Please Read the Baptist Faith & Message 2000

As you’ve heard me mention over the past several weeks, we will begin a journey together on Sunday, January 3rd.  We will begin traveling through the Gospel of John on Sunday mornings, chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse.  If you have not read John’s Gospel recently, I strongly encourage you to read it before January 3rd.  Go ahead and begin jotting down thoughts and questions as the Holy Spirit brings them to your attention, and I even encourage you to underline the word “believe” in your Bible and see how many times it occurs in John.

The other thing that I’d like for you to read is much shorter – it is “The Baptist Faith & Message 2000.”  The “BF&M” outlines what it means to be a Southern Baptist.  Just like anything else that is authored by man, it is not perfect, and it is certainly not authoritative Scripture.  However, the BF&M is a valuable tool for us to use; it outlines what we as Southern Baptists believe about the Bible.  If the Southern Baptist denomination* is a lane at a bowling alley, with room for some variety of thought, then the Baptist Faith & Message functions as the bumper-guards on the right and left which are used when children bowl.  Those bumper guards keep the bowl rolling forward, without falling into the gutter.  I was pleased beyond measure the first time I visited the Lakewood website (when I submitted my resume to the pastor search committee) to see the BF&M 2000 was already there, under the Doctrinal Statement tab.

The Gospel of John is filled very strong teachings on which we as Southern Baptists base many of our doctrinal beliefs.  This is why I draw your attention to the BF&M 2000 at this time.  I would like for us to re-familiarize ourselves with “What We Believe” as we move forward into 2021 and pray that the Lord spark a new spiritual growth in all of us, even as He sparks new members to join our congregation.

*The Southern Baptist Convention is not technically a denomination – we are a convention of cooperating, but autonomous congregations.  But that is a discussion for another time.  ☺

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce