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Originally Posted by Pilgrim  Quote:
Originally Posted by Semper Fidelis Another interesting note is that, at Central Baptist in Okinawa, when we were looking at candidates who had a Reformed background, there were a number of people from outside the congregation actively interfering with the process. One of the members of the Church echoed a sentiment that I've heard repeatedly that "...this isn't the Southern Baptist way..." whether discussing elder rule, Church discipline, or even Reformed soteriology. | Rich,
It's true that you will often find this sentiment among Baptists. A Baptist evangelist I am acquainted with responded to a woman who complained "it's not Baptist" by saying that if there's something that's Baptist that's not Biblical then we need to get rid of it and that if there's something Biblical but not "Baptist" then we need to adopt it.
But this idea of "but this is the way we've always done it" or "this is what we've always believed" is by no means limited to Baptists. You will find it or some variation of it among Presbyterians as well, wanting to do things the way they've "always been done" and having little regard for what the confession or BCO says. I would imagine this is somewhat more common in some Presbyterian denominations than others. |
No doubt it's the case that everybody identifies with a larger body. It's just completely inconsistent for an Independent to do so.
I must say that, during the Pastor search, it was actually a good thing that some of the local people couldn't meddle in the process even though they tried by poisoning the well with some members.