With the decline of baptisms, the desire for many seeker driven churches to drop the “Baptist” name, and the constant swapping of churches between non-denominational and Baptist churches, I was considering what happened to “Training Union”.
Once upon a time in the life of the Southern Baptist Convention was an hour before the Evening Worship Service devoted to Training the members of the church about what it means to be a Baptist.
As a life long Southern Baptist, I have no recollection of what the Original Training Union looked like, because it was twenty or thirty years before my time. But, I have heard my parents speak of it, and pastors speak of it.
A brief incomplete history of the Training Union, that remember is that somewhere along the way the name changed to “Church Training”–for whatever reason, then to “Discipleship Training” and the focus turned toward Christian basic discipleship, and then–in many churches, has become obsolete.
It is interesting to note that the original Training Union took place in the highest period of growth of the Southern Baptist Convention. Now, as many of these lifelong Southern Baptist Preachers, who where influenced by training union, are retiring our Baptism are beginning to drop and our denomination unity, identity, and focus has begun to drift.
Training Union was not gathering enough people to continue the “Program” many have said. But, is every member going to be a leader in the future, is every believer going to be a missionary, is every member going to be a missionary. No. When we make decisions based on growth, we forget the long term effect on the body as a whole.
It is time we reconsider “Training Union”. It is time we begin to teach future generations what it means to be Baptist.
Russia says
This is right here, in the present, not the future.
Wendy Darling says
It is funny you should talk about this today, because our church just began a Bible Study that teaches exactly what is in the Southern Baptist Doctrine. If I wwere asked I wouldn’t be able to tell you most of it. I was not raised “Baptist”, or even in church for a lot of my childhood, although I was raised on the Bible.
I wanted to take the class, but it is at the same time that I am leading a Women’s Bible Study on Esther. I hope they will do the class again sometime.