Growing Up Baptist
Growing up as a Southern Baptist in the United States, church history was virtually absent from my Christian experience. Unlike Catholics, Anglicans, and even Methodists, Baptist churches concentrate their education almost exclusively on Bible Study—with the application being focused on evangelism and the Christian life. The only “heroes of the faith” (outside of the Bible) that I had ever heard of were evangelists like D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, or Billy Graham. Not once were the names Polycarp, Thomas Aquinas, or St. Francis of Assisi mentioned by my pastor. Neither were Martin Luther or John Calvin. The only evangelicals I ever remember my pastor mentioning in his sermons were John Newton and the Wesley brothers (because of their hymn writing) and C.H. Spurgeon (who, of course, was a Baptist).
When I took my first Church History class at Southwestern Seminary, I was excited to learn of the rich history of Christianity. Even so, my classes showed me bits and pieces of the big picture of the History of the Church in our world. I remember reading A History of Christian Missions by Stephen Neill a few years back. This work highlights a lot of church history in Africa, Asia, and South America. It covered a lot of history that I never learned during my Master’s studies.
I have had a similar experience reading Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s by David Bebbington. It opened my eyes to the vibrant history of my Evangelical forefathers, including their triumphs, conflicts, and disappointments.
As you might guess, the term “evangelical” was not used at my home church. Southern Baptists stress autonomy and a dogged dependence on scripture. In this book, I was reminded that…
There are the four qualities that have been the special marks of Evangelical religion: conversionism, the belief that lives need to be changed; activism, the expression of the gospel in effort; biblicism, a particular regard for the Bible; and what may be called crucicentrism, a stress on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Together they form a quadrilateral of priorities that is the basis of Evangelicalism. (Kindle page 2).
Even though this book is complex and detailed, after reading it I can summarize it in this way:
The history of Evangelicalism in Britain, in the context of the above definition, is a struggle to determine which of those “quadrilateral of priorities” are the most important, and which are the least.
Our history is made up of controversies and choices made by church leaders over topics like infant baptism, personal holiness, the authority of the Bible, the urgency of foreign missions, predestination, assurance of salvation, the role of the church in politics, evangelism methods, philanthropy, the end times, and supernatural spiritual gifts.
Even with all of the past conflict on display, this book gave me a sense of hope. I found a new respect for my Methodist brothers, Anglicans, evangelical Calvinists, the Puritans, and early revivalists like George Whitefield. Overall, the story of Evangelicals is the story of God’s people who love Jesus and want others to love Him, too. This is something that I can get behind.
Neill, Stephen. A history of Christian missions. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books, 1964.
Bebbington, David. Evangelicalism in modern Britain: a history from the 1730s to the 1980s. London: Unwin Hyman, 1989.
About the Author
Stu Cocanougher
10 responses to “Growing Up Baptist”
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Stu, great reflection. Do you like history now?
There is such a huge cloud of witnesses! I don’t like to study history per se, but I love to read about all the people!
Yes, I agree with your observation that we argue over secondary issues now. I like the way Bebbington explained that once evangelicals got the four basic pillars agreed on they found time to discuss “sprinkling vs. dunking” and other things. I pray for more unity on the important things and the ability to discuss in love the details.
Great thoughts Stu! I agree, for some reason, we tend to major on the minors and have a difficult time seeing the bigger picture. It may be one of the biggest challenges of Evangelicalism. I don’t think we will have unity until we get to Heaven, but it doesn’t hurt to work on it now. Thanks for an interesting post!
So true Stu about the lack of history with Baptist movement. My dad was an ordained conservative Baptist minister and there was a big emphasis placed on the bible, salvation, evangelism, expression of salvation through baptizing, and lots of controversy on biblical issues. I am so grateful for the solid Bible knowledge I received at a young age that stays with me. I went all the way through AWANA’s and loved it! Sadly, the conflict and rigid denominational beliefs seemed to dominate the church experience and the true message of the gospel often felt diminished or lost for me. I know this is true with lots of churchs and denominations. I loved your ending reminder to emphasize what it is we can truly get behind regardless of your denominational beliefs.
On another note, I had a great time in Thailand and was so grateful for your words of caution and insight. They came back to be several times, especially when one of my teammates patted the head of our Thai guide. I quickly reminded her of the cultural norm and you could see how she offended our guide. I ate your favorite: Mango and sticky rice dessert twice. Delicious both times! Thanks again for your insight! It really helped!
Stu, I am with you. Christian History. It was a lot to consume in a year! Learning the history of various religions was stressful but informative. Seeing how scholars decided on what the beliefs were because of their spiritual relationship with God.
This view I had began my stand on why should I believe the scholars? For example, on how my spirit is affected when I partake in the Lord’s Supper. Why can’t we just follow Christ ministry, Paul’s ministry, etc.? But everybody has their experiences, and that is wonderful about how our God interacts with all of us. Does that give you the right to create your religion movement because others on the playground do not agree?
How can we reignite the unchurch and nonbelievers if we on the inside can’t agree?
Love the post.
” Overall, the story of Evangelicals is the story of God’s people who love Jesus and want others to love Him, too.”
Stu that can very well be the realist silver lining of the Evangelical movement. I had a similar upbringing. Growing up Pentecostal/Charismatic we were focused on learning scripture and furthermore, studying books written by modern day apologetic leaders like Josh McDowell and others. I was aware of Martin Luther and John Calvin but when Calvinist were discussed it wasn’t always in a positive light. It was not until I went to Seminary that I was exposed to church history and early church leaders. I am grateful for my seminary experience it opened me eyes to the world in a new way and I gained a greater appreciation for the movements that have influenced my Christian experience.
I grew up in an evangelistic church. No matter what the subject of the sermon, “Brother Billie” (our pastor) would always end by making the application of the message to salvation and he would end with an altar call. I understood that the call of sinners to follow Christ was the primary purpose of the church.
Fast forward to years later, as I visited Orthodox churches in Serbia (which are separate from Greek and Russian Orthodox churches). Most of these worshippers do not own or read Bibles. They are not challenged in “discipleship.” They are involved in a form of Christianity where they come to the church to kiss paintings of Jesus in order to get a blessing. There is a love and fear of God, without the “personal relationship” that evangelicals talk about.
For me, I learned a lot about evangelicalism by visiting churches that had totally missed the reformation. The contrast is stark.
Stu – liked the post and the reflection. It is always so instructive to know ‘where we come from’ and how it shapes the way that we see things.
While I grew up Presbyterian – with our form of connectional governance the exact opposite of the Baptist style – but I also grew up in an very Evangelical and Bible-centric church and family. So it is interesting for me to compare and contrast our histories.
Thanks again.
It is interesting to read each other’s perspectives and backgrounds – thanks Stu. I think you have had a good overview of a wide rangeof settings and traditions with your studies and travels and missions work. It is very healthy to take off our blinkers and be exposed to different streams and traditions – not least to appreciate some of the strengths and blessings of our own tradition!
I am grateful for my Evangelical heritage, including the four pillars identified by Bebbington!
Stu– I’m from the independent Christian Church tradition (Stone-Campbell movement). Like you, I grew up learning the Bible and learning it good. But also like you, I was never taught about our connection with the church of the past. It was only when I went to college that I even learned who Alexander Campbell & Barton Stone– founders of our movement– were, and even that our church was part of a movement! It was only in college that I learned the broader history of the Church, and the importance of knowing our past in order to shape our future. Neill’s book was one of my undergrad texts. have you read Samuel Moffatt’s “A History of Christianity in Asia” (2 volumes)? As a frequent visitor to Asian countries, you would appreciate his work.
I love the fire this lit in you, Stu! I feel like I’ve read and heard this stuff so often and for so long that it becomes a bit dry for me, but reading your excitement here makes things a bit fresher for me. Evangelicalism as a whole doesn’t do a great job of history as a whole. I was fortunate enough to have grandmothers who loved the church and talked about the history often. I also had one pastor who went above and beyond to teach history to the congregation. When I went to undergrad, I was shocked I knew things other evangelical students hadn’t learned, but I recognized my incredible luck. You have reminded me of that here, Stu, so thank you!