.

This body is broader in doctrine than the Southern Baptist Convention. It has evangelical congregations and also churches that are more liberal. It has long emphasized the independence of each church and has not required its churches to hold one confession of faith. Many of its members are faithful believers, and their mission work in many lands has blessed millions. As a conservative Baptist teaching conservative Baptists, we say honestly that we are troubled when a Baptist body does not hold firmly to the authority of Scripture. At the same time, we remember that evangelicals within it continue to serve Christ, and we do not judge a congregation by the name of its convention.

The African American Baptist Conventions

Black Baptists have a long and proud history, which Unit 7 traced. Free Black believers and enslaved people formed churches in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, sometimes in secret. After the Civil War, Black Baptists formed their own churches, associations and conventions in large numbers. In 1895 they joined to form the National Baptist Convention, which became the largest African American Baptist body. Later divisions produced other conventions. One is the National Baptist Convention of America. The Progressive National Baptist Convention was formed in 1961, partly in connection with disputes over leadership and over the civil rights movement.

These conventions share the Baptist principles of church autonomy and voluntary cooperation. Their churches have been centers of worship, education, preaching and community life, and their preachers have been among the great voices of the Baptist tradition. A Baptist student of any background should honor this history.

Independent and Fundamental Baptists

Many Baptist churches belong to no convention at all. They are called independent Baptists, and a large number are also called fundamental Baptists. Several emerged from the fundamentalist controversies described in Unit 8. They stress the full independence of the local church, the strict authority of the Bible, personal separation from worldliness and from theological liberalism, and evangelism and church planting. Many were influenced by Landmarkism, which Unit 7 discussed. Some are known for the practice of working with one another through fellowships of pastors, mission agencies and Bible institutes rather than through a convention.

These churches have had a strong effect on missions and church planting. Their strength is that each church answers directly to the Word of God and to its own members. A weakness that others see is that pastors can drift without accountability, that cooperation between churches may be thin, and that disagreements over secondary matters can lead to further splits. Some independent Baptists also insist on a single translation of the Bible, and other Baptists, including most conservatives, do not agree that a believer must use only one translation. A pastor should speak of these brothers with respect, because many of them have given their lives to the gospel.

Free Will Baptists

The Free Will Baptists share the conviction of the General Baptists, who, as Unit 3 explained, believed that Christ died for all. There were two main early streams of Free Will Baptists in America: one in the South, associated with Paul Palmer in the early 1700s, and one in New England, associated with Benjamin Randall in the later 1700s. Today most are in the National Association of Free Will Baptists.

They hold the full authority of Scripture and believer's baptism by immersion. They differ from most Baptists on two points. First, they teach that salvation is available to all, and they stress the response of the human will to God's grace, which is the reason for their name. Second, they teach that a believer who is truly saved may, by persistent unbelief, fall away from salvation. This is a different view from the eternal security of the believer held by most Baptists, and it is an internal Baptist disagreement.

How we answer. Free Will Baptists appeal to warnings in Hebrews and elsewhere, and their view is sincere and serious. We agree that perseverance is the mark of a true believer, and we agree that the gospel is for all. But we are persuaded by promises such as John 10:28-29 that those whom Christ has saved are held securely in His hand. We state our view with respect, and we are glad to work with Free Will Baptists in the gospel wherever we can.

Reformed Baptists

Reformed Baptists, sometimes called Sovereign Grace Baptists, are the heirs of the Particular Baptists, as Unit 4 showed. They hold the Second London Confession of 1689 and teach that God, in eternity, chose a people for salvation and that Christ's death was designed to save them. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the most famous English Baptist of the nineteenth century, was a Calvinist who preached the gospel to everyone, and many Reformed Baptists admire him. Some are in independent churches, and many are inside the Southern Baptist Convention.

Reformed Baptists have contributed much to the Baptist tradition in preaching, theology and the recovery of historic confessions. Some Baptists fear that if Calvinism is pressed too hard, evangelism and missions may weaken. Reformed Baptists answer that the history of Carey, Fuller and Spurgeon shows the opposite. Fuller's own work (Unit 6) was written to show that Calvinist convictions do not hinder the free offer of the gospel. We agree that both Calvinist and non-Calvinist Baptists must keep the free offer of the gospel to everyone and must keep the churches united in missions.

Other Baptist Groups

Two more groups should be known. The Primitive Baptists arose in the 1830s in opposition to mission societies and other new organizations, and they emphasize God's sovereignty in salvation. The Conservative Baptist and regular Baptist bodies described in Unit 8 formed in the twentieth century from the Northern Baptist conflict. There are also many smaller Baptist groups. Wherever you serve, ask each group for its confession of faith. A confession is the best way to learn what a group believes.

What Unites Us and What Divides Us

Baptist groups agree on a great deal. The historic Baptist distinctives (Unit 1) are a good test: the authority of Scripture, regenerate church membership, believer's baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper as an ordinance, local church autonomy, two offices of pastor and deacon, the priesthood of all believers, soul liberty and religious liberty, and voluntary cooperation for missions. A group that holds these is a Baptist family member, even if we disagree with it on other points.

It helps to sort disagreements into three levels. First are the core Christian beliefs that all believers must hold, such as the Trinity, the deity of Christ and salvation by grace through faith. A group that denies these has left the faith. Second are the Baptist distinctives, on which we should not compromise. Third are secondary matters, on which faithful Baptists differ, such as the details of end-times teaching, whether to be Calvinist or not, the style of worship, who may take communion, and the choice of Bible translation. Wise pastors do not treat a third-level disagreement as a first-level one.

Objections and Our Answers

Objection 1: The many Baptist groups show that Baptists are divided, and Jesus prayed that His people be one (John 17:21). Critics say that a church with so many divisions cannot be the true church.

Our answer. Unity in Scripture is first a spiritual unity of those who belong to Christ. It is kept "in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3), and Paul tells us to keep it, not to create it. We grieve over needless splits and sinful quarrels. But the New Testament also shows that believers may part when truth is at stake, and even Paul and Barnabas separated over a sharp disagreement (Acts 15:39) and later went on in the Lord's work. Unity does not mean one organization, and we pray that Baptists will cooperate more.

Objection 2: Church autonomy produces chaos and no accountability. Some say that without a bishop or a central authority a church can drift into error.

Our answer. The risk is real. But Christ is the Head of each church, and He gave each church His Word, pastors and deacons, and the Holy Spirit. Associations and conventions provide fellowship, counsel and shared confessions without ruling over a church. Accountability to Scripture, to the congregation and to sister churches is stronger than a chain of command that can itself fall into error.

Objection 3: Which Baptist group is right? A new believer may feel confused.

Our answer. Do not choose by name. Compare each church with the Bible and the Baptist distinctives, and ask about its confession and its teaching on the gospel.

Pastoral Application

A young man has begun a new Baptist church in a small town. Two visitors come in the same month. The first is a pastor from a church in a national convention, who invites him to join the local association. The second is the leader of a visiting mission team from an independent church abroad, who offers to help with a building and invites him to join their fellowship.

First, the young pastor thanks both and does not insult either.

Second, he asks each for a written statement of faith and a description of how the cooperation would work, including who would hold the property and who would make decisions.

Third, he compares what he learns with Scripture and with the Baptist distinctives, and he asks his own deacons and congregation to pray and to decide, because his church governs itself.

Fourth, he remembers that he may cooperate with more than one group on a particular task while remaining faithful to his convictions.

Summary

Baptists have no central authority, so they are many. Their groups arose from history, race, doctrine and controversy. The Southern Baptist Convention (1845) cooperates through messengers and the Cooperative Program (1925). The American Baptist Churches descend from the Northern Baptists and are broader in doctrine. The African American conventions include the National Baptist Convention (1895) and the Progressive National Baptist Convention (1961). Independent and fundamental Baptists stress the full independence of the local church and separation. Free Will Baptists hold that salvation is available to all and that a believer may fall away, while most Baptists hold eternal security. Reformed Baptists keep the 1689 Confession. Baptists agree on the distinctives, and differ on secondary matters. We answer the charge of division by seeking the unity of the Spirit, and we pray for more cooperation in the gospel.

Further Reading

• H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage (1987).

• Bill J. Leonard, Baptist Ways: A History (2003).

• David Bebbington, Baptists Through the Centuries (2010).

• Anthony L. Chute, Nathan A. Finn and Michael A. G. Haykin, The Baptist Story (2015).

• The Second London Confession (1689) and The New Hampshire Confession (1833), primary sources.

• J. M. Pendleton, Church Manual (1867), a primary source.

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