In my interaction with the more moderate leaders and expressions of the family-integrated movement over the last year and a half I have been pleased and surprised to discover some things about them that I appreciate, but did not know. I have been assured by Scott that he and many of his brethren deeply and devoutly hold the 1689 Baptist Confession. Indeed, one of the reason I suppose that some of the folks associated with this movement responded with such hurt and indignation is that they had read with appreciation, agreement, and a sense of being helped my own A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession. I have on my desk a CD put out by the NCFIC entitled, Sound Doctrine for Churches and Families (read by Bill Brown): The Second London Baptist Confession of 1689. In the introduction to this CD by Scott Brown I am honored to have my exposition quoted.
I have also discovered with encouragement that the same folks believe strongly in the local church as taught in our confession. They also strongly disagree with and deplore the tendency of some folks associated with their movement to leave local churches in favor of in-home fellowships which have no claim to be biblically organized local churches.
I have also talked to men in this movement who recognize that some who hold views similar to their own have caused a great deal of disruption in Reformed Baptist churches that they have tried to attend. While these men might hold the opinion that some of this disruption was not the fault of such families, they would also, I think, acknowledge that some of such disruptions was the fault of the over-reactions and eccentricities of such devotees of family-integrated views. They find it sad and a little ironic that their encouragement to such folks to get out of their family fellowships and into real Reformed churches has had such a result.
Personally, I have been helped by such interactions with various representatives of the family-integrated church movement. It would be wrong to dive into the discussion I hope to pursue in the following blogs without expressing my appreciation for these very positive perspectives on the part of the more moderate wing of this movement.
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
