Bible Baptist

My Australian family, which is not religious, kindly indulges my desire to attend church when I go to visit. They ask me to choose one, perfrom a dummy run to take a look, and then my sister accompanies me to the chosen venue that Lord's Day. Australia is a more ‘Christian country' than Mother England; church-going is rather more common and the pool of Bible-teaching churches larger. I looked for a church which would be relatively small, traditional in its worship and faithful in its teaching. We reconnoitred three and chose the Tamworth Bible Baptist Church. We sang a psalm as well as some traditional hymns we might have at Salem, such as Come ye that love the Lord. The pastor preached well-nigh an hour on Mary the sister of Lazarus and they spent much time praying for missionaries (two of whom are sent to Scotland- and well might they receive prayer in that godless land). Interestingly, they sang their three hymns in immediate succession and the whole church was urged to memorise a Bible verse from the AV- three attempts at recitation were made.

Although I have an inherent nervousness of attending unfamiliar churches, it was good to be with like-minded brethren. There are few Sundays in the year in which I am not preaching at home or away, so to attend worship and not have to worry about the absentees, the choice of music or the propriety of the text is something of a relief. Curiously, the church’s statement of belief on its website states:

A Baptist is not a Protestant;

I am guessing this is a reaction against mainstream, protestant denominationalism which has characterised Australian Christianity. In a country like ours which had a reformation, during which agents of Rome burnt alive protestants for their evangelical doctrines, the moniker enjoys higher esteem.  

I pray God's blessing on the church's pastor and regular attenders.

Image by stempow from Pixabay