FAQ's: Frequently Asked Questions

The following questions were recently submitted by a MACBA church in response to our new identity report. I asked permission of the pastor to post this on my blog and he graciously said yes. Hopefully it may help as you prepare for our Annual Conference at Sandy Cove. Let me know your thoughts. Feel free to post a comment.

~ Jim

1. You wrote that an identity statement is to tell who we are. Is the explanation given for this statement defining who we are or is it defining what the work group says we should become?

The statement was unanimously approved by the MACBA Board and is intended to reflect who we are now and what we are striving to become.

2. What will people who are not familiar with MACBA (or Mission Mid-Atlantic) understand about who we are with this identity statement? (We are a diverse fellowship of churches united by biblical mission.)

Hopefully, they will understand that we are and are striving to be diverse, that we seek to function as a true biblical fellowship, that the fellowship is of churches, that we are united by God's word and that we exist to help each other pursue a biblical mission.

3. What does this tell others about what we value most?

God's word, the fellowship of churches, the biblical mission God calls us to, the diversity inherent in being different churches in fellowship with one another, and making disciples.

4. Are our highest values diversity and fellowship?

The identity statement does not attempt to rank our values and is not intended to do so.

5. Should diversity be one of our core values or should our core values be the glory of God and obedience to His commands for the church? I believe that if we are obedient to the great commission we will naturally see diversity. Diversity is a by-product of taking the gospel to all peoples. Is diversity every stated as a goal of churches in the Scriptures?

We agree that obedience to God's commands will yield diversity, which makes it something we should value. We also value true biblical fellowship and the mission God has called the church to in His word. As we are obedient in pursuing these things, God is glorified.

6. If we need to have almost a full page defining this statement in a way that others would not readily see from reading only the statement, are we not following the current culture where everyone is free to define words as they want them to mean?

The statement is intended to succinctly describe the fellowship's identity, while the narrative is meant to amplify and clarify the statement, especially for the purpose of communicating the work of the group and the recommendations of the MACBA Board. These are not the only descriptions of the fellowship's identity but they certainly are component parts. Another key element of our identity is the Statement of Faith, which clearly defines our doctrinal distinctives.

7. What does the word “diversity” mean to American culture today? How will those who are not part of MACBA understand who or what we are? I believe that this confusion will lead some to want to join with us who are expecting a different diversity than what you have in your explanation.

Hopefully, the new name and identity statement will cause many churches to want to find out more about the group, but we believe it would be unlikely that a church would want to join based solely on the name or the statement. They would no doubt want to know the doctrinal distinctives of the group, the requirements and expectations of membership, etc.

8. What kind of churches are we besides “diverse”? Most “churches” state that they have a biblical mission, even ones that we can not consider Christian churches (Mormons, Jehovah Witness).

We are biblical churches that unite around the common ground of God's word and the mission that it calls us to. The fellowship's Statement of Faith clearly defines what kind of churches we are.

9. From looking at the other regions websites, will we be called CB Mission Mid-Atlantic, or just Mission Mid-Atlantic? Mission Mid-Atlantic.

10. Are we a diverse fellowship of Conservative Baptist Churches, or a diverse fellowship of any kind of churches?

Any church desiring to become part of Mission Mid-Atlantic would need to evidence their agreement with the Statement of Faith of the organization, which affirms conservative Baptist doctrine and is unchanged.

11. Are the leaders of the CB Movement planning to abandon being Baptist or become only baptistic? No.

12. Is the word Baptist one to be ashamed or embarrassed of or is it a word describing a distinct biblical doctrine with an honored heritage of missions and evangelism? No and yes.