150 years ago there were Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Episcopalians, Brethren, and “others.” They got along sometimes. They fought sometimes. They usually stayed to themselves. Specifically the Landmark Baptists were convinced that they alone were the keepers of the one true way. Then along came Modernism. Good Baptists were fighting bad Baptists. Good Presbyterians were fighting bad Presbyterians. Good Methodists were fighting bad Methodists. I’m not sure about Episcopalians…but for arguments sake lets say they had a Modernist controversy too. All of a sudden the good Methodists realized, “Hey we have more in common with these Presbyterians than with our fellow Methodists.” So they met up at conferences and founded inter-denominational schools. Suddenly believers from various church traditions began realizing that the body is bigger than their tradition. Does that sound anything like what the young reformed movement is going through today? Well, it’s not. Not at all. There is a fundamental difference between that kind of inter-denominationalism and that of today.
We are evangelical. We are reformed. We join together for the gospel. Anyone who exalts the monergistic sovereign majesty of God’s grace in salvation is our brother, our co-labor, our friend. Our heroes are Piper, Sproul, Mahaney, Dever, Mohler, Ferguson, Ryken, and Duncan. The fraternity of these men is a microcosm of the fraternity we feel for each other. And that is what separates us from the inter-denominational movement of the early 20th century. They went out from their churches, got together for conferences, and then went back to their own churches. We, on the other hand, are happy to have a PCA guy lead the worship in our SBC church that doesn’t use the name “Baptist” in its title.
With this new kind of inter-denominationalism comes an issue unique to us. What do we do about baptism and church membership? If I am in a leadership position in a paedobaptist church, do I insist that new members baptize their babies? If I am in a leadership position in a Baptist church, do I insist that a godly couple who was raised PCA get re-baptized before I allow them to join my church? As many of you know, Grudem, in his new Systematic Theology has moved away from a more lenient position to one that advises baptismal uniformity within a local congregation. And if you get mail from Desiring God you probably have read Piper’s response. Piper, once again, kicked my tail by pointing out that excluding believers from fellowship in a church is not a light matter at all. The debate will continue and must continue. This is not something we can ignore. This is OUR issue.
