English General Baptists: The Arminian Anti-rationalists (Part I/II)
Early English General Baptists’ firm adherence to the authority and supremacy of Scripture as the rule of faith and practice defies notions that all seventeenth century Arminians were rationalists.[1] That Arminianism as a whole was inclined towards rationalism has become a common critique from even renowned scholars. For example, Richard Muller contends that “of the three major systematic models arising out of Protestantism, the...
The Theological Contribution of J. P. Barrow
One Sunday night earlier this year, I was speaking with my grandfather, a lifelong Free Will Baptist pastor and evangelist. He mentioned a name to me that I’d never heard before: Jesse Parrot Barrow. My grandfather had visited my grandmother’s grave that Sunday afternoon in a small North Carolina town, as he often does, but that Sunday he had also found the grave marker of J. P. Barrow. In all of my reading and all of the...
When Free Will Baptists Went Liberal (Part II)
In Part I, we began examining the Free Baptists’ relationship to Higher Criticism, particularly through Alfred Williams Anthony’s writings. In this piece, we’ll consider the influence of Higher Criticism at Bates College and Cobb Divinity School, as well as the Free Baptists’ interest in the Ecumenical Movement. This exploration will us a clear understanding of the theological status of key Free Baptist leaders and institutions in the...
When Free Will Baptists Went Liberal (Part I)
The 1911 merger between the Free Baptists[1] and the Northern Baptist Convention marked the former’s near extinction as a distinct religious body. However, this merger was symptomatic of a deeper theological shift among some Free Baptist leaders that had begun years before. In 1911, the Free Baptists merged all of their assets, missions organizations, and educational institutions with the Northern Baptist Convention’s. Many Free...
Words of Wisdom from Pastors with Tenure (Part 2)
A 2011 Lifeway Research poll found that the average tenure for pastors in a local church is 3.6 years. Some have suggested that the number may be higher. Nevertheless, pastors who stay at a given church for ten, twenty, thirty, or more years are a rare occurrence. Yet the pastors that we tend to admire the most are those who have stayed at and labored in a single local church for an extended period of time. Furthermore, some...
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