This is a very Baptist week.

I was scheduled to speak to four Baptist groups in four days. Regrettably, it turned out to only be three. My little plane could not get over the big thunderstorms in the middle of the country, and we were forced to land in Albuquerque. Now, I am flying from Albuquerque to Indianapolis to lead one more conference to one more group of Baptists.

So, it seems to me that this week might be a good opportunity to talk about Baptists and give some history and context. I have move by denomination specific blogging to the SEBTS Between the Times blog (click here for my articles). So, this is a history and analysis, rather than an opinion piece, in the same spirit I have done with other groups here at the blog including:

Lutherans
The Foursquare Church
The New Apostolic Movement
The Restoration Movement and General Baptists
The Landmark Baptist Movement
The Grace Brethren

As you will see, I tend to talk about these movements as I interact with them, so I plan to do the same here.

Let me start by explaining that there are many "types" of Baptist churches. Some are historically tied to an ethnicity, race, or country of origin, others are birthed by doctrinal issues and controversies, and still others are birthed because of geography. For a helpful list, check out this Wikipedia article, but if you are Baptist, you might be a little embarrassed that there are so many.

So, when someone says they go to a Baptist church, you don't know if they are Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists (though that is a long shot since there are only four of those churches left) or Southern Baptist, the largest non-Catholic denomination in America.

So, let my week be a guide to all my non-Baptist readers (and many of my Baptist readers as well) about how the Baptist world works.

First, I start with the Southern Baptist world.

Monday: The Colorado Baptist General Convention

On Monday, I spoke at the pastors conference of the Colorado Baptist General Convention. I was honored that they would have me be the entire pastors conference-- and a little intimidated as well.

I spent the day teaching on church revitalization. I thought it was a great meeting and am excited that they asked me to come back next year and do it again on my new book with Thom Rainer, Transformational Church (out summer 2010).

But, first a few details, I did not actually speak at the Colorado "convention." The "convention" is a technical term of a meeting that takes place once a year. In other words, the Colorado Baptist General Convention really only exists when the convention is in session. I spoke the day before the convention at the pastors conference. But, most people refer to the "convention" in an informal way that refers to the group of churches or even the state convention offices.

The convention describes itself as follows:

The Colorado Baptist General Convention is made up of more than 400 Southern Baptist churches and missions across Colorado. We're a diverse bunch -- worshipping in traditional campus-based church buildings, in homes, in the workplace, on ski slopes, in barns, and many other locations. As part of the Southern Baptist Convention, Colorado's Southern Baptists support about 5,000 missionaries serving the United States, Canada, Guam and the Caribbean, and more than 5,000 more missionaries in 153 nations of the world. Southern Baptists share a common bond of basic Biblical beliefs and a commitment to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the entire world. Colorado's Southern Baptists are specifically intentional in penetrating all pockets of lostness within our state.

Now, it is important to note that the Colorado Baptist General Convention is actually not a "district" of a larger church body. It is an autonomous body of churches on the state level. Inside the confines of Colorado, there will also be a groups of smaller autonomous groups of churches called associations. There is also a national autonomous body of churches called the Southern Baptist Convention. They are not levels (like in a diocese structure) but all independent bodies of churches that work together.

The SBC is the largest Protestant denomination in America (though there are Southern Baptists who say that it is neither "Protestant" or a "denomination," but people generally use those terms to describe it). But, many Baptists object (with good reasons) to both those descriptors. This post from SBCToday deals with the "not a denomination" and "not Protestant" issue pretty well. For further information, the name of the website says it all: http://nonprotestantbaptists.com/. But, not everyone agrees (for example this Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma website explains "Why a denomination?") and the founding documents of the SBC refer to it as a denomination. But, there is an argument to be made that the SBC is not a denomination since it has no ecclesiastical hierarchy even most call it a denomination. The Protestant issue is a bigger one and it has to do with which group you see as the predecessor to today's Baptists and what makes a Protestant a Protestant in the first place.

Wikipedia has a pretty accurate description of the SBC (although there are 50,000 congregations-- not the same as churches as it includes missions, etc.-- and I think that is a better way to count). Wikipedia explains:

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a United States-based, mostly conservative Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the US with over 16 million members and more than 42,000 churches.

The word Southern in Southern Baptist Convention stems from its having been founded and rooted in the Southern United States. The SBC became a separate denomination in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia, following a regional split with northern Baptists over the issues of slavery and missions. Since the 1940s, the SBC has lost some of its regional identity. While still heavily concentrated in the US South, the SBC has member churches across America and has 42 state conventions.

Southern Baptists put a heavy emphasis on the individual conversion experience including a public immersion in water for baptism and a corresponding rejection of infant baptism. SBC churches are evangelical in doctrine and practice. Specific beliefs based on biblical interpretation can vary somewhat due to the congregational governance system that gives autonomy to individual local Baptist churches.

One note from that description: there are no Southern Baptist Churches in Canada, Ghana, or South America. The SBC is a national denomination and, unlike the Assemblies of God, there are not SBC churches in other countries. They form their own conventions and the SBC partners with them.

Tuesday: The Nevada Baptist Convention

On Tuesday, I spoke (along with my friend Jeff Iorg) at the Nevada Baptist Convention. In this case, I spoke twice at the convention. In other words, there was business being done between my two messages, including a debate on a by-law change regarding nepotism that was voted down from the floor after robust discussion. (These meetings can get very exciting!)

The Nevada convention is structured the same way as the Colorado convention within the SBC structure. Again, a great time talking about engaging culture and unity.

I love going to state convention meetings in the west because I see lots of generational and ethnic diversity, much more than I see at the SBC national meeting (but that is for another post).

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Next up, the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement followed by the (formerly-named) Baptist General Conference.