Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Dr. Brad Reynolds' Book Recommendations on Alcohol

Dr. Brad R. Reynolds is Vice-President for Academic Studies and Professor of Christian Studies at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Georgia. Many have been informed and blessed by his writings on the internet at SBCToday.com and elsewhere. He is one of the best at getting across his point in a strong but winsome, gracious way. 

I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Reynolds at last week’s Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana. During our conversation he told me in his classes he recommends three books on what the Bible teaches about alcohol. I was honored to be on his list. With his permission, I am giving the recommendations below.

Dr. Brad Reynolds’ Book Recommendations on the Bible & Alcohol

1. Ancient Wine and the Bible: The Case For Abstinence by David R. Brumbelow, Free Church Press.

2. Alcohol Today: Abstinence in an Age of Indulgence by Peter Lumpkins, Hannibal Books.

3. The Biblical Approach to Alcohol by Stephen M. Reynolds.

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In my humble view, these three books will give you a good background in why Baptists have faithfully and lovingly stood against the use of beverage alcohol for well over 100 years. Many of other denominations, however, have also stood against drinking, as you will see in these books. The first two are written by Baptists, the third by a Presbyterian. They refer to those of many denominations, and no denomination, who opposed drinking.

These books can be purchased through your local bookstore, LifeWay.com, freechurchpress.com, barnesandnoble.com, hannibalbooks.com, amazon.com, etc.

-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, June 26, AD 2012.

Other Articles:
O. S. Hawkins on "Alcohol Today"
Ancient Wine and the Bible - the book
Other articles in lower right margin.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Final Copy - SBC Resolution on "Sinner's Prayer"

Following is the final version of the Resolution on the "Sinner’s Prayer" as voted on and passed by the SBC.

RESOLUTION 3
AN AFFIRMATION OF A “SINNER’S PRAYER” AS A BIBLICAL EXPRESSION OF REPENTANCE AND FAITH

WHEREAS, The Gospel of Jesus Christ offers full forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God to anyone who repents of sin and trusts in Christ; and

WHEREAS, This same Gospel commands all persons everywhere to believe this Gospel and receive Christ as Savior and Lord (Mark 1:15; John 1:12; 6:25–52; Acts 17:30); and

WHEREAS, The Scriptures give examples of persons from diverse backgrounds who cried out for mercy and were heard by God (Luke 18:13; Acts 16:29–30); and

WHEREAS, The Scriptures also give numerous examples of persons who verbally affirmed Gospel truths but who did not personally know Jesus in a saving relationship (Luke 22:47–48; John 2:23–25; 1 Corinthians 10:1–5); and

WHEREAS, Empty religion and formalism, of whatever kind, apart from personal relationship with Christ, cannot wash away sin or transform a heart (Matthew 7:21; 15:8; John 3:3); and

WHEREAS, The Bible speaks of salvation as including both a confession with the mouth that Jesus is Lord and a belief in the heart that God has raised Him from the dead (Matthew 16:16; Romans 10:9–10); now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 19–20, 2012, reaffirm our Gospel conviction that repentance from sin and personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are necessary for salvation (Acts 20:20–21); and be it further

RESOLVED, That we affirm that repentance and faith involve a crying out for mercy and a calling on the Lord (Romans 10:13), often identified as a “sinner’s prayer,” as a biblical expression of repentance and faith; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a “sinner’s prayer” is not an incantation that results in salvation merely by its recitation and should never be manipulatively employed or utilized apart from a clear articulation of the Gospel (Matthew 6:7; 15:7–9); and be it further

RESOLVED, That we promote any and all biblical means of urging sinners to call on the name of the Lord in a prayer of repentance and faith; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we call on Southern Baptists everywhere to continue to carry out the Great Commission in North America and around the world, so that sinners everywhere, of every tribe, tongue, and language, may cry out, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13).

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Though there was strong opposition to this Resolution by a number of Calvinists (aka Reformed, Doctrines of Grace, etc.), Baptist Press reported it passed by an estimated 80% vote.

This Resolution, as is often the case, was reworded / rewritten by the Resolutions Committee. The above is the version that was actually presented to the SBC and voted in the affirmative by them.

Update (11-26-2012): Peter Lumpkins and Rick Patrick have reported that Dr. Eric Hankins’ original resolution on the Sinner’s Prayer was adopted by four state SBC conventions: Tennesse, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana. Click for the original Sinner's Prayer Resolution offered by Hankins.    
-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, June 24, AD 2012

Other Articles:
A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation
Saved By The Sinner's Prayer
The Roman Road of Salvation
Other articles in lower right margin.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

SBC Resolution on the "Sinner's Prayer"

WHEREAS, God desires for every person to be saved and has made salvation available for any person who hears the Gospel (John 3:16; Romans 10:14-17; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:2); and

WHEREAS, A free response to the Holy Spirit’s drawing through the Gospel is both possible and necessary in order for anyone to be born again (John 3:1-16; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 10:11-13; 1 Thessalonians 2:13); and

WHEREAS, Prayer is God’s gracious means through which any person can communicate with Him and is everywhere in Scripture commanded and commended for every matter and every person (2 Chronicles 7:14; Matthew 7:7-11; Mark 11:17; Philippians 4:6); and

WHEREAS, Praying to God to express repentance for sins, to acknowledge Christ as Lord, and to ask for forgiveness and salvation is modeled in the Bible (Acts 2:37-38; Romans 10:9-10); and

WHEREAS, While there is no one uniform wording found in Scripture or in the churches for a “Sinner’s Prayer,” the prayer of repentance and faith, acknowledging salvation through Christ alone and expressing complete surrender to His Lordship, is the biblical means by which any person can turn from sin and self, place his faith in Christ, and find forgiveness and eternal life (Luke 18:9-14, 23:39-43); and

WHEREAS, It is biblically appropriate to help a sinner in calling on the Lord for salvation and to speak of Christ’s response to such a prayer as “entering a sinner’s heart and life” (John 14:23; Acts 2:37-40; 16:29-30; Romans 10:11-17; Ephesians 3:17); and

WHEREAS, A “Sinner’s Prayer” is not an incantation that results in salvation merely by its recitation and should never be manipulatively employed or utilized apart from a clear articulation of the Gospel (Matthew 6:7, 15:7-9; 28:18-20); now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in New Orleans, LA, June 19-20, 2012, commend the use of a “Sinner’s Prayer” as a biblically sound and spiritually significant component of the evangelistic task of the church; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage all Christians to enthusiastically and intentionally proclaim the Gospel to sinners everywhere, being prepared to give them the reason for the hope we have in Christ (I Peter 3:15), and being prepared to lead them to confess faith in Christ (Romans 10:9), including praying to receive Him as Savior and Lord (John 1:12).

-by Dr. Eric Hankins, pastor of First Baptist Church, Oxford, Mississippi. Eric Hankins is one of the first signers of “A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation.” 
Hankins will also be nominated as 2nd Vice-President of the Southern Baptist Convention.
This Resolution on the "Sinner’s Prayer" has been submitted for a vote at next week’s Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.
News of this resolution was reported in The Christian Index, Baptist Press, and the resolution published at SBCToday.com.

UPDATE:  See the final version of this Resolution that was voted and approved by the SBC here:
Final Copy - SBC Resolution on "Sinner's Prayer"

UPDATE (11-26-2012): Peter Lumpkins and Rick Patrick have reported that Dr. Eric Hankins’ original resolution on the Sinner’s Prayer (the one printed above) was adopted by four state SBC conventions: Tennesse, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana.  -David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, June 16, AD 2012.

Other Articles:
Saved By The Sinner's Prayer
The Roman Road of Salvation
Other articles in lower right margin.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

LifeWay Now Selling "Ancient Wine and the Bible"

LifeWay Stores and LifeWay online is now selling Ancient Wine and the Bible: The Case For Abstinence

Ancient Wine and the Bible will also be on sale at the LifeWay Bookstore at the annual Southern Baptist Convention next week in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In addition, The Wit and Wisdom of Pastor Joe Brumbelow, and Masterpieces From Our Kitchen, Cookbook by Mrs. Joe (Bonnie) Brumbelow will also be for sale at the SBC in New Orleans. I hope you’ll check them out.

I will be at the SBC and Pastor’s Conference in New Orleans next week. Hope to see you there.

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A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God's Plan of Salvation

Now over 500 have signed their agreement with this statement, including a number of SBC Presidents, pastors, and denominational leaders. 
Go to SBCToday.com for more information. 
Let others know who may want to add their names to this Statement.

-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, June 13, AD 2012.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

A Baptist Church Baptizing by Sprinkling?

Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. -Colossians 2:12

I read recently of a Baptist church wanting to baptize a lady who was very sick and in the hospital. According to the story, she could not be baptized by immersion. Their solution? They sprinkled her.

These Baptists called it Baptism. Frankly, it was not. The Greek word for baptize literally means to immerse, dip, or plunge. Even non-Baptist Bible Dictionaries will reveal this. So when you say, “I baptize you,” you are saying, “I immerse you.” How strange to say, “I immerse you,” while sprinkling water on a person.

Several years ago a pastorless Baptist church needed to baptize someone and in their ignorance of both the Bible and Baptist belief they just poured a bucket of water over their head. Brothers, this should not be so. Fortunately, I believe these stories are rare.

In addition to the word baptize literally meaning immerse, baptism is a picture of a death, burial, and resurrection. Sprinkling or pouring does not symbolize this. This symbolism of baptism is teaching three things:

1. I believe Jesus died for my sins, was buried, and rose again.

2. I have died to my old life of sin and have been born again, raised to a new life in Christ.

3. When a Christian dies their spirit goes to Heaven, but their body is laid in the grave. Baptism is saying when Jesus returns the graves will be opened and we will be reunited with our resurrected, glorified body.

Further, some Scripture is detailed enough that it reveals baptism involved going down into the water, and coming up out of the water, or the requirement of much water (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; John 3:23; Acts 8:38-39). You don’t need much water, neither do you need to go down into the water and come up out of the water, if all you need is a teacup of water to sprinkle.

It is also telling that archeologists have found baptistries for immersion in some of the earliest church buildings, churches built in the first centuries of Christianity.

So, what do we do with someone who has trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but for physical reasons cannot be baptized?

First, it is amazing the lengths some will go to follow the Lord in baptism. Jesus walked many miles to be baptized by John in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:13-17). I led a man in his 80s to the Lord, who insisted on being baptized. He needed assistance in getting in and out of the baptistry, but it was a very moving service. In The Wit and Wisdom of Pastor Joe Brumbelow and at SBC Encounters is the story of The Baptism of Linda Potts. If there is any reasonable way you can get baptized, then do so.

Second, baptism does not save us, and has no part in salvation. We are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12; 3:16, 36; 5:24; Romans 10:9-19, 13). Baptism is only a picture of what happened to us when we were saved. We are, however, commanded to be baptized after we are saved.

Third, a person can go to Heaven without being baptized; he cannot go to Heaven without personal faith in Jesus Christ. If a person literally, physically cannot be baptized, don’t fake it with an unbiblical sprinkling or pouring. We don’t get to make the rules, God does. The thief on the cross could not be baptized, but Jesus told him, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43).

The Biblical thing to do is simply recognize the person cannot be Scripturally baptized, but to assure them they are saved and will go to Heaven based on the fact that Jesus died for our sins and rose again, and that they have placed their personal faith in Him.

Note: Some Scripture on Baptism - Matthew 3:13-17; 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12.
-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, June 12, AD 2012.

Other articles in lower right margin. 

Monday, June 4, 2012

Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of Salvation

A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of
God's Plan of Salvation

May 30, AD 2012

Preamble

Every generation of Southern Baptists has the duty to articulate the truths of its faith with particular attention to the issues that are impacting contemporary mission and ministry. The precipitating issue for this statement is the rise of a movement called "New Calvinism" among Southern Baptists. This movement is committed to advancing in the churches an exclusively Calvinistic understanding of salvation, characterized by an aggressive insistence on the "Doctrines of Grace" ("TULIP"), and to the goal of making Calvinism the central Southern Baptist position on God's plan of salvation.

While Calvinists have been present in Southern Baptist life from its earliest days and have made very important contributions to our history and theology, the majority of Southern Baptists do not embrace Calvinism. Even the minority of Southern Baptists who have identified themselves as Calvinists generally modify its teachings in order to mitigate certain unacceptable conclusions (e.g., anti-missionism, hyper-Calvinism, double predestination, limited atonement, etc.). The very fact that there is a plurality of views on Calvinism designed to deal with these weaknesses (variously described as "3-point," "4-point," "moderate," etc.) would seem to call for circumspection and humility with respect to the system and to those who disagree with it. For the most part, Southern Baptists have been glad to relegate disagreements over Calvinism to secondary status along with other important but "non-essential" theological matters. The Southern Baptist majority has fellowshipped happily with its Calvinist brethren while kindly resisting Calvinism itself. And, to their credit, most Southern Baptist Calvinists have not demanded the adoption of their view as the standard. We would be fine if this consensus continued, but some New Calvinists seem to be pushing for a radical alteration of this long-standing arrangement.

We propose that what most Southern Baptists believe about salvation can rightly be called "Traditional" Southern Baptist soteriology [doctrine or beliefs about salvation, or the Gospel], which should be understood in distinction to "Calvinist" soteriology. Traditional Southern Baptist soteriology is articulated in a general way in the Baptist Faith and Message, "Article IV." While some earlier Baptist confessions were shaped by Calvinism, the clear trajectory of the BF&M since 1925 is away from Calvinism. For almost a century, Southern Baptists have found that a sound, biblical soteriology can be taught, maintained, and defended without subscribing to Calvinism. Traditional Southern Baptist soteriology is grounded in the conviction that every person can and must be saved by a personal and free decision to respond to the Gospel by trusting in Christ Jesus alone as Savior and Lord. Without ascribing to Calvinism, Southern Baptists have reached around the world with the Gospel message of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. Baptists have been well-served by a straightforward soteriology rooted in the fact that Christ is willing and able to save any and every sinner.

New Calvinism presents us with a duty and an opportunity to more carefully express what is generally believed by Southern Baptists about salvation. It is no longer helpful to identify ourselves by how many points of convergence we have with Calvinism. While we are not insisting that every Southern Baptist affirm the soteriological statement below in order to have a place in the Southern Baptist family, we are asserting that the vast majority of Southern Baptists are not Calvinists and that they do not want Calvinism to become the standard view in Southern Baptist life. We believe it is time to move beyond Calvinism as a reference point for Baptist soteriology.

Below is what we believe to be the essence of a "Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God's Plan of Salvation." We believe that most Southern Baptists, regardless of how they have described their personal understanding of the doctrine of salvation, will find the following statement consistent with what the Bible teaches and what Southern Baptists have generally believed about the nature of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Articles of Affirmation and Denial

Article One: The Gospel


We affirm that the Gospel is the good news that God has made a way of salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for any person. This is in keeping with God's desire for every person to be saved.

We deny that only a select few are capable of responding to the Gospel while the rest are predestined to an eternity in hell.

Genesis 3:15; Psalm 2:1-12; Ezekiel 18:23, 32; Luke 19.10; Luke 24:45-49; John 1:1-18, 3:16; Romans 1:1-6, 5:8; 8:34; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Galatians 4:4-7; Colossians 1:21-23; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-16; 2 Peter 3:9

Article Two: The Sinfulness of Man

We affirm that, because of the fall of Adam, every person inherits a nature and environment inclined toward sin and that every person who is capable of moral action will sin. Each person's sin alone brings the wrath of a holy God, broken fellowship with Him, ever-worsening selfishness and destructiveness, death, and condemnation to an eternity in hell.

We deny that Adam's sin resulted in the incapacitation of any person's free will or rendered any person guilty before he has personally sinned. While no sinner is remotely capable of achieving salvation through his own effort, we deny that any sinner is saved apart from a free response to the Holy Spirit's drawing through the Gospel.

Genesis 3:15-24; 6:5; Deuteronomy 1:39; Isaiah 6:5, 7:15-16;53:6; Jeremiah 17:5,9, 31:29-30; Ezekiel 18:19-20; Romans 1:18-32; 3:9-18, 5:12, 6:23; 7:9; Matthew 7:21-23; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 6:9-10;15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27-28; Revelation 20:11-15

Article Three: The Atonement of Christ

We affirm that the penal substitution of Christ is the only available and effective sacrifice for the sins of every person.

We deny that this atonement results in salvation without a person's free response of repentance and faith. We deny that God imposes or withholds this atonement without respect to an act of the person's free will. We deny that Christ died only for the sins of those who will be saved.

Psalm 22:1-31; Isaiah 53:1-12; John 12:32, 14:6; Acts 10:39-43; Acts 16:30-32; Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:10-14; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-20; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 9:12-15, 24-28; 10:1-18; I John 1:7; 2:2

Article Four: The Grace of God

We affirm that grace is God's generous decision to provide salvation for any person by taking all of the initiative in providing atonement, in freely offering the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in uniting the believer to Christ through the Holy Spirit by faith.

We deny that grace negates the necessity of a free response of faith or that it cannot be resisted. We deny that the response of faith is in any way a meritorious work that earns salvation.

Ezra 9:8; Proverbs 3:34; Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 19:16-30, 23:37; Luke 10:1-12; Acts 15:11; 20:24; Romans 3:24, 27-28; 5:6, 8, 15-21; Galatians 1:6; 2:21; 5; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 3:2-9; Colossians 2:13-17; Hebrews 4:16; 9:28; 1 John 4:19

Article Five: The Regeneration of the Sinner

We affirm that any person who responds to the Gospel with repentance and faith is born again through the power of the Holy Spirit. He is a new creation in Christ and enters, at the moment he believes, into eternal life.

We deny that any person is regenerated prior to or apart from hearing and responding to the Gospel.

Luke 15:24; John 3:3; 7:37-39; 10:10; 16:7-14; Acts 2:37-39; Romans 6:4-11; 10:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20; 6:15; Colossians 2:13; 1 Peter 3:18

Article Six: The Election to Salvation

We affirm that, in reference to salvation, election speaks of God's eternal, gracious, and certain plan in Christ to have a people who are His by repentance and faith.

We deny that election means that, from eternity, God predestined certain people for salvation and others for condemnation.

Genesis 1:26-28; 12:1-3; Exodus 19:6; Jeremiah 31:31-33; Matthew 24:31; 25:34; John 6:70; 15:16; Romans 8:29-30, 33;9:6-8; 11:7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; Ephesians 1:4-6; 2:11-22; 3:1-11; 4:4-13; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; 1 Peter 1:1-2; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 7:9-10

Article Seven: The Sovereignty of God

We affirm God's eternal knowledge of and sovereignty over every person's salvation or condemnation.

We deny that God's sovereignty and knowledge require Him to cause a person's acceptance or rejection of faith in Christ.

Genesis 1:1; 6:5-8; 18:16-33; 22; 2 Samuel 24:13-14; 1 Chronicles 29:10-20; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Joel 2:32; Psalm 23; 51:4; 139:1-6; Proverbs 15:3; John 6:44; Romans 11:3; Titus 3:3-7; James 1:13-15; Hebrews 11:6, 12:28; 1 Peter 1:17

Article Eight: The Free Will of Man

We affirm that God, as an expression of His sovereignty, endows each person with actual free will (the ability to choose between two options), which must be exercised in accepting or rejecting God's gracious call to salvation by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel.

We deny that the decision of faith is an act of God rather than a response of the person. We deny that there is an "effectual call" for certain people that is different from a "general call" to any person who hears and understands the Gospel.

Genesis 1:26-28; Numbers 21:8-9; Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 8:1-22; 2 Samuel 24:13-14; Esther 3:12-14; Matthew 7:13-14; 11:20-24; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 9:23-24; 13:34; 15:17-20; Romans 10:9-10; Titus 2:12; Revelation 22:17

Article Nine: The Security of the Believer

We affirm that when a person responds in faith to the Gospel, God promises to complete the process of salvation in the believer into eternity. This process begins with justification, whereby the sinner is immediately acquitted of all sin and granted peace with God; continues in sanctification, whereby the saved are progressively conformed to the image of Christ by the indwelling Holy Spirit; and concludes in glorification, whereby the saint enjoys life with Christ in heaven forever.

We deny that this Holy Spirit-sealed relationship can ever be broken. We deny even the possibility of apostasy.

John 10:28-29; 14:1-4; 16:12-14; Philippians 1:6; Romans 3:21-26; 8:29,30; 35-39; 12:1-3; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians 3:12; Colossians 1:21-22; 1 John 2:19; 3:2; 5:13-15; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 13:5; James 1:12; Jude 24-25

Article Ten: The Great Commission

We affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ commissioned His church to preach the good news of salvation to all people to the ends of the earth. We affirm that the proclamation of the Gospel is God's means of bringing any person to salvation.

We deny that salvation is possible outside of a faith response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 51:13; Proverbs 11:30; Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 28:19-20; John 14:6; Acts 1:8; 4:12; 10:42-43; Romans 1:16, 10:13-15; 1 Corinthians 1:17-21; Ephesians 3:7-9; 6:19-20; Philippians 1:12-14; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Timothy 2:5; 2 Timothy 4:1-5

[Originally signed by:]

The Undersigned affirm that the Statement above is an accurate reflection of what we and most Southern Baptists believe about our glorious salvation in Jesus Christ.
David Allen, Professor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Emir Caner, President, Truett-McConnell College
Jonathan Carter, Student, Clear Creek Baptist Bible College
Morris Chapman, President Emeritus, SBC Executive Committee, former SBC President
Frank Cox, Pastor, North Metro Baptist Church
Jimmy Draper, President Emeritus, LifeWay, former SBC President
Ernest Easley, Pastor, Roswell Street Baptist Church
Fred Evers, Pastor, Northside Baptist Church
Roy Fish, Professor Emeritus, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Robin D. Foster, Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Perkins OK
Jim Futral, Executive Director, Mississippi Baptist Convention
Steve Gaines, Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church
Bob Hadley, Pastor, Westside Baptist Church, Daytona Beach, FL
David Hankins, Executive Director, Louisiana Baptist Convention
Eric Hankins, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Oxford, MS
Bill Harrell, Co-Pastor, Abilene Baptist Church
Adam Harwood, Professor, Truett-McConnell College
Junior Hill, Evangelist, Junior Hill Ministries
Steve Horn, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Lafayette, LA
Phil Hoskins, Pastor, Higher Ground Baptist Church
Mark Howell, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Daytona Beach, FL
Chris Justice, Pastor, Lee Park Baptist Church
Chuck Kelley, President, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Ron Lynch, Evangelist, Life Out of Death Ministries
Ronnie Mayes, Pastor, Rose Hill Baptist Church
Preston Nix, Professor, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Paige Patterson, President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, former SBC President
Johnathan Pritchett
Mike Procter, Executive Director, Alaska Baptist Convention
Gary Richardson, North Oxford Baptist Church
Tim Rogers, Pastor, Ebenezer Baptist Church
Stephen Rummage, Pastor, Bell Shoals Baptist Church
Kyle Rushnell, Student at Truett McConnell College
Bailey Smith, Evangelist, Bailey Smith Ministries, former SBC President
Jerry Sutton, Vice President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Len Turner, Evangelist, Len Turner Ministries
Jerry Vines, Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, FL, former President of the SBC
Bobby Welch, Associate Executive Director, Tennessee Baptist Convention, former President of the SBC
Bob White, Executive Director, Georgia Baptist Convention
Brad Whitt, Co-Pastor, Abilene Baptist Church
Fred Wolfe, Pastor, Luke 4:18 Fellowship
Eddie Wren, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rayville, LA
Malcolm Yarnell, Professor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary


We welcome the additional signatures of all Southern Baptists who would affirm this statement.

If you would like to add your name in affirmation of the statement, please email sbctoday@gmail.com, with the following:

(a) Your name
(b) Your ministry position or church membership
(c) Your church

Update - More information:
http://connect316.net/the-statement/

http://connect316.net/sign-the-statement/

Answer to charges that the Traditional Statement is heresy and Semi-Pelagianism:


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Since then, many others have signed their names as in agreement with this Statement. I have included my name; you may want to do the same.
This Statement was originally published at SBCToday.com. It was later published along with commentary at Baptist Press.
Pulpit Committees / Pastor Search Committees may want to use this Statement in asking a prospective pastor what he believes.

-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, June 4, AD 2012.

Other Articles:
Books on Calvinism, Predestination
Limited or Universal Atonement by Dr. David L. Allen; part 1 of 2
Unlimited Atonement, Jesus Died For All
Adrian Rogers on Predestination, Calvinism
Paige Patterson on Calvinism
B. H. Carroll on Hyper-Calvinism
Dr. Robert Wring on Baptists and Elder Rule
The Calvinists Are Here; Gerald Harris, Christian Index
More Articles in lower right margin.