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Marshalswick Baptist Free Church -
Nurture |
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The British yachtsman, Tony Bullimore, was taking part in the Whitbread round-the-world yacht race in his boat, ‘Exide Challenger’ but horrendous sea conditions between Australia and the Antarctic caused his boat to capsize. An automatic satellite distress signal was picked up from the upturned boat, but Bullimore was nearly 1,500 miles from the nearest land: Australia. Satellite technology enabled the Australians to locate the boat, and they sent spotter planes to keep it in sight. No-one knew if Tony Bullimore was still alive. With the huge distances involved, it took three days for the Australian Navy in their ship, the ‘Adelaide’, to reach the stricken yacht. On 9th January 1997, a dingy from the Adelaide took a few men across to Bullimore’s boat. There they hammered on the upturned yacht. A few seconds later, Tony Bullimore emerged for the water to cheers from the navy. He had survived by crouching on a shelf with nets stretched across him to stop himself falling into ice-cold water inside the upside-down boat. He was in total darkness for three days, with the boat still being buffeted by 60 foot waves. Not being able to see outside he suffered from motion sickness and, hearing the hull creaking, he was never sure if the boat would remain intact. Parts of his fingers were later amputated because of damage from the severe cold. Tony Bullimore would not have survived without his protective survival clothes - and he had a little chocolate to eat and fresh water to drink. “It was a miracle,” he said, “ an absolute miracle. I feel that I’ve been born again.” Across the world, the Australian Navy and Air Force were praised for their skills and courage and determination in the rescue. For personal prayer: We pray, Lord, for all who will need strength and courage in the days ahead: - for those who face danger; We ask you Lord, to give them the power of your Spirit. Amen. Adapted by Helen Little from ‘Praying each day of the year’, by Nicholas Hutchinson. Baptists are Trinitarian Christians whose doctrines are founded on Scripture and are further explained in the great ecumenical creeds (such as ‘The Apostles' Creed’ and the ‘Nicene Creed’). In fundamental doctrines concerning God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, they are in harmony with the Orthodox, Roman Catholic and major Protestant denominations. The distinctive emphases of the Baptists reflect the way that Baptists relate within their local churches, across the broad sweep of the denomination and within the wider Christian Church. As an aide-memoire, think of it as: * Believers only should be baptised and
become members of a church. The scriptures teach that we should 'repent and be baptised' and so the only people who should be baptised are those who have turned to God and accepted his free gift of salvation through Christ. Only baptised believers should become covenanted members of a local Baptist fellowship. Autonomous churches in association with each other. Baptist churches are not independent but are autonomous: self-governing and self-supporting (when possible). But these churches co-operate together - in Associations, Unions and Conventions - to support each other and wider ministries such as colleges and seminaries, mission and relief programmes. Baptist churches in a locality can turn to nearby Baptist churches for help and advice, as is the case with moderators during interregnums. Priesthood of all believers. Each believer has a direct access to God through Christ and the Holy Spirit. God reveals himself to us as individuals and God reveals himself and his will for a particular time and place to the body that makes up a local church. The body of Christ (the church) seeks the mind of Christ when it meets together such as in a church members' meeting. When someone is appointed to a leadership position (as pastor, deacon or whatever) by the church after it has sought God's will, that authority has been recognised by the church. However, those appointed are still accountable to God through the church which can, if necessary rescind any decision made by the leadership or can revoke the leader's authority if s/he is clearly not in harmony with the revealed mind of Christ to the body of Christ as a whole. Two ordinances (or sacraments): Believer's Baptism and the Lord's Table. Although there are Baptist churches which refer to believer’s baptism and communion as sacraments - to indicate a symbol of deep spiritual significance - the preferred term is ‘ordinance’ since these are things that Jesus ordained that his followers should do. Baptism is a one-off event for each individual, where he or she publicly identifies him/herself with Christ, who was buried and raised to life for that individual. Moreover, that person now desires to die to self and live for Christ. Communion is a regular and repeated communal celebration which reaffirms those baptismal vows, as we recall what Christ has done for us. Immersion in water is the preferred mode of believer’s baptism The word 'baptise' is a transliteration of a Greek word for which there is no adequate translation in English. Although it can mean ‘dip’ or ‘immerse’, it means much more. Baptism in and under water is symbolic of true Christian baptism - which is a spiritual baptism into Christ. This is not a one-off ceremony but is an ongoing and life-long process where the disciple is immersed into Christ. Just like a biscuit is changed when it is 'dunked' into tea, so, in Christian baptism, the disciple takes on more and more of Christ as this spiritual baptism is administered by the Holy Spirit. Baptism in and under water is a one-off symbol of the spiritual baptism that has already begun and will continue afterwards. Scripture as the primary source of Christian doctrines Although we adhere to the great creeds, we understand and interpret them in the light of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. The Bible is our textbook of what we believe and how we should live. We study the Bible to understand what it originally meant and how these timeless biblical principles can be applied in the ‘here and now’. We use our God-given intellects to understand the Bible but it is the Scriptures that are the ‘measuring stick’ of orthodoxy - not the latest intellectual fad. Toleration of those belonging to different faiths or none. We believe that the freedom to worship, and the freedom to believe or not to believe, cannot be given to one group and not another. We may not share other people's beliefs or religions but how can we insist on religious freedom for ourselves and deny it to others? We believe that even if we strongly disagree with what another person believes, that person has as much right to express those beliefs or non-beliefs as we do. We simply ask that religious toleration be available for all and not just for some - and that everyone should be free to worship without discrimination or threat of punishment. Separation of the church from the State. By this, we mean that no state should favour one church or religion over another and that no political entity should exercise control over any body of believers that make up a church. Do we mean that religion should play no part in civic or state affairs? No. It is often right and proper that State-sponsored entities should be allowed to pray for God's help or seek wisdom in the Scriptures. But no church should control a State (a national civic government decision-making body) and no State should control a church. These are not doctrines. They are particular emphases which, although no longer unique to Baptists, help us to understand aspects of the distinctive way in which we operate as Christian communities (or local churches) - being ‘Baptists’. By the Rev Peter Idris Taylor. |
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