The 2017 Statement of Belief has received a variety of responses since its birth 5 years ago. For some, the Statement of Belief has been welcomed into the life of the church with open arms. The 12 affirmations contained within the document expresses the doctrinal convictions of many baptist churches. For others, however, this new…
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Last week, the Baptist Union National Leadership Council (NLC) took an significant step in a particular direction. It reported that “the 2017 purported Statement of Faith is not inconsistent with the 1924 Statement of Faith. In future, therefore the NLC will accept the purported 2017 Statement of Faith should a church or other entity adopt…
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Baptist churches are congregational and therefore decisions made by the congregation are binding on that congregation. But are decisions made outside the congregation, at associational or union level binding on the congregation too?
On Monday 26 July 2021, Gavin Johnston, Pastor of Randburg Baptist Church and Michael du Toit, the BTC Registrar, dug into the Baptist Union archives. They found some very interesting minutes and a crucial decision that came to the Baptist Union Assembly of 1990. Stranger still, though, the decisions that were made then, were never…
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At the recent BU Assembly representatives from member churches voted to supress a motion put forward by the Executive to initiate a process for churches to consider voting on aproposed new 2017 Statement of Belief (2017 SB). The vote to suppress was carried by a high majority. It was clear that the proposed 2017 SB was…
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I’m asked these two questions a lot. And they’re good questions especially with money being so tight at the moment. So why pay an association and why pay both the association and the union? Firstly, note the biblical example. Paul asked the churches to support the church in Jerusalem and added “But as you excel…
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February 2019 Introduction One of the key issues around the discussion of a new statement of faith for the Baptist Union of South Africa is around the issue of the inerrancy of the Bible. What is inerrancy and why is it important? Inerrancy is the view that the Bible, in its original manuscripts, is without…
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Today, I feel hope for the future of our Baptist Union! We have taken a number of steps forward and “one giant leap” ahead when I think about all that unfolded last week at the Baptist Union Executive meeting. Last week’s meeting could well be described as a roller coaster ride of climbs, turns, u-turns…
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So it seems some are not sure what the BNA Consultation is all about (starting Monday 20 February starting at 2:00p.m. at Constantia Park Baptist Church at 645 Rudolf Street, Pretoria). It is simply an ‘information ingathering session.’ Questions like, “What are the benefits of belonging to the Baptist Union?” and “What keeps us together…
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I recently had the privilege of asking the General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Southern Africa some questions that I have been asking myself and that some of the pastors have been asking me. This interview was conducted on 6 July 2016 at the offices of the Baptist Union in Johannesburg. Q: Angelo, the…
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