Why I'm A Baptist

I'm in the middle of a week long class on the history of the Baptists. It has 800 pages of reading, lectures from 8-5 daily, and various written requirements. I go to my church administrator job from 0530 to 0700 and 1900 to 2200 to keep the system running. Oddly enough, I may have more time to write this week during class, which demands less of my undivided attention than my job does!

The first book I read for the class is "Baptists and the Bible", a historical look at the relationship between Baptists since their inception in the 17th century and Biblical inerrancy and authority. Clearly the Baptist denomination (if you can really call it such -there is no more fragmented group than the churches that call themselves Baptist) is one that has historically held to Biblical fidelity.

A further confirmation was this -

Today, a man in my “History of the Baptists” class was asked where he was from, and if he was a Baptist. He replied that he was from a small town in Alabama, and that he became a Baptist in August. When asked if he was a “convictional Baptist or Baptist of convenience", he relayed that when he was called by the Lord, he went to his Methodist pastor to inquire about seminaries. His Methodist pastor told him – “Don’t go to a Methodist seminary,” and “the place to learn the Bible is Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.”

I'm thankful to be here, as tired and ridiculously undercompensated as I am (the Mrs. and I went over the budget this weekend. Ugh). May the Lord make me worthy of the study of His Word that I am blessed to be a part of.