Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 02:1 (Spring 2004)
Article: Voices From The Past; Voices For The Pew: "History Of Support Of The Direct Linkage Between Trustees And The SBC Churches"
Author: Ergun Mehmet Caner

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JBTM 2:1 (Spring 2004) p. 6

Voices From The Past; Voices For The Pew:
History Of Support Of The Direct Linkage
Between Trustees And The SBC Churches

Ergun Mehmet Caner

Associate Professor of Theology and Church History
Liberty University
1971 University Blvd.
Lynchburg, VA 24502

Outsiders often assume that the president of the Southern Baptist Convention sits at the top of a denominational hierarchy, supervises a vast denominational bureaucracy, and directs the work of the Convention by a command-and-control system of authority. This is a natural assumption, for this would be the case in hierarchical systems of denominational polity. But the Southern Baptist Convention is not a hierarchical system, and no individual sits at the top of a denominational flowchart.1

In his forward to the author’s book on the lives of the fifty-two Southern Baptist Convention presidents, Dr. R. Albert Mohler adroitly notes the clear distinction of polity between the Free Church movement, in which Southern Baptists are found, and all other forms of external and internal ecclesiastical authority. We have no ruler. We have no owner. We are a voluntary cooperation of local churches, which have the singular authority to maintain their autonomy. As shall be seen, the trustee system was a systematic and conscious choice by Southern Baptist forefathers to maintain explicitly the direct linkage between the institutions we own and the local churches. As shall be further noted, any violation of the direct linkage between trustees and churches is a direct violation of Southern Baptist’s historical stance on polity.

This article will be a brief examination of the sermons and writings of former SBC presidents, extolling the supreme voice of the membership of local churches, over and beyond

JBTM 2:1 (Spring 2004) p. 7

any structure or officers who serve those members. These voices of Baptist history will serve as a backdrop for the present controversy between the Executive Committee and the trustees and president of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and will hopefully provide some guidance. Since the adoption of the Constitution in 1845, Southern Baptists have been careful to maintain a “ground level” form of authority, exalting the autonomous voice of the local church over any form of external authority. Even in the very organization of the Convention, this attempt at blocking a nascent hierarchy was clear.

Separate Institutions, Separate States And Separate Powers

On May 8, 1845, 293 messengers gathered in Augusta, Georgia for the inaugural meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. With meager resources and...

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