Another distinction of Associations of the future is their kingdom mindedness. In our recently expanded structure here at the San Felipe Baptist Association, we did two things. We set forth a balance of maintaining our theological and historical heritage as Southern Baptists while setting the stage to connect with other Great Commission Christians for Kingdom work. The San Felipe Baptist Association updated constitution is based on the following. 1) We reaffirmed our theological and historical heritage as Southern Baptists. We did not want to forget our rich history of theology and Great Commission efforts. SFBA is and will continue to be an Association of Southern Baptist churches. We reaffirmed our common statement of faith in the revised SFBA constitution. David Dockery in Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism, states that in the 21st century, “denominations that thrive will remain connected by conviction to Scripture, the gospel, and their tradition . . . So do denominations still matter? Yes! . . . they do matter and they will continue to matter, but only if they remain connected to Scripture and orthodox tradition.” 2) We recognized that God is at work among other Great Commission groups with whom we could join efforts to extend God’s Kingdom. Dockery again writes, “Perhaps more important for the twenty-first century than the denominational future will be the importance of networks. . . . while working and exploring ways to partner with affinity groups and networks moving out of their insularity and seeking to understand better the changing global context around us.” Christ’s commission to make disciples of all the nations challenges us to partner with other Great Commission Christians with common doctrine and common vision. A short list of a few examples of partners can be found on the ‘affiliates’ tab of www.starsnetwork.co.
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Darrell L. HornArchives
January 2016
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