my kind of Baptists

I have been in meetings in Murfreesboro during the past two days associated with the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship - the staff meeting on Friday and the Coordinating Council meeting on Saturday. I began working part-time for TCBF last September as a Leadership Development Specialist, and I have been blessed beyond measure to be able to connect with folks who share my commitment to historic Baptist beliefs. Tomorrow I will expound about my journey as a Baptist, but for now, I'm simply going to include the preamble from TCBF's constitution to help explain who I am as a Baptist:

As free and faithful Baptist who are followers of Jesus Christ, we accept His command to take God's message of love and forgiveness to people everywhere.

We affirm the priesthood of each believer, recognizing that each has direct access to God through Jesus Christ, and is able to know and do the will of God. We recognize that each believer, without the aid of any creed, has the privilege and responsibility of understanding and applying the teachings of scripture as led by the Spirit.

We believe in the local church, recognizing it as a voluntary association of baptized believers, and we respect the autonomy of the local congregation. We stand for religious liberty and hold firm the principle of separation of church and state. As freedom loving people, we believe in equality among believers, all of whom are free to exercise the gifts of the Spirit. Our belief in free speech, free press, and freedom of the soul is unwavering. These freedoms and distinctives are essential to our identity as a people of God.

We are cooperative by nature, recognizing the blessings of shared mission and ministry. It is our desire that this fellowship be inclusive, for our Baptist heritage has taught us that there is strength in diversity. Realizing that we are only a small part of God's family, it is our desire to cooperative with each other and other Christians as we seek to minister in God's name.

As a fellowship, we are not in competition with any church or convention. Our only desire is to be faithful to the One who has called us, and whose love empowers us. Understanding and doing God's will is our constant objective.

Amen!