Present Status of the Baptism & Membership Issue

1. What was the original motion from the Council of Elders?
   In September, 2005 the Council of Elders of Bethlehem Baptist Church introduced a motion at the Quarterly Strategy Meeting proposing constitutional changes that would have preserved the belief, practice and teaching of believers baptism by immersion as the official position of the church and elders, but would also have allowed for some regenerate persons to be members of the church even though they believed the Bible endorsed their infant sprinkling as baptism. The criterion that would have been used to determine who would be admitted would have been whether the beliefs surrounding the baptismal ritual undermined the gospel.
2. What is the present status of this motion?
   It was withdrawn by the elders at the Annual Strategy Meeting on December 18, 2005.
3. Why was it withdrawn?
   At the December 6 Elder Council meeting, a few elders who previously voted in favor of the motion no longer supported it. In the original vote only two had opposed the motion. Others had now become uncertain about the wisdom of moving forward with the motion. It was clear that the support was not sufficient to move forward.
4. What is the plan for dealing with this issue in the future?
   The elders realize that the issue cannot be dropped because the majority of the elders still favor the motion, including almost all the pastoral staff, and because that conviction puts most of the elders and staff in conflict with at least one literal reading of the Bethlehem Affirmation of Faith. Our Affirmation of Faith defines the local church as follows: "We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, work, and fellowship." In the most narrow reading, this definition would mean that a Gospel-preaching Presbyterian Church, for example, is not a church. Most of us do not believe that. So at least there are explicit clarifications that we believe we should make in the present Affirmation of Faith. In view of these things, we will be praying and thinking and discussing various ways to move forward together as a church.

To find letters and articles related to this document, visit the Desiring God Resource Library.