Why is CCC a Baptist church?

Patrick Beard

​

   For almost two decades Christ Community Church has been on a journey.  What started as a combination of a Bible church and a Methodist church was reconstituted as Christ Community Church with a desire to worship God in spirit and truth, and to love each other as a true community of believers.
   Everything was “taken off the table” as we considered what a church should be and how we should worship. We gradually transitioned from a “traditional” hymn based model (an opening hymn, announcements, another hymn, prayer, offering, a “special”, sermon, and a closing hymn) to a more liturgically structured worship style. 
   We drew from the history of the Church, looked to the early Church, and searched the Scriptures for guidance.  We read Church Fathers’ thoughts, we consulted the Didache (an ancient guide for worship and doctrine) and we prayed a lot.  Our conclusion was that we should be a community of Christians that lift up Jesus in our worship of the Triune God and love each other. The liturgy found in the Book of Common Prayer was found trustworthy and much of our service began to reflect an adherence to this liturgical style, but we also drew from Eastern Orthodoxy, the Coptic Church, and the Book of Common Worship (Presbyterian) as well as other more ancient forms of liturgy.
   The membership was made up of several denominational backgrounds, but the overwhelming majority was Southern Baptist.  As the church prospered and the community began to thrive a growing number of Union students and professors took note of CCC. Since we had revisited nearly all of our Baptist traditions and taken a more ancient view on issues like alcohol (focusing on moderation and prohibition against drunkenness rather than abstinence) we were considered a bit edgy.  Initially we attracted the students who were on the fringes of Baptist life.
   Truly we were attracting students who had fallen out of favor with more conservative Baptists, but there was actually a lot of ministry happening as some of these broken students found healing. We were accepting of all who were seeking Jesus, but our doctrine remained traditionally conservative and orthodox.
   Christ Community Church could have been described as a Baptist church with Anglican liturgy and an Irish band. But, the doctrine was trustworthy, the fellowship was real, and the worship was fresh and lively.  Maybe most importantly this quirky little congregation was attempting to be what we believed every church is supposed to be — the Bride of Christ on the Earth worshiping the Triune God, instructing in trustworthy doctrine, fellowshipping at deep levels, and engaging with the world outside the four walls in a way that breaks through cultural barriers.
   In time a decision needed to be made. Are we Baptist or are we Anglicans or should we remain unaffiliated?  Some have become Anglican. Some have become Catholic and Orthodox. Still others have transferred to a variety of other denominations as they have moved to other cities and nations.  It has been said of CCC that were a “Half-way house for Baptists.”  But much concern has been expressed over the movement of many former CCC members away from Baptist churches.  It was not the intention of leadership to lead anyone away from their denominational homes, but rather to seek to connect with a more ancient form of worship.  
      It really isn't that strange that a Baptist church would draw heavily from our Church of England heritage. Baptist, after all, are descended from the Church of England.  In fact, most Baptist churches continue to practice portions of the Book of Common prayer for special services like weddings and funerals.  In the opinion of early Baptist like Roger Williams the Episcopal church had not gone far enough in their reformation from perceived Roman and political corruption of the Church. But many today have "thrown the baby out with the bathwater" in favor of more modern performance forms of worship that seems to be focused on the worshiper.  While preaching would have been central in early Baptist worship it would have looked more "Catholic" or "Anglican" with a focus on worship of the Trinity, public reading of the Scriptures, and regular practice of sacraments.  Worship, in the past, was a unique event that was considered extraordinary rather than common or secular. Worship, in a sense, is a little bit of Heaven on Earth. Even today many Baptist preachers still wear robes when performing the formal sacerdotal duties of their office, such as a wedding, because of the sacredness of the event.
     Our core beliefs are very much in line with Baptist doctrine and distinctives.  We believe the Bible is the final authority for faith and life. We believe each local church should be an autonomous expression of the Christian faith with no national or denominational head. We believe that all followers of Jesus are priests and therefore do not need a priest to approach the Father. We believe that there are two primary ordinances (or sacraments) that Christ instituted for His Church - baptism and communion. We believe that each believer has individual soul liberty and personal responsibility for their faith - spiritual authority is voluntarily exercised and received. We believe there are two office of the Church - Pastor (elder/bishop/shepherd) and Deacon. And lastly we believe in the separation of the Church and State. 
   In 2018 Christ Community Church officially partnered with the Southern Baptist Convention and identified as a Baptist church.  We discovered that CCC was not a unique phenomenon as there are many liturgical Baptist churches. A vision has emerged to encourage students to take the richness of liturgy home with them to their Baptist (and other) churches when they leave Jackson.