Baptist Theology: Understanding the Church Meeting

This is the start of a series of posts that looks at different aspects of baptist theology, especially that which makes baptists distinctive from other denominatons.

The church meeting is a very misunderstand event in many Baptist churches. As Baptists we believe in local church goverment, that is, it is the responsbility of the local church to discern the mind of Christ for the organisation and witness of the church. The whole church, in terms of those who have committed and covenanted with one another and become members, gather together to make decisions. The church meeting can represent what's best about baptist churches and also sometimes what's worst. Here is what Paul Fiddes has to say on the church meeting in Tracks and Traces (2003):

'The aim of the meeting of the church members for prayer and business is not to make majority decisions, though it is prefectly right to safeguard our freedom through a democratic process. Nor is the aim for one block of voters to oppress and dominate another. The point is to find together the mind of Christ who is present in the midst of his church as the risen Lord to whom all 'authority is given', and to use to the scriptures to help us in this search for purpose in our world today.' (52)

'The church meeting is not 'people power' in the sense of simply counting votes and canvassing a majority: in such a strategy, power blocks can strive with each other to gain a popular vote, with the result that the minority may feel excluded. The aim is to search for consent about the mind of Christ, and so people should be sensitive to the voices behind the votes, listening to them according to the weight of their experience and insight.' (86)

'Though Baptist mights be surprised to have it so described, their view of the church meeting is therefore quite sacramental, and is rooted in a conviction about grace in creation. They expect the Spirit of God to take material and earthly things - their own bodies, gathered together - and use for a divine-human encouner, for a means of grace. As in communion bread, the participants in this meeting expect to 'discern the body of Christ' (1 Cor. 11.29)' (123)

'In practical terms, even when a decision has been made in a Baptist church meeting, the members will want to go on listening to those who have opposed it or been unhappy with it, to gain something from their insights as the decision is worked out in detail in changing circumstances.' (124)

Comments

[Account Deleted]

Hi Andy

Next semester for the first time I am going to be teaching a course called 'Baptist Identity' so you just keep these posts coming and I will send the class there...

I am a great fan of the work of 'baptist' theologian, the late James William McClendon Jr. One of his ideas if I remember correctly is the importance of hearing the marginal voice as the voice that may in fact carry the truth.

One or two of us up North here are doing some further thinking on this Church meeting discerning things in terms of how an environment where such can happen needs to be created and that the ability to participate in such may have to be taught as a spiritual discipline rather than just assumed.

[Stuart Jenkins]

I am also embarking on, well, it won't be a series, but I'll be sneaking teaching about Baptist distinctives into sermons and services over the next few weeks.

I like all of Paul Fiddes' comments, and also Stuart Blythe's above, about listening to the marginal voices. I wonder, though, what that has to teach us about the conduct of church meetings. We're often most concerned about processing business accurately. How would a meeting concerned about listening to the awkward and unforthcoming go about its task?