On September 27, 2010, a group of fourteen Baptist historians, following nine years of annual seminars studying primary Baptist documents, issued a statement entitled, “An Affirmation of Common Baptist Themes.” The following day, Associated Baptist Press reported on the statement, providing background context for the statement. Meanwhile, other Baptists have indicated a desire to endorse the statement.
The following is a listing of other Baptists who have also endorsed “An Affirmation of Common Baptist Themes” (some quotes are included below). If you wish to add your name to the list, please email Bruce Gourley.
____________________
….
“The statement captures the dynamic insights that shaped Baptist identity from the beginning. It reminds us of the inseparable link between a believer’s church and freedom of conscience, one of Baptists’ greatest contributions to the church and the world.”
Bill J. Leonard – Professor of Church History and Professor Religion, Wake Forest University Divinity School
____________________
..
“Cheers to the Baptist Classics Seminar for your readings and for your affirmations. Even a casual reading of Baptist history will demonstrate that your emphasis on the freedom of individual conscience is certainly one of the trumpet tunes of Baptist history.”
Walter B. Shurden – Minister at Large, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia
____________________
…
“An authentic incarnational theology does not fall into the popular pit of propositionalism because it is Christocentric.
A healthy experiential religion is not creedal. Walter Rauschenbusch in his apologia, “Why I Am a Baptist,” wrote “Baptists tolerate no creed. It is fatal to make the thought of one age binding for a higher age. It condemns a grownup still to think and talk like a child. A creed tells you what you must believe. Baptists have not bound the religious intellect.”
A personal faith responds directly to God and God speaks and deals directly with individuals. “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which which I have committed unto him.” I know WHOM not WHAT.”
James M. Dunn – former Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty
____________________
…
“The Classics Seminar looked in the right place to determine what stands at the center of our Baptist tradition–the writings of our early forbears–and they have done the rest of us a service in articulating once again what being Baptist means.”
E. Glenn Hinson – Senior Professor of Church History and Spirituality, Baptist Seminary of Kentucky
____________________
…
Carolyn D. Blevins – retired Professor of Religion, Carson-Newman College, Tennessee
William H. Brackney – Dr. Millard R. Cherry Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics, Acadia Divinity School.
Bonnie Oliver Brandon – minister, Mt. Zion Baptist Church (NBC-USA), Memphis, Tennessee
Gary Burton – pastor, Pintlala Baptist Church, Pintlala, Alabama
John Finley – pastor, First Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia
David Flick – American Baptist pastor, Enid, Oklahoma
Wayne Flynt – Professor of History, Emeritus, Auburn University
Marv Knox – Editor, Baptist Standard
Michael Kuykendall – President, Northwest Baptist Historical Society, Vancouver, Washington
H. Leon McBeth – Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Church History, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Warren McWilliams – Auguie Henry Professor of Bible, Oklahoma Baptist University
Kendal P. Mobley – pastor, Enon Baptist Church, Salisbury, North Carolina
Bob Patterson – pastor, First Baptist Church, Warm Springs, Georgia
Richard V. Pierard – Professor of History, Emeritus, Indiana State University
William L. Pitts, Jr. – Professor, Department of Religion, Baylor University
Wil Platt – Professor of History, Emeritus, Mercer University
Bruce Prescott – Executive Director, Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists
Steve Sadler – Senior Lecturer in Religion, Baylor University
Bill Salyers – American Baptist Pastor, Ohio
Craig A. Sherouse – Pastor, Second Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia; Chair, Baptist World Alliance Baptist Heritage and Identity Commission
David Stratton – Pastor, Brunswick Islands Baptist Church, Holden Beach, North Carolina; DMin student, Campbell University Divinity School, Buies Creek, North Carolina
C. Delane Tew – Director of Christian Women’s Leadership Center, Samford University
Aaron Weaver – doctoral student at Baylor University, studying Religion, Politics, and Society
Danny M. West – Associate Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Studies and Executive Director, Doctor of Ministry Program, M. Christopher White School of Divinity, Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, North Carolina
Michael E. Williams, Sr. – Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of History at Dallas Baptist University