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Baptist Faith and Message
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Baptist Faith and Message
The Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) is the statement of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). It summarizes key Southern Baptist thought in the areas of the Bible and its authority, the nature of God as expressed by the Trinity, the spiritual condition of man, God's plan of grace and salvation, the purpose of the local church, ordinances, evangelism, Christian education, interaction with society, religious liberty, and the family. The current version of the BF&M is the version revised in 2000 and amended in 2023.
The old Triennial Convention, from which the Southern Baptist Convention split, had adopted both the Philadelphia Confession of Faith of 1742 and the New Hampshire Confession of Faith of 1833 as confessions of faith but did not require local churches to subscribe to either. Although the SBC was organized in 1845, no formal confession of faith was adopted until Baptist theologian Edgar Young Mullins led the denomination to adopt the original BF&M in 1925. Described as "the New Hampshire Confession of Faith [of 1833], revised at certain points, and with some additional articles growing out of present needs," it was intended as "a reaffirmation of Christian fundamentals," which was deemed necessary because of "the prevalence of naturalism in the modern teaching and preaching of religion."
The BF&M was revised in 1963 by a committee under the chairmanship of Herschel H. Hobbs. The committee stated in its preamble that the revised BF&M "has sought to build upon the structure of the 1925 Statement, keeping in mind the 'certain needs' of our generation.... A living faith must experience a growing understanding of truth and must be continually interpreted and related to the needs of each new generation." The committee further stated that "[i]n no case has [the revised BF&M] sought to delete from or to add to the basic contents of the 1925 Statement." The preamble to the BF&M 2000 stated that the revisions in 1963 were adopted to respond "to assaults upon the authority and truthfulness of the Bible." The 1963 BF&M was then amended in 1998 by the addition of Article XVIII on "The Family." The preamble to the BF&M 2000 stated that this article was adopted to "answer[] cultural confusion with the clear teachings of Scripture."
The BF&M was again revised in 2000 by a committee under the chairmanship of former SBC president Adrian Rogers. At the SBC annual meeting in 1999, a motion was made to appoint a committee to revise the BF&M. Then-SBC-president Paige Patterson appointed a fifteen-member committee, some of its membership including Steve Gaines, Charles S. Kelley, Richard D. Land, Fred Luter, Albert Mohler, Nelson Price, Adrian Rogers, and Jerry Vines. The 2000 revisions incorporated sociological as well as theological changes and were considered the most controversial. In its preamble, the committee stated, "Now, faced with a culture hostile to the very notion of truth, this generation of Baptists must claim anew the eternal truths of the Christian faith."
On June 14, 2023, at the annual meeting of the SBC in New Orleans, Louisiana, an unexpected motion was made by Jared Cornutt, a pastor from Birmingham, Alabama, to amend Article VI, "The Church," by slightly changing the language relating to the two ecclesial offices. The amendment sought to clarify that the definitions of the biblical terms "pastor," "elder," and "overseer" were equivalent under the BF&M. The changes were as follows (additions underlined):
In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its two scriptural officers offices are pastors and deacons that of pastor/elder/overseer and deacon. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
The BF&M 2000 includes 18 topics which are position statements of the SBC. Each article or position is followed by Scripture references which are used to support the SBC's stated position.
The significant changes to the BF&M in the 2000 revision were praised and criticized.
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Baptist Faith and Message
The Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) is the statement of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). It summarizes key Southern Baptist thought in the areas of the Bible and its authority, the nature of God as expressed by the Trinity, the spiritual condition of man, God's plan of grace and salvation, the purpose of the local church, ordinances, evangelism, Christian education, interaction with society, religious liberty, and the family. The current version of the BF&M is the version revised in 2000 and amended in 2023.
The old Triennial Convention, from which the Southern Baptist Convention split, had adopted both the Philadelphia Confession of Faith of 1742 and the New Hampshire Confession of Faith of 1833 as confessions of faith but did not require local churches to subscribe to either. Although the SBC was organized in 1845, no formal confession of faith was adopted until Baptist theologian Edgar Young Mullins led the denomination to adopt the original BF&M in 1925. Described as "the New Hampshire Confession of Faith [of 1833], revised at certain points, and with some additional articles growing out of present needs," it was intended as "a reaffirmation of Christian fundamentals," which was deemed necessary because of "the prevalence of naturalism in the modern teaching and preaching of religion."
The BF&M was revised in 1963 by a committee under the chairmanship of Herschel H. Hobbs. The committee stated in its preamble that the revised BF&M "has sought to build upon the structure of the 1925 Statement, keeping in mind the 'certain needs' of our generation.... A living faith must experience a growing understanding of truth and must be continually interpreted and related to the needs of each new generation." The committee further stated that "[i]n no case has [the revised BF&M] sought to delete from or to add to the basic contents of the 1925 Statement." The preamble to the BF&M 2000 stated that the revisions in 1963 were adopted to respond "to assaults upon the authority and truthfulness of the Bible." The 1963 BF&M was then amended in 1998 by the addition of Article XVIII on "The Family." The preamble to the BF&M 2000 stated that this article was adopted to "answer[] cultural confusion with the clear teachings of Scripture."
The BF&M was again revised in 2000 by a committee under the chairmanship of former SBC president Adrian Rogers. At the SBC annual meeting in 1999, a motion was made to appoint a committee to revise the BF&M. Then-SBC-president Paige Patterson appointed a fifteen-member committee, some of its membership including Steve Gaines, Charles S. Kelley, Richard D. Land, Fred Luter, Albert Mohler, Nelson Price, Adrian Rogers, and Jerry Vines. The 2000 revisions incorporated sociological as well as theological changes and were considered the most controversial. In its preamble, the committee stated, "Now, faced with a culture hostile to the very notion of truth, this generation of Baptists must claim anew the eternal truths of the Christian faith."
On June 14, 2023, at the annual meeting of the SBC in New Orleans, Louisiana, an unexpected motion was made by Jared Cornutt, a pastor from Birmingham, Alabama, to amend Article VI, "The Church," by slightly changing the language relating to the two ecclesial offices. The amendment sought to clarify that the definitions of the biblical terms "pastor," "elder," and "overseer" were equivalent under the BF&M. The changes were as follows (additions underlined):
In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its two scriptural officers offices are pastors and deacons that of pastor/elder/overseer and deacon. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
The BF&M 2000 includes 18 topics which are position statements of the SBC. Each article or position is followed by Scripture references which are used to support the SBC's stated position.
The significant changes to the BF&M in the 2000 revision were praised and criticized.