One
Faith, One Task, One Sacred Trust
A Covenant Between Our
Seminaries and Our Churches
"You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in
Christ Jesus. And the things
that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these
to faithful
men who will be able to teach others also."
II Timothy 2:1-2
For over 135 years, the churches of the Southern Baptist
Convention have looked to their seminaries for the training and
education of their ministers. These six schools were established
and undergirded by Southern Baptists in order that our churches
may be served by a more faithful ministry.
This is a critical moment in the history of the Southern
Baptist Convention and for our seminaries. The six seminaries
serving this denomination bear a precious and perishable
responsibility on behalf of our churches; for we are entrusted
with those who will be their ministers, pastors, preachers and
servants.
Looking to the dawn of the 21st century, we hereby
restate and reaffirm our commitment to the churches we serve, to
the convictions those churches hold and honor and to the charge we
have received on their behalf.
One Faith
The church of Jesus Christ is charged to contend for the
faith once for all delivered to the saints. Our seminaries,
charged with the theological formation of ministers, must take
this charge as central and essential to our mission. In an age of
rampant theological compromise, our seminaries must send no
uncertain sound.
Let the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention know that
our seminaries are committed to theological integrity and biblical
fidelity. Our pledge is to maintain the confessional character of
our seminaries by upholding those doctrines so clearly articulated
in our confessions of faith; by teaching the authority,
inspiration, inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible; by
maintaining the purity of the Gospel and affirming the identity of
Jesus Christ, by whose blood we have been redeemed and in whose
name alone salvation is to be found; and by proclaiming with
boldness the precious and eternal truths of God's Word.
In this we stand together, and we stand with our churches. We
understand that those who teach take on an awesome responsibility
and will receive from our Lord a stricter judgment. We stand
before this convention and our churches to declare that we stand
together in one faith, serving our Lord Jesus Christ.
One Task
Our mission is to prepare ministers for service. We cannot
call ministers nor appoint them to service. Ministers, called by
God and commissioned by our churches come to us in order that they
may through our seminaries receive learning, training and
inspiration for service. Preachers, evangelists, missionaries and
those who minister throughout the life of the churches come to our
seminaries with the hope that they will leave their programs of
study better equipped, armed and matured for the faithful exercise
of their calling.
Our mission is to remain ever true to this task. We declare our
unflinching resolve to provide the very finest programs of
theological education for ministry. We will match theological
fidelity to practical ministry, passion to practice, vision to
calling and honor to service. This is our task.
One Sacred Trust
Our schools are not generic institutions for religious
studies. We are the six theological seminaries serving the
Southern Baptist Convention. We belong to you; we belong to the
churches of this Convention. We are proud to carry your charge,
and we declare our fidelity to you as a sacred trust. In this
trust we stand before the Southern Baptist Convention, and we
stand together.
Through the trustees elected by this Convention, our churches
must hold our seminaries accountable to the faith once for all
delivered to the saints, to the essential task of training and
educating ministers and to the sacred trust which unites our
seminaries and our churches.
As the presidents of your seminaries, we declare our unbending
and fervent resolve to uphold all of these commitments. We will
lead our institutions so that no harm shall come to your students
and ministers; so that they will be rooted and grounded in the
truth; so that they will be trained as faithful and effective
preachers and teachers; so that they will bring honor to the
church and not dishonor; and so that we shall be able to give a
good answer and receive a good report when we shall face that
stricter judgment which is to come.
This is our pledge, our resolve, our declaration.
One Faith, One Task, One Sacred Trust.
Signed in the Presence of the Messengers to the 140th
session of the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Dallas,
Texas, June 17, 1997. |
