WHAT WE BELIEVE
As a Baptist Church in fellowship with the Baptist Union of Great Britain and a member church of the East Midland Baptist Association, CBC positions itself within the mainstream of nonconformist evangelical churches.
It therefore subscribes to the Baptist Union’s ‘Declaration of Principle’ which is explained and explored theologically in its statement of faith and practice, ‘Something to Declare’ (see www.baptist.org.uk)
The ‘Declaration of Principle’ itself maintains:
1. That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and that each Church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.
2. That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who 'died for our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried, and rose again the third day'.
3. That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.
Christian belief at CBC is about embracing that declaration and discerning and doing the will of God together (see DISCIPLESHIP tab) – in other words, it includes what we believe, why that is important to us, and how we act upon it. As for the Gospel, we hear local people (like “sheep without a shepherd”?) ask about ‘Christianity’ - in one way or another - ‘Is it true? Does it matter? Will it work?
For CBC, we are learning to grasp and learn that communicating the real message of Jesus is a 3-Dimensional enterprise involving heads (thinking), hearts (compassion) and hands (practical initiative). Our endeavour is so to model the Christian faith in our personal and ‘church’ activities that our presence in the village will provoke comment, raise questions, and attract attention to Jesus.
One way in which we do this is in our ‘Big Questions’ course for ‘faith explorers’ where we look at basic reasons for and against Christian commitment – a sort of homegrown house-based ‘Alpha’. We recognise that, as a church, we are placed in Calverton among folk who – for no fault of their own – have had little or no Biblical input (unlike previous generations, e.g. with ‘Sunday Schools’ and ‘day-school’ assemblies) and have little or no first-hand experience of church life. They have thus missed out on the ‘foundation-laying’ stage of Christian faith and practice. Our responsibility is to reach out to such with the ABC of the Gospel - as well as to help our committed members to move on to further and deeper understandings of Jesus (the ‘milk’ and ‘meat’ of I Cor 3:2).
As for the latter, our Sunday Worship and week-day discipleship groups explore the teaching and scriptures that feature in our daily scripture readings plan.
Regarding our ‘Declaration of Principle’, we would want to add the following endorsements:
1. Our belief (trust) in Christ as Lord and Saviour is our “absolute and sole” authority regarding the interpretation of scripture and is the “key that opens up for us all the treasures of God’s wisdom and (biblical) knowledge” (Col.2.3). He it is, therefore, by the enlightenment of the Spirit, who helps us track His ‘early’ footprints through the Old Testament towards fulfilment in the New (Luke 24:25-27; Matthew 5:17). We cannot thus, as Christians, read Old Testament (Jewish) Scripture (Jesus’ Bible) other than from a Christian viewpoint. This in no way compromises – but reinforces - our belief in the inspiration and value of both Testaments for Christian nurture and growth (II Tim 2:14,15; 3:15-17).
2. As for each Church having Liberty under the Holy Spirit – it is clear simply from observation and experience that every local church, operating in the unique context of its own time and place, must listen to the Spirit for ‘operational’ instructions (Revelation Chs.2 & 3). Of course, there are Gospel ‘perennials’ that need permanent priority in all healthy church life (See under NCD) but these will need to be reviewed and attended to regularly (pruned/manured) if the local church is to continue to represent Jesus faithfully. Otherwise, they may harden into traditions (Mark 7:8) which may mis-represent the Lord.
Baptists have always stood up (and suffered for) commending liberty of conscience in matters of religious belief and expression – indeed, for all denominations and religions, often against restrictive laws and the threat and pain of reprisal.
3. CBC has consistently prioritized the importance of Believer’s Baptism by immersion as a profession of faith and a vital act of witness - (though ‘affusion’ is offered as an equivalent on medical or age grounds).
We have seen that in the New Testament, baptism is for believers only – whether singly or in groups. Baptism is the outward and public way in which faith in Christ was ‘registered’. When time elapses between personal commitment and baptism, it may be helpful to think of it as similar to the time-gap between meeting a life partner – and the decision to set up home together (engagement and marriage in former days).
The ‘baptism’ of young children by their parents is clearly unbiblical – and cannot substitute for an adult decision later on following a personal commitment to Christ. Nobody can make or predict such a commitment in advance or on behalf of someone else. Until that time, however, all children of Christian parents should be ‘nurtured’ into an awareness of how much they are loved by God and what it means to follow Jesus. (And introduced to – and provided for - by a local church. At CBC work with children is a work in progress.)
4 As for the ‘duty of each disciple to take part in the evangelisation of the world’, see under DISCIPLESHIP.
As a Baptist Church in fellowship with the Baptist Union of Great Britain and a member church of the East Midland Baptist Association, CBC positions itself within the mainstream of nonconformist evangelical churches.
It therefore subscribes to the Baptist Union’s ‘Declaration of Principle’ which is explained and explored theologically in its statement of faith and practice, ‘Something to Declare’ (see www.baptist.org.uk)
The ‘Declaration of Principle’ itself maintains:
1. That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and that each Church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.
2. That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who 'died for our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried, and rose again the third day'.
3. That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.
Christian belief at CBC is about embracing that declaration and discerning and doing the will of God together (see DISCIPLESHIP tab) – in other words, it includes what we believe, why that is important to us, and how we act upon it. As for the Gospel, we hear local people (like “sheep without a shepherd”?) ask about ‘Christianity’ - in one way or another - ‘Is it true? Does it matter? Will it work?
For CBC, we are learning to grasp and learn that communicating the real message of Jesus is a 3-Dimensional enterprise involving heads (thinking), hearts (compassion) and hands (practical initiative). Our endeavour is so to model the Christian faith in our personal and ‘church’ activities that our presence in the village will provoke comment, raise questions, and attract attention to Jesus.
One way in which we do this is in our ‘Big Questions’ course for ‘faith explorers’ where we look at basic reasons for and against Christian commitment – a sort of homegrown house-based ‘Alpha’. We recognise that, as a church, we are placed in Calverton among folk who – for no fault of their own – have had little or no Biblical input (unlike previous generations, e.g. with ‘Sunday Schools’ and ‘day-school’ assemblies) and have little or no first-hand experience of church life. They have thus missed out on the ‘foundation-laying’ stage of Christian faith and practice. Our responsibility is to reach out to such with the ABC of the Gospel - as well as to help our committed members to move on to further and deeper understandings of Jesus (the ‘milk’ and ‘meat’ of I Cor 3:2).
As for the latter, our Sunday Worship and week-day discipleship groups explore the teaching and scriptures that feature in our daily scripture readings plan.
Regarding our ‘Declaration of Principle’, we would want to add the following endorsements:
1. Our belief (trust) in Christ as Lord and Saviour is our “absolute and sole” authority regarding the interpretation of scripture and is the “key that opens up for us all the treasures of God’s wisdom and (biblical) knowledge” (Col.2.3). He it is, therefore, by the enlightenment of the Spirit, who helps us track His ‘early’ footprints through the Old Testament towards fulfilment in the New (Luke 24:25-27; Matthew 5:17). We cannot thus, as Christians, read Old Testament (Jewish) Scripture (Jesus’ Bible) other than from a Christian viewpoint. This in no way compromises – but reinforces - our belief in the inspiration and value of both Testaments for Christian nurture and growth (II Tim 2:14,15; 3:15-17).
2. As for each Church having Liberty under the Holy Spirit – it is clear simply from observation and experience that every local church, operating in the unique context of its own time and place, must listen to the Spirit for ‘operational’ instructions (Revelation Chs.2 & 3). Of course, there are Gospel ‘perennials’ that need permanent priority in all healthy church life (See under NCD) but these will need to be reviewed and attended to regularly (pruned/manured) if the local church is to continue to represent Jesus faithfully. Otherwise, they may harden into traditions (Mark 7:8) which may mis-represent the Lord.
Baptists have always stood up (and suffered for) commending liberty of conscience in matters of religious belief and expression – indeed, for all denominations and religions, often against restrictive laws and the threat and pain of reprisal.
3. CBC has consistently prioritized the importance of Believer’s Baptism by immersion as a profession of faith and a vital act of witness - (though ‘affusion’ is offered as an equivalent on medical or age grounds).
We have seen that in the New Testament, baptism is for believers only – whether singly or in groups. Baptism is the outward and public way in which faith in Christ was ‘registered’. When time elapses between personal commitment and baptism, it may be helpful to think of it as similar to the time-gap between meeting a life partner – and the decision to set up home together (engagement and marriage in former days).
The ‘baptism’ of young children by their parents is clearly unbiblical – and cannot substitute for an adult decision later on following a personal commitment to Christ. Nobody can make or predict such a commitment in advance or on behalf of someone else. Until that time, however, all children of Christian parents should be ‘nurtured’ into an awareness of how much they are loved by God and what it means to follow Jesus. (And introduced to – and provided for - by a local church. At CBC work with children is a work in progress.)
4 As for the ‘duty of each disciple to take part in the evangelisation of the world’, see under DISCIPLESHIP.