Why I Am a (Baptist)

Before today, I have never been asked to explain why I’m a Baptist. This question caught me off guard and my immediate thoughts went to the fact that I’ve always been a Baptist because it’s just how I grew up. But yet, I’ve lived long enough to have experienced different types of Baptists and varying viewpoints that “being Baptist” can mean nearly anything. I’ve also seen where different “types” of Baptists fight and judge amongst each other over what Baptist means and who is doing “Baptist” right.

I grew up under Jerry Falwell, Senior (founder of Liberty University) and broke the mold and received my undergrad from Bob Jones University. Both are distinctly Baptist institutions yet they both hold many differing Christian viewpoints. When I was at BJU, everything I grew up thinking that was true was questioned and challenged. Here was one Baptist group saying the other Baptist group was extreme, even heretical, leaving me very confused because I knew Dr. Falwell and knew how I was brought up, and it was not wrong or sinful. By my senior year of college, I was so tired of all the dogmatic religiosity warring against the God I kept reading about in the Bible because I couldn’t make them reconcile with each other. I no longer cared about which Baptist way was right or debating big, long theological words or being shamed for enjoying praise and worship. I just wanted to know who God was when religion was stripped away and discovered that God is simply too big to be confined by a man-made religious label. 

So being Baptist doesn’t guarantee salvation nor does it mean you always have the right way to go to heaven or that you’re always following God’s Word…it depends on the person or group who is claiming to be Baptist. I am a Believer in Christ first and then a Baptist second. The first is my belief, the second is the group in which I choose to carry out my beliefs. There are many things about the Baptist way that truly represent Christ and remind us of who He is and His desire for the body of Christ. There is comfort and familiarity in some of our “traditions” and there is cohesion and movement when Baptists come together for the Kingdom whether it’s in making disciples, sending missionaries, or standing in solidarity against culture.

Being Baptist means we believe that our God is the One True God who created the world, who sent His son via a virgin birth, to live, minister, and die for our sins out of a pure love for us. It means believing that God had a distinct plan to redeem His world and give us a future with Him. Being Baptist means we believe the Bible is inspired by God and that it is living and powerful as it changes lives and leads us into a relationship with God. Being Baptist means we practice baptism and the Lord’s Supper as acts of obedience and testimony of our desire to follow Christ as outlined in scripture, not as the means of salvation. 

Being Baptist means we share a common identity in Christ so we meet together in our Baptist churches for a like-minded community where we learn about God and where we grow and serve Him together. And the latter imparts a great responsibility to make sure that we are giving out the one true God and His Word, not a man-made version of God that we’ve watered down (or built up) with our preferences. It’s giving God over a religion and its traditions. And it’s making sure we remain true to the core doctrines and values of God’s Word while living out of the grace and love that Christ has given to us. So to me, saying I’m Baptist is nearly synonymous with saying I’m Christian. However, I don’t want to reach a point where a certain religion and its rules dictate and/or determine my faith in God. While my faith is founded in God alone, God often uses my Baptist church to help guide me in His ways through the instruction and fellowship of those who seek Him.

A God of the Present (#fmfparty)

In 2015, I discovered the value of the present. So much of my life has been spent overcoming the past and worrying about the future that I often forgot to see what was right in front of me. With the death of my grandma and the death of my close friend/mom/mentor, the present became ever so real. Once the present is gone, we can't get it back.

These deaths revealed areas where I was living everywhere but the present. These deaths combined with the growing pressures of owning a business also revealed God to me in new ways as I saw just how much He was the God of the present. He is always breaking into our lives in many different ways and wanting us to see Him, receive Him, and live with Him. It's not about what we are doing for God or where we are in our growth process or where we want to be with Him, it's about coming to Him in our humility knowing we can't do life on our own and we desperately need Him in this very moment. We need Him to sustain us whether it's physically, mentally, emotionally, or financially for we ultimately cannot sustain ourselves.

When we start seeing the value of the present, we begin to live in the present. And when we live in the present and experience God in the present, we find ourselves in the midst of joy and blessings that can't be contained nor explained, even in the hard times. Our focus shifts because it's no longer resting on ourselves and trying to figure our lives out. Our focus is on God which changes the source of our reliance as we take each step forward. And suddenly, we find ourselves in step with Him and surrounded by peace, confidence, reassurance, comfort, joy, and contentment--things that once seemed elusive. Because we know who is holding us, we find ourselves set free to be who we are, free to dream, and free to hope because we are sure that God sees us and has a plan for our lives. 

And when we are free, we are able to run unhindered in the present because we are no longer afraid to run--we know who is holding us! God used death to reveal the present to me so that I can remember who He is. Through remembering Him, He reaffirmed the dreams that He planted in my heart 5, 10, and 15 years ago and gave me the courage to dream once again. Not only did He give me the courage to dream, but He showed me through His continual provision when provision seemed humanly impossible that He can provide for my dreams, too.

Yesterday, I found out that I got accepted at a seminary that I've been wanting to go to for years. I rarely spoke of it and never pursued it because I thought I wasn't worth my dream, but God kept beckoning me to dream this dream until I could let go of myself long enough to see Him. As I discovered God continually breaking into the present, I began to understand that He does have me in His hand. He is God--He makes happen what He wants to happen! All I have to do is trust Him!

And when trust happens, God captures my present in such a way that brings all the praise back to Him for I know the secret battles that took place for surrender (plus I also had a husband who had to write an essay as part of my application--lol) and I know that it is ALL from God and because of Him. Therefore, it makes Psalm 34:8 such a verse of the present--"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" Today, I cannot contain my excitement because I have tasted and have seen that the Lord is good--not just because I got in this seminary program, but because He is my provision, my sustainer, and my Father at this present moment and every moment yet to come! It's pretty awesome! 

I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.

I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.

They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.

This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Psalm 34:1-8

* Five Minute Friday (#FMFparty) gives writers a word prompt. We are encouraged to write whatever comes to mind about that word in just five minutes.  No editing, no perfection, only writing from the heart.  To find out more, visit http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/.  This week's word is "PRESENT".

First, Clear My Blurred Vision (#fmfparty)

"So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision--you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it." 
Philippians 3:15-16 (MSG)

We start out well, hoping for the best, expecting great things, and planning out all the things we need to do in order to be who we want to be. But not even halfway in, we get side-tracked and distracted. We see what others are (or aren't) doing or we where we can better fit in unaware that God has placed in a particular spot for a particular reason. We allow seeds of discontent, entitlement, and frustration to take root. We internalize feedback and criticism. And little by little, we lose sight of what we hoped for. Our vision becomes blurry and we begin to veer off the marked path that God set out for us because our eyes are focusing elsewhere.

Sometimes our vision becomes so blurry that all we see is what is right in front of us--ourselves! We fail to see those around us. And frankly, we even fail to see God. We forget who we are and Whose we are as we lose our way and we become absorbed into the culture around us and living out of our flesh rather than Spirit-filled hearts. Not only do we lose our vision, we lose our hearing as we blow off what people say thinking we've got it all under control and we aren't that far off track.

Yet through it all, God is calling out to us--sometimes quietly and sometimes loudly--doing what He can to get us to shift our eyes back on Him so He can clear our blurred vision. He is wanting us to remember our original goals that we started out with (see Phil 3:12-14--"I am well on my way to reaching out for Christ, who has so wonderously reached out for me....I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward--to Jesus.")

In our sinfulness and selfishness, we ignore God's call yet He loves us too much to let us go so He tries once again to get our attention. Lately, God has been using the brutal honesty of older and wiser friends to sharpen my vision. How grateful I am for friends who aren't afraid to speak God's Word to me and who call me out on attitudes and motives that are less than Christ-like (Galatians 6 seems to be the "theme"). They know that I desire God and to share Him through example and conduct, but I'm not living up to that in certain areas.

So while I might have ended 2015 with blurred vision, my first cry in 2016 can be for God to clear my vision so that everything I have within me refocuses on that goal and becomes poised to follow on the right track as I reach out for Christ.

* Five Minute Friday (#FMFparty) gives writers a word prompt. We are encouraged to write whatever comes to mind about that word in just five minutes.  No editing, no perfection, only writing from the heart.  To find out more, visit http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/.  This week's word is "FIRST"