By Johnnie Godwin
Contributing Columnist, B&R
I recently performed the wedding ceremony of a granddaughter, who is also a marathoner. Both bride and groom had just completed serious courses on what Christian marriage means. In their ceremony of covenant marriage, here’s what I said: “Marriage is a marathon — not a half-marathon or a trial run in an ‘iffy’ thing called “a relationship.” Then the couple made their own vows to affirm the kind of life and death covenant commitment Paul described in Ephesians for church and marriage.
So what does it mean to be a Southern Baptist? Ask that same question to any one of almost 16 million Southern Baptists today, and you likely won’t get a specific, clear, accurate New Testament answer. As the name “Southern Baptist” has eroded in my lifetime, so has the general understanding of what it means to be a Southern Baptist. I know what it means to be a Southern Baptist historically and in covenant relationship with a local church. I was born into a Southern Baptist home 78 years ago, was saved at age 7, surrendered to preach at age 15, was licensed to preach at 16 and was ordained to the ministry at age 21. Since then I’ve gotten three degrees from Baptist schools. I served as pastor of Southern Baptist churches for 11 years and did many interim pastorates. I worked for an SBC agency for 22 years. I’ve taught the “Baptist Faith and Message” many times. I’ve written what it means to be a Southern Baptist. Now, like Paul, I’m not bragging; rather, I’m challenging all who wear the name Southern Baptist to know what it means both in belief and behavior. [Read more…]