Past editions of the NZ Baptist magazine are a treasure trove of information. I was researching and found some great gems concerning our beginnings from February & March 1923:

“The Rev. E. N. Goring [our first Pastor] thanked all for their welcome.  He feelingly acknowledged the brotherhood of the ministers of other churches. Though a convinced Bap)st, he owed a great deal to influences of Christly men of other churches which made him their debtor” - working with other churches!

“The Mayor of Hawera (Mr E. Dixon) … assured the Baptists that there were plenty of people, plenty of money, and abundant opportunity for their enterprise in Hawera”. — the blessing of civic leaders!

“We have just heard that Hawera has formed a branch of the B.W.M.U., [now Baptist Missionary Fellowship] ...We shall hear more of this vigorous new-born”. - a heart for Mission!

“The church has a nucleus of members and workers whose character and service would be a strength to any cause. The opportunity in the town and district is great and challenging, and the whole denomination should stand behind this latest effort of extension, and make it a great adventure for the Kingdom of God in Taranaki”. - the right people, in the right place, with the right Kingdom a1tude!

Sounds pretty relevant still! Lord, please give us the courage of our predecessors. To dream big dreams; to step out boldly; to reach out to our community in your name.

Our very name "Baptist" gives away something of our identity.  Foundational to our existence as a movement has been this idea of "believer's baptism by full immersion".  Again, this is no longer a position that is unique to Baptist Churches, however it is still something that distinguishes us from many other Christian traditions, most notably those who practice infant baptism, sprinkling, no baptism at all, or various combinations.  It is not my intention in this small article to convince you that believer's baptism is the "correct" way, but rather to summarise what I believe about baptism (as a long term Baptist person) and to highlight the tensions that exist for us around baptism as a 21st century Baptist Church.

For me baptism is an act of discipleship.  Unlike some traditions that see baptism as an entry point into the Kingdom of God (and thus it can happen to a child), I would assert that entry or belonging to the Kingdom of God is more a dynamic of faith than a physical act.  There is, of course, a physical act involved in baptism, and for that reason some Baptist Churches (not Hawera) still link it to "Membership", however in my thinking that act is more correctly understood as one of discipleship rather than belonging.  It's an individual decision, rather than a parental or community decision.  This decision is made as a response to the reality of faith in Jesus that has already occurred for that person, which of course usually happens within the context of a family and/or community. 

I would consider baptism to be a step of obedience.  Jesus said, "believe and be baptised" and so we follow the model that was established by Jesus and was the practice of the early church.  Related to this idea is that in some way we are "following" Jesus when we respond in obedience, from our own conscience, rather than the decision of others. 

It's also a public statement of belief - and quite an extreme statement at that.  When you think about it, it's rather "different" for a teenager or adult to step into a body of water, fully clothed, and have someone guide them to full immersion and out again.  However it is this very act and the symbolism attached to it (eg. dying to self, rising to new life, submission, cleansing etc.), that makes the statement so strong and clearly shows ones intention to follow Jesus for the rest of your life.

So that's what I believe, and with some small variations, what most Baptists have believed in the past.  However we are living in a mixed up world!  No longer are Baptist Churches full of Baptist people, rather we're a collection of Christian people from various backgrounds and different traditions.  For this reason alone I would be hesitant to say that "believer's baptism is the only form of baptism".  However, it is important that we don't simply give up on believer's baptism by immersion because some might think differently. As a Baptist Church we need to continue to promote "believer's baptism" and challenge people to this high calling of discipleship, obedience and public witness.  We should see more of it, not less of it, even while accepting that some among us will have had quite a different experience and find God's hand and significance in that. What do you think?

Last week we looked at the unique way in which Baptist churches approach decision making and I suggested that perhaps we need to value the principle of "everyone has the opportunity to contribute in decision making" more highly than our practice of "membership voting". This week I'd like to look at the concept of "The Priesthood of all believers" which is not a Baptist idea alone, but is held, with some variation, by many Protestant Churches.

When I was Youth Pastor at Henderson Baptist in Auckland we always had the name of the Pastors on the front of our newsletters.  This is not surprising, however we also had the following statement, "Ministers: The whole congregation". Such statements come from this idea of a "Priesthood of all believers" which basically says: no longer must I receive ministry only from the ordained Priest/Pastor; no more do I have to sit back and leave it to the professionals.  When I see a person in need I am able to minister to that person; when I myself am in need I can call upon my fellow Christians and not just the Priest/Pastor to minister to me.

This is an amazing concept that has the potential of breaking down barriers and giving freedom and hope to our congregations.  It legitimises the gifts that God has given to each of us and in Baptist Churches, historically at least, this idea has been practiced well. However, "the Priesthood of all believers" is under threat in our day and age.  If not in theory, certainly in practice, this idea has largely been abandoned by many Christians today.

I have seen this happen in a number of Baptist churches.  A church starts to rely heavily on a gifted Pastor and/or one or two other key leaders.  These leaders "minister" well, and with great ability run almost every activity of the Church (either directly or in close proximity). Sadly however, this approach breeds a culture of dependance upon those leaders and can dis-empower much of the congregation.  If/when these leaders can no longer lead (for a variety of reasons), the Church is thrown into a crisis of leadership and no one is left to minister.

It's not just the "leaders" though.  Unfortunately, many Christians have abdicated their role as ministers in deference to a form of "clerical professionalism".  Now don't get me wrong, Pastors certainly should be well trained; have strong accountability; and a strong sense of call, however this should be something that adds to the expression of Christian community and faith in our churches, not something that defines it.  Fear; a sense of inadequacy; and this growing "professionalism" has stopped many everyday Christians from seeing themselves as ministers.

I don't think that we should ascribe "fault" as such, either to Pastors or congregations where this is the case.  However I do think that we can make changes to ensure that it doesn't continue this way.  In fact, if we want to see vibrant and growing churches then we need to reclaim this idea of the "Priesthood of all believers" and empower our people to be ministers.

What do you think?  Does this ring true to you, or do you have a different understanding or approach to this?  Let me know.

Arohanui, Pastor David Auty

Baptist people historically have loved to talk about "congregational governance" and the fact that we try to "discern together the mind of Christ". These ideas are not uniquely Baptist, however they are certainly not held by all Christians. In the past these ideas have been expressed primarily through the "Member's meetings" and democratic voting practices. However, I wonder if we should value the idea more highly than its normal expression in practice.

Back in the days when "Baptist" was a fledgling movement in England, the Churches started to do something that was completely counter-cultural and frankly quite shocking! At a time in history when less than 20% of the adult population had democratic voting rights, the Baptist church said "No! - we believe everyone should have a say!" They introduced voting for Church Member's and thus allowed all voices to be heard in major decision-making, not just the voices of the rich and influential. This was a revolutionary practice that uniquely expressed the idea of "discerning together", at a time in history when decision making in Churches, like most organisations, was more likely to be dominated by a select group of individuals.

This history makes me proud! It also makes me question: what might be an equally radical and counter-cultural way of claiming back the idea of "discerning together" at this time in history where everyone has rights to democratic processes, and yet many voices remain unheard? Rooted in a history of radical and counter-cultural activity, that exposed the weaknesses of the power processes of the day, can we find a better way that will help us to "discern together the mind of Christ" in this time in history? Are inherited models of "Member's meetings" and democratic processes effective for us anymore? Should we be looking at new ways that can help us to gain back this idea of true input and participation in finding God's will together as a community of faith? Does a Baptist Church in Hawera have a role to play in these things?

I think that we have already started doing this. We are exploring different ways of doing "Church meetings" (eg. forums; preliminary discussions; prayer oriented etc.). We are trialling new leadership structures (eg. Focus areas and the “Champions” concept). In the midst of all of this we remain “Baptist” and so continue to value the idea of “discerning together the mind of Christ”. Our practices should therefore allow everyone the potential for participation in decision making. This is a challenge that sits alongside another: how do we allow our chosen leaders to lead well? These are tricky issues, however I believe we are navigating these things right now! Pray, with God's help, that together we will navigate well.

Arohanui, Pastor David Auty

I can just picture some of you squirming in your seats at the very question! Most people in Protestant/Evangelical churches these days would be much more likely to identify as "Christian" than as "Baptist" or "Presbyterian" or something else.  In that sense the "days or denominationalism" are gone.  This is a good thing if we are thinking about denominations in a "we're right and they're wrong", or in a possessive/exclusive way (which I think has sometimes been the case).  However, I do wonder what this means for us as part of a local Baptist Church.

The reality is that as a Baptist Church we do have a distinct flavour, we do have unique ways of doing things, we do look at the world in different ways - in short, we have distinctive ideas that are important to us!  This is true for "Baptists" as a denomination, but it's equally true for us as a local Church.  So what are the important bits?  Over the next few weeks I'd like to explore this question.  For some it will serve as a reminder, for others it may be the first time you've thought about these things, either way, I think these are distinctive Baptist ideas that it would be sad to lose:.
1. Our understanding of decision making
2. Our belief in the "Priesthood of all believers"
3. Our theology and practice of believer's baptism.
4. Our concept of Membership: the good, the bad and the ugly.

We may find over the next few weeks that there are others things that should be included here so please engage in a dialogue if possible.  These articles will be posted onto our facebook group every week, and of course I'm always available for a chat if that's how you prefer to dialogue. I'm looking forward to looking at these ideas with you over the coming weeks.