Essay On Southern Baptist Denomination

Another challenge concerning the Millennials is that a lot of these young adults are growing up without attending church. The Barna group calls them the unchurched segment and report that this segment has increased in the last 10 years, from 44% to 52% (5 Reasons). This is a problem because it decreases the chances for new members to join the church. The majority of people that follows a specific religion learned about that religion in early childhood. Students of human behavior believe that “The most significant borrowing occurs in early childhood. Family is thus an important factor…” (Wuthnow 106). If the number of the unchurched segment continues to grow at this pace, in the next few decades, this will continue to be a major concern for church leaders across the Americas. It is a lot harder to try to reach those people that have never attended church or don’t come from a religious background than try to reach those that belong to a church or have been brought up in the faith.

At Baylor, students coming from a religious non Baptist home with a close network of individual who share their beliefs, may find themselves longing for their religious community once at Baylor. In Derrick Ho’s, a writer for CNN, article, he says, “Homesickness isn't necessarily about home…. It stems from our instinctive need for love, protection and security -- feelings and qualities usually associated with home.” Here Ho is expressing his belief that the lack of familiarity and community in a new place can make someone feel homesick. Ho, in his article also quotes Josh Klapow, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Alabama's School of Public Health, who said “You're missing what's normal, what is routine, the larger sense of social space, because those are the things that help us survive” (Ho). Religion is a source of identity and a way of life for many students. Without a place to express their faith, it can be difficult. Not having individuals with similar view around, can lead students feeling alone. For non-Baptist students it is not easily assessable to find religious groups because many are not recognized due to refusal to sign the Affirmation Statement. Without recognizing these different religious organization, finding people who have similar ideals may be hard because of Baylor’s large campus.

Unity has become the mantra of the church today. This can be seen in the downplaying of the importance of doctrine which is said to “divide” Christians from one another. Often times unity is pushed for with a complete abandonment of any sense of discernment claiming that love for all brothers ought to be the main concern of the church. More fundamentalist circles go too far the other direction by creating a legalistic set of rules in by which they judge the worthiness of other to fellowship with themselves. Both mindsets are in error as we are not to seek unity on the basis of “brotherly love” or “standards for fellowship” but Christians are to seek and find unity in Christ and in no one else. Proximity to Christ determines what proximity can be had between Christians.

The Holy Bible authorities people to be evangelists for Jesus Christ, and they will impart their beliefs on others, therefore knowing the doctrine of Jesus Christ is important.

Dulles states, “It picks up the biblical theme that God has fashioned for himself a people feely communicating his spirit and his gifts” (50). The Body of Christ as stated in Dulles is, “the main point of mutual union, concern and dependence of the members of the local community upon one another,” (43). The body of Christ will only function is the whole community is willing to work together to reach a personal growth in their relationship with God. Now that we have an idea of what Church as mystical communion consists of I will discuss the strengths and weakness of this model. The strength of this model is that emphasizes a shared life with the community instead of shutting them off. This is a strength because when people come together as a whole everything holds so much more meaning and people can form a stronger bond with God, now that it is much more personal and voluntary. Another strength is that this model improves people spirituality and prayer life now that they feel that personal connection that they formed. A weakness of this model is that it creates unsure relationship between the visible and invisible, since Grace allows people to get closer to God through the invisible such as communion while the visible structure like institutionalism tries to emphasize their power over the whole people. I have discussed what the models mean, their strength and weakness of each so now I will note the difference and

First, ethnic diversity is on the rise in American churches today, and it has been for some time. According to Duke University, “the percentage of people attending congregations in which no ethnic group constitutes at least 80% of the regular attendees increased from 15% in 1998 to 20% in 2012” (Chaves and Eagle 20). Furthermore, the trend shows a slight acceleration (Chaves and Eagle 20). The next study is due in 2018, and one could extrapolate that the trend will continue. Additionally, the Duke Study attributes the increasing diversity to immigration developments, increased interracial marriage, and increased educational attainment among African Americans (Chaves and Eagle 21). Furthermore, it is fitting that this trend illustrates God’s

The societal power of religious congregations lies in its ability to drive a group of individuals to become an entity much greater than the sum of its individual components. The collective force of a group of people who share similar beliefs and ideals is necessary for societal progression because these gatherings reaffirm societal laws and strengthen the bond between its members.

Therefore it is incumbent upon the preacher to preach the “whole counsel of God, in season and out of season” (Acts 20:26-27; 2 Tim. 4:2-3); and it is equally important for those in the congregation to share these truths with all whom they should meet and do know. Ignoring the hard passages of Scripture will not make them go away or be annulled; and the soul of a man living in sin will never find peace because of those truths. Men ignore them at their peril and mock them in the ignorance of their soon demise (spiritual). There have been indicators of the previous over the last century, therefore the research to follow highlights the difference between sinners in the hands of God as delivered by Edwards and Billy Graham, and how the preacher today might present what has been in Scripture since the times of

The researchers of this study think that students who attend bible schools are so indulged in learning and knowledge about their own religion that they are less concerned with other organizations. The researchers said that they believe that the “nationality, sex, occupation, social class, ethnic origin and so forth” (Carvalho, 1997) has a great influence on each individual's social identity. For students who may have a religious affiliation, there are several different options when it comes to choosing a university. For those who are affiliated with the Baptist faith, there are a few Baptist colleges to help students develop a better understanding of

In reflection to “The Need to Belong Can Motivate Belief in God” by Jochen Gebauer, C. Nathan DeWall states “the need to belong is a global need that subsumes more specific strivings for social inclusion, secure attachment, love relationships, and social support” (The Oxford Handbook of Social Exclusion). This sense of belonging, which is often gained through the similarities people have with one another, is the sole foundation behind a person’s comfort levels in a specific area and is what usually motivates someone to become more active in their surroundings. Most Christians feel that they belong in the church setting more than in a worldly setting and feel more comfortable to actively serve God. This is because everyone around them has similar beliefs and accepts them for who they are and what they believe in, which is something that is not typically found in a secular world. Another area to which social identity theory has been applied is in the sense of tradition. In “Christianity is Not Just About Religion,” Ingrid Storm

Next, there are the sects who become denominations. Denominations according to the book Anatomy of the Sacred means a form of religious institution that is different from the Protestant Christianity and is often juxtaposed with state established churches and sects meaning its just a branch of Christianity. An example of a demonization is Baptist churches. Characteristics include them having a trained minister unlike the sects as well, as they are not as strict and follow fewer rules than a sect

This type of religion is known to play a huge role in social activities and functions. This includes running schools and the world of politics. According to the Church they are the only genuine religion that exists within our society. The next type of religion typology is denominations. Denominations are acutely similar to churches because they are formal and have a hierarchy of selected officials. In addition, it is also a pretty simple task to become a member of both churches and denominations alike. Churches, however, tend to have more upper class members or supporters whereas Denominations tend to be supported by the working and lower class members. The members of a Denomination may have values that differ slightly to others because of their tendency to be conservative. Unlike Churches, Denominations are not universal and are not connected to a state. Lastly, Sects are the third and final type of religion typology. Sects are described to be the complete and total opposite of Churches. Sects tend to be much smaller in size where some communities may only have a few members and others may only have a few thousand, which is relatively small compared to those of the Churches or Denominations. Like Denominations, Sects are

Salvation does not depend on being right about every doctrine. The Webster dictionary defines doctrine as a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group. It is absolutely true that the bible is not for individual interpretation, but the word of God. Yet it is also true, that with so many denominations, unfortunately, some pick and choose what they want to believe, and also create their own rules for the denomination, most of which are manmade rules of to do, or not to do. That is the reason why our salvation cannot depend on being right about every doctrine. For example how often does one group serve communion versus another or the role of women in the Church as seen by one group versus another. We would not have hope of salvation if we had to be right about everything. However, it is imperative we are confident in our Salvation.

Gilbert Bilezikian gives four areas that need to be addressed when administering the church here on earth, 1. A shared faith, 2. A share purpose, 3. A shared lifestyle and 4. A shared authority (Bilezikian, 1993, p. 195-197). A shared faith is noted in Ephesians 4:5 where God’s people are told to have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (NIV). Gilbert tells his readers, “every church needs to formuloate clearly its understanding of the Christian faith” ( (Bilezikian, 1993, p. 195). With this written statement everyone within the church will have a common ground from which to govern, with all people knowing what the belief of that church is.

Starting with where to attend, it seemed easy to pick a church. Location was also a cause in picking which church to attend because although I felt I would have the best connection and experience at a Hindu church, the closest one was 35 minutes away. It was important that the church I attended held to what the base of religion was: community and content. I feel religion should help guide and support you to understand your place and worth in the world. It is a beautiful way to connect people beyond their gender, race, and region. I ultimately decided to attend a Convent Presybratarian church. After days of researching, I realized that it