Over the course of the 20th Century, the American Baptist Association was founded, grew, and and gained strength and momentum as the churches of the Lord came together to fellowship in the Truth and the work of the Lord. The ABA went from being non-existant, to having several hundred churches, and even grew to include a couple of junior colleges, which eventually led to the founding of seminaries in various states. The mission program flourished, and though not as well funded as today's may be, saw many men heading to fields both stateside and foreign to reach people with the Gospel.
The association eventually grew to support Sunday School literature, a publishing house, a bookstore and several state newspapers to keep the brethren abreast of developments in the associated work, as well as strange doctrines and practices that might be creeping into the Lord's churches. Most of these newspapers also included great Bible teaching from the great leaders of the Missionary Baptist movement (B.M Bogard, A.J. Kirkland, I.K. Cross, etc).
The association never was intended to lord over the churches, rather it was subject to them and the votes of their messengers. Associational bodies were to be held accountable for the way funds were used. The split in 1950 had to do with some officials within some of the associated offices trying to cover up a major shortfall in Sunday school funds, whether monies sent to an associational school should be diverted to support a fledgling publication, and whether messengers should be ostracized for raising the questions of the afore mentioned practices and instances. When this came to a head, the association split, and the churches who still believed the association was subject to the churches continued with the American Baptist Association.
The years following the split saw great growth in mission work with many new churches being planted. In Texas, the Missionary Baptist Association was formed and began to implement mission practices and policies that would eventually see a flourishing state missions program. The churches grew in strength and number.
Today, many of those churches are looking back on the good 'ole days. Seminaries are running with near-empty classrooms and bank accounts and the associational spirit seems to be in decline. Some have taken the attitude that they can do things better on their own without involvement in associated work. Less than half of associational churches actually support the association's mission program.
Some have advocated that the association sell the bookstore. Some criticize the Christian education literature (Sunday School) put out by the Sunday School committee.
Others refuse to participate in the association because the association has churches in it that do not do things "the way I do." Others claim the associational mentality has departed from the scriptures. A host church employs an orchestra or a guitar player to perform a special, and suddenly the whole association is judged. Members of a certain church applaud a sermon, speech or special, and suddenly the association is accused of leaning charismatic. Others refuse to fellowship due to the wide array of views held in the association.
Labeling the American Baptist Association as departing from the truth is slanderous to the many churches of the association who are holding true to the scriptures and carrying out the work of the Lord. Accusations that association-supported missionaries are not doing the work of the Lord and are just living off the easy associational money is libelous to the many men who have dedicated their lives to the Lord's work.
The beauty of the American Baptist Association is that participation is on a voluntary basis. I like that. I am not saying that it is sinful to not participate. What I am saying is that participation in the association is beneficial for all involved.
More churches supporting the missions program means more funding for missions which means more missionaries can be fully funded on the field. More churches supporting the publishing house through the purchase of literature means more funding for the literature which means a higher quality of literature can be produced.
More churches attending associational meetings (ABA National, state, ABA Mission Pre-Associational, Baptist Sunday School Committee, etc) means the association becomes more accountable to the churches. It is through these meetings that the associational mission and educational efforts are steered.
More churches using associational literature can improve Christian education and discipleship in the churches using the literature. Sure, you can have good Sunday School without it. Literature, however, is a great aid to teachers who have not had the benefit of seminary education. It's a great tool that helps get more church members involved and helps the pastor be able to accomplish more by employing more teachers.
More associational support for seminaries will help produce better educated pastors and teachers. Don't tell me that these seminaries are educating men away from God's truth. That is a slanderous false accusation aimed at good men who have committed their lives to God's word. The support for seminaries goes beyond financial support. It means believing in what they are doing and encouraging young or new preachers who are entering the ministry to seek seminary education. It means supporting those students in seminary so that their families do not fall apart on account of poverty while they are being trained for ministry.
The American Baptist Association is an association of great churches who have an incalculable potential for the Kingdom of God. When I look out on the association, I see more than 300 churches in the Texas state work and 1,200 churches in the national work who are led by good men of God, who are sacrificing more than we'll ever know for the ministry of the Gospel. These men are discipling people who will in turn do things for God and others that we will never see. These churches are highly capable of associating and kicking the work of the Lord into high gear. I love the churches of the ABA, and the Missionary Baptist Association of Texas and feel blessed to be a part of this group. There is no better association of true churches in the world, in my opinion. (That's not to denegrate other Baptist associations, I just really love my associations.)
Now I understand that there are some looney liberals in our ranks, as well as some jerks. I don't care. I love this association, and would like to see more churches participate in our fellowship. Back when I was a kid, my grandparents had peach trees. We'd go out and harvest the peaches, and come back with about three or four bushels. (It wasn't really what I'd call an orchard.) Still, we'd pick the peaches. Usually, we'd find a worm in a few peaches. Those few worms did not stop us from picking and consuming peaches. Neither will a few liberals, modernists or jerks stop me from enjoying the fellowship of our association.
Currently, we have 1,200 churches in our association (an estimated number). If we come together in truth and begin truly supporting our associated work, ministries and Sunday school programs, I believe we can see our churches once again on the march, increasing both in number and strength. We'll see men surrender to the ministry and lead the Lord's churches. The number of pastorless churches will decline, and new mission works will open up as more men surrender to these ministries. The good ole days aren't behind us. They are still ahead. God Kingdom is not in decline, it has yet to be established on earth. Good things are ahead, let's move forward!
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