Wait, You're a BAPTIST church? (FAQs)
I can't believe y'all are a Baptist church!
Haha, yes, we hear this quite a bit! Sometimes our members and guests will also hear, "I can't believe you go to a Baptist church!" Some days we feel the same way. We admit that are a little bit quirky as far as most Baptist churches go, but at the same time, we're really proud of our Baptist heritage.
Several years ago, the church went through a process to consider changing our name. We wondered if the word "Baptist" in "Williamsburg Baptist Church" simply had too negative a connotation and discouraged some people from attending. Ultimately, we were split on the decision; about half of us wanted to keep the name, and half wanted to change it. For those who wanted to keep it, it was an important part of our heritage and identity, even if it does come with some of the "baggage." We decided we'd keep the name, with the understanding that we needed to be intentional in reclaiming the goodness of the Baptist tradition!
So what does it mean to WBC to be a distinctly Baptist church?
When we say we are Baptist, we mean that we seek to live into historic Baptist principles. Sometimes we'll say we are "historic Baptists." Believe it or not, once upon a time, Baptists were a rather rowdy, nontraditional-minded bunch of people!
The Baptist "denomination" (if you can call it such) started in the early 1600s in England during the time of the Protestant Reformation. Baptists were initially part of a movement that wanted to break away from the Church of England because they believed it was too closely tied to the state. At a time when most every person born in England was simply baptized into the Church of England, early Baptists felt strongly that only people who personally choose to follow Christ should be baptized.
Baptists faced a lot of persecution for their beliefs, and as a result faced fines, imprisonment, and worse. Historically, this persecution made Baptists strong advocates for religious freedom and the separation of church and state. Many Baptists fled to places like the Netherlands and later to America, where they could practice their faith how they chose. In the American colonies, leaders like Roger Williams, who founded the first Baptist church in America in 1638, played a big role in promoting the idea of religious freedom—an idea that eventually became a core value in the United States.
Haha, yes, we hear this quite a bit! Sometimes our members and guests will also hear, "I can't believe you go to a Baptist church!" Some days we feel the same way. We admit that are a little bit quirky as far as most Baptist churches go, but at the same time, we're really proud of our Baptist heritage.
Several years ago, the church went through a process to consider changing our name. We wondered if the word "Baptist" in "Williamsburg Baptist Church" simply had too negative a connotation and discouraged some people from attending. Ultimately, we were split on the decision; about half of us wanted to keep the name, and half wanted to change it. For those who wanted to keep it, it was an important part of our heritage and identity, even if it does come with some of the "baggage." We decided we'd keep the name, with the understanding that we needed to be intentional in reclaiming the goodness of the Baptist tradition!
So what does it mean to WBC to be a distinctly Baptist church?
When we say we are Baptist, we mean that we seek to live into historic Baptist principles. Sometimes we'll say we are "historic Baptists." Believe it or not, once upon a time, Baptists were a rather rowdy, nontraditional-minded bunch of people!
The Baptist "denomination" (if you can call it such) started in the early 1600s in England during the time of the Protestant Reformation. Baptists were initially part of a movement that wanted to break away from the Church of England because they believed it was too closely tied to the state. At a time when most every person born in England was simply baptized into the Church of England, early Baptists felt strongly that only people who personally choose to follow Christ should be baptized.
Baptists faced a lot of persecution for their beliefs, and as a result faced fines, imprisonment, and worse. Historically, this persecution made Baptists strong advocates for religious freedom and the separation of church and state. Many Baptists fled to places like the Netherlands and later to America, where they could practice their faith how they chose. In the American colonies, leaders like Roger Williams, who founded the first Baptist church in America in 1638, played a big role in promoting the idea of religious freedom—an idea that eventually became a core value in the United States.
What are the main Baptist distinctives, then?
We often point folks to four key Baptist distinctives summarized by Walter B. Shruden in his marvelous little book, The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms :
The Baptist emphasis on freedom helps explain why there is so much diversity within the Baptist tradition! If each person can and should read and interpret Scripture for themselves, then the assumption is that we will not all agree on matters of faith and theology. That is one of the things that we think is quite beautiful about the Baptist tradition—it allows an awful lot of diversity to exist within it's broad umbrella! Of course, different interpretations of these four freedoms also help explain why there are such a wide variety of Baptist churches and Baptist organizations. Even though we both claim the name "Baptist," we find that we have some pretty significant differences from the Southern Baptist Convention, for example.
We often point folks to four key Baptist distinctives summarized by Walter B. Shruden in his marvelous little book, The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms :
- Bible Freedom - The Bible is foundational to us as individuals and as a community of faith. Baptists believe that each person has the freedom and responsibility to read and interpret Scripture for themselves, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Baptist tradition places a strong emphasis on individual freedom in this regard, with the understanding that there is also much to be gained from reading and interpreting Scripture together, thus pooling our collective wisdom as we seek to live faithfully in the Way of Christ.
- Soul Freedom - Baptists emphasize that all of us are in direct and personal relationship with God, without need of clergy or creed to mediate that relationship for us. We feel that clergy have a role in tending and nurturing the relationship, but ultimately each of us are accountable to God as individuals. This personal experience with God is indispensable to the Christian life and necessary for a vital and vibrant community of faith. Sometimes you will hear us refer to this idea as "the priesthood of all believers."
- Church Freedom - Each Baptist church is free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine their membership, leadership, doctrine, and practice. This is sometimes known as the "autonomy of the local church" and is distinct from other denominations where local churches are connected through presbyteries, conferences, and synods to one another, and must abide by the rules and regulations of their parent denominations. Local Baptist churches really are wholly independent, much like "small democracies" where each member has a vote in the life of the community. Individual Baptist churches often partner together through Baptist associations (and other organizations) to work together to support one another and achieve goals that one church by itself could not reach. Association in this regard should always be voluntary.
- Religious Freedom - Because of their own experience of religious persecution, Baptists feel strongly that everyone should be able to worship as they feel led without unnecessary interference by the government. Just as religious freedom involves the freedom to practice religion, it also includes the freedom not to practice religion. If you can't say "no," your "yes" is meaningless. The separation of church and state affords important constitutional protection of religious freedom for all.
The Baptist emphasis on freedom helps explain why there is so much diversity within the Baptist tradition! If each person can and should read and interpret Scripture for themselves, then the assumption is that we will not all agree on matters of faith and theology. That is one of the things that we think is quite beautiful about the Baptist tradition—it allows an awful lot of diversity to exist within it's broad umbrella! Of course, different interpretations of these four freedoms also help explain why there are such a wide variety of Baptist churches and Baptist organizations. Even though we both claim the name "Baptist," we find that we have some pretty significant differences from the Southern Baptist Convention, for example.
Do I have to be Baptist to attend WBC?
Not at all! These days, we represent quite a broad spectrum of theological and denominational backgrounds. We have long-time Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, non-denomination folks, and others in our pews. We also have people who are life-long Baptists, as well as people who really didn't belong to any religious tradition before coming to us! The beauty of the Baptist emphasis on freedom is that our tradition can hold a pretty broad range of beliefs and perspectives together in one community of faith.
If you join as a member of Williamsburg Baptist Church, we guess that makes you officially a Baptist! That being said, we continue to hold deep respect for our diverse religious roots, and you'll often notice parts of worship and Christian education informed by other traditions.
What about baptism and communion and other sacraments??
Like most Baptist churches, we observe two key practices that we call ordinances: baptism and communion. We call them "ordinances" rather than "sacraments" because these are the two practices specifically "ordained" by Jesus in Scripture. Rather than seeing them as necessary steps for salvation, we view them as symbolic ways to express our faith and obedience.
How do you all get along with other Baptist churches?
Rather well, for the most part! We experience a lot of grace and kindness even when we disagree on significant matters such as LGBTQ+ welcome and inclusion. We are not affiliated in any way with the Southern Baptist Convention, but have deep ties with many other Baptist groups. You can find them listed on our Community Partners page.
Why don't you have a statement of beliefs on your website? What does WBC believe, anyway?
Because of our commitment to the four Baptist freedoms listed above, we hesitate to list "our beliefs" because they are going to be diverse! Bible and soul freedom especially mean that it would be impossible to pin down one specific list of things that all of us believe. We recognize that that is pretty radical, but we also acknowledge that this represents the best of the Baptist tradition. It asks us to show a lot of grace toward and trust in one another when we don't agree. In practice, it works rather well because we just know that we aren't all going to agree on all of the finer points of theology! We're okay with that. We also trust that God is still at work in all of our lives. Faith is ongoing and dynamic, and we want to be open to God's Spirit leading us as individuals and as a community.
We are a pretty open-minded group of folks. And our identity as a BAPTIST church makes us pretty remarkably diverse! We believe a lot of different things, and we think that’s beautiful.
Not at all! These days, we represent quite a broad spectrum of theological and denominational backgrounds. We have long-time Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, non-denomination folks, and others in our pews. We also have people who are life-long Baptists, as well as people who really didn't belong to any religious tradition before coming to us! The beauty of the Baptist emphasis on freedom is that our tradition can hold a pretty broad range of beliefs and perspectives together in one community of faith.
If you join as a member of Williamsburg Baptist Church, we guess that makes you officially a Baptist! That being said, we continue to hold deep respect for our diverse religious roots, and you'll often notice parts of worship and Christian education informed by other traditions.
What about baptism and communion and other sacraments??
Like most Baptist churches, we observe two key practices that we call ordinances: baptism and communion. We call them "ordinances" rather than "sacraments" because these are the two practices specifically "ordained" by Jesus in Scripture. Rather than seeing them as necessary steps for salvation, we view them as symbolic ways to express our faith and obedience.
- We typically practice baptism by full immersion when people are old enough to make the choice for themselves. It is intended as a public declaration of faith and a commitment to following the way of Jesus. Like all symbols, baptism can mean a lot of different things to different people: for some of us it symbolizes our death and resurrection with Christ; for others it symbolizes the forgiveness of our sins through the cleansing waters in which we are immersed, and the new life we find on the other side. According to our bylaws and constitution, baptism is one of the few requirements for membership at WBC. That being said, if you were baptized in some other way in another Christian tradition (such as being Christened you were an infant) and that baptism is meaningful to you, we will accept that baptism and celebrate it with you! Please feel free to reach out to our church office if you are interested in baptism.
- Communion, also known as the Lord's Supper or the Eucharist, is a time in worship when share bread and a cup in remembrance of the Last Supper. We typically observe communion once a month, on the first Sunday of each month. Again, as a symbol, we recognize it can mean a lot of different things to different people. For some, it reminds us of Jesus's sacrifice on the cross; for others, it reminds us of our unity in sharing a common loaf and common cup; for others, still, it reminds us of the ways in which God sustains us and provides us with "daily bread" to be the presence of Christ in the world and in our communities.
How do you all get along with other Baptist churches?
Rather well, for the most part! We experience a lot of grace and kindness even when we disagree on significant matters such as LGBTQ+ welcome and inclusion. We are not affiliated in any way with the Southern Baptist Convention, but have deep ties with many other Baptist groups. You can find them listed on our Community Partners page.
Why don't you have a statement of beliefs on your website? What does WBC believe, anyway?
Because of our commitment to the four Baptist freedoms listed above, we hesitate to list "our beliefs" because they are going to be diverse! Bible and soul freedom especially mean that it would be impossible to pin down one specific list of things that all of us believe. We recognize that that is pretty radical, but we also acknowledge that this represents the best of the Baptist tradition. It asks us to show a lot of grace toward and trust in one another when we don't agree. In practice, it works rather well because we just know that we aren't all going to agree on all of the finer points of theology! We're okay with that. We also trust that God is still at work in all of our lives. Faith is ongoing and dynamic, and we want to be open to God's Spirit leading us as individuals and as a community.
We are a pretty open-minded group of folks. And our identity as a BAPTIST church makes us pretty remarkably diverse! We believe a lot of different things, and we think that’s beautiful.
Still have questions? Feel free to email us!