Chapter 16: every tradition · Christianity
American Baptist Churches USA
A congregation of American Baptist Churches USA, the mainline Baptist body descended from the Northern Baptist Convention and among the most racially diverse in American Protestantism. Each church is the basic unit of mission: it owns its building, calls its own pastor with help from its region's executive minister, recites no creed, and sets its own worship, teaching, and practice. Believers are baptized by full immersion and the Lord's Supper shared monthly at an open table. Women have been ordained since 1882 and serve as pastors and regional leaders. Churches give voluntarily through United Mission and four annual offerings. Same-sex marriage is a local and contested question: national policy is traditional, but some churches publicly welcome and affirm. Congregations differ widely: a reserved New England or Midwestern service with organ and choir, or a Black Baptist church's expressive worship, which is its own variant here.
All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it; How people feel, what every factor is.
At a glance
| Faith | Christianity |
|---|---|
| Its words | church, church, sanctuary; the pastor leads the service; the sermon; Sunday; the Bible |
| Worship | word focus, reserved, moderate formality (0.67 of 1); seated on pews |
| Music | organ expected; choir expected; chant discouraged; recorded discouraged |
| The room's sound | likes a ringing room (organ and choir) |
| Its year | western, american baptist offerings; full observance; fasts none |
| Leans | neutral on moral questions, liberal on economic ones |
| Polity | congregational; leaders come by call; property local |
| Leaders | one leader, full time, trained by seminary; marriage any |
| Belonging | moderate commitment, pastoral discipline, admitted by vote; exclusive |
| Giving | tithing taught; collected by pledges, plate, online; also rentals |
| Way of life | alcohol moderation, dress casual, sabbath relaxed |
The week's services
| Day | Time | Service | Led by | People look for it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 10:00 am | Preaching service | the pastor | expected |
| Wednesday | 7:00 pm | Prayer meeting and Bible study | the pastor | optional |
- Leader: a pastor. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the services are still held, but each costs everyone at it 0.10; on sabbatical a supply pastor stands in ($800 a month) for a little less.
- Communion (monthly), passed among the people: nothing needs to be placed to serve it. People receive from age 9; anyone younger who comes forward is blessed instead.
- Baptism: needs a baptistry or an immersion font, built and installed; until there is one, those wanting baptism wait.
- Lay helpers at each service: Required: 2 deacons (at communion).
Rites
- Child Dedication (per birth, +0.02 to those there): Parents bring their baby to the front, promise to raise the child in the faith, and the pastor prays a blessing over the family while the congregation promises to support them.
- Right Hand of Fellowship (per joining, +0.015 to those there): New members are welcomed at the front, and the pastor and deacons, and often the whole congregation, give them the right hand of fellowship.
- Ordination Council (on request, +0.02 to those there): Pastors and deacons from neighboring churches examine a candidate's call, beliefs and life. If the council recommends it, the church ordains them in a service with the laying on of hands.
Baptism, confirmation, and joining
- Baptized elsewhere: it recognizes a believer's baptism by immersion. Someone so baptized is received at a service after about 2 weeks (a week from another of its churches).
- Not baptized (or baptized where it doesn't recognize it): a candidate who is baptized and received at the same service.
- Joining age: children baptized as believers are members at once.
- The church's children are baptized as believers at about 10, most within a year or two of it.
- Kinds of belonging: members (votes, may hold office); received by a vote of the members.
- What it means: being baptized, confirmed, or received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home each Christmas Eve and Easter for ten years.
Giving, and what goes up
How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.
- How it's given: the offering, by pledges, a plate passed at each main service, and giving online. A visiting household puts $5 to $25 in the plate. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
- Pledges: a pledge drive each November for the year to come: a household with a member pledges with a chance of 0.9 × its engagement (a household of regulars, 0.3), about three quarters of what it could give, paid monthly from January and falling behind as it grows unhappy.
- Renting space: its congregations are known for it, so tenants pay 15% more.
- Fundraisers: only the modest ones (below).
- Owed above: United Mission, 4% of what it takes in, to the Region (voluntary).
The pastor, the staff, and who decides
- How the pastor comes: advertised and called: the members vote.
- Paid: full time; housed or given an allowance, as you set.
- Candidates: three apply; trained at seminary; women among them (about a third); most married; about one married candidate in seven comes as a couple, caring for 75 more.
- Tenure: settled for about 7 years, then may be called elsewhere; an interim serves through the search.
- Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational pastor ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Pastor ($55,000–$85,000 + $18,000 benefits, full time; cares for 150)
- Associate pastor ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Choir director / organist / pianist ($15,000–$35,000; leads the music (up to +0.06))
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Church secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Its boards: the church council (deciding, over everything); the deacons (deciding, over calls and the spiritual life); the trustees (deciding, over the building).
- Renovations: The members vote.
- New construction: The members vote.
- Calling a leader: The members vote.
- Who votes: members, 16 and over.
Life together
What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.
- Ministries of its own: Choir.
- Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
- Fundraisers of its own: Soup supper.
- Shared fundraisers it may hold (only the modest ones): Bake sale, Car wash, Raffle, Rummage sale.
- Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, A twelve-step group, Another congregation, Dance classes, Parties and receptions, Polling place and forums.
- Auxiliaries: American Baptist Women's Ministries.
- Outreach: invitation Sunday, planting a new church (Community → Evangelism).
- Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): A petition for cushions, The bells, again.
- Dilemmas its code of life brings: A candidates' forum, A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.
What the building needs
- required BaptistryBeliever's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
- required Communion tableThe Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
- required PulpitPreaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
- required sacristyVestments, sacred vessels, and paraments are kept and prepared in a sacristy.
- expected Choir stallsA choir leads the singing and needs a place to stand or sit together.
- expected Communion traysThe bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows.
- expected Pipe organThe congregation expects hymns led by an organ.
- discouraged CrucifixThis tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
- discouraged Flaming chaliceThe flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
- discouraged IconIcons are not part of this tradition's worship.
- discouraged StatueStatues are not part of this tradition's worship space.
What people here feel
- Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.028; Modern synagogue +0.046; Gurdwara +0.052; Japanese temple +0.056; Islamic +0.05; Shinto shrine +0.05; Chinese temple +0.044; Dravidian temple +0.038; Nagara temple +0.038; Thai temple +0.038; Jain marble +0.032; Gothic +0.026.
- Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
- Acoustics: it wants a ringing room, about 3.4 seconds of reverberation: stone, plaster, a high ceiling. Up to ±0.05.
- Seasonal decor: it keeps the church year: paraments and the season's decor are worth up to ±0.027.
- Solar panels: leaning liberal, it's glad of them (+0.02 at every service).
- The sermon lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the pastor's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
- Communion: each communion service runs longer; a slow one costs 0.05 for every 10 minutes the service runs over (0.2 at most).
How each sermon lands
The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.
- Social Justice Call+0.06
- Care for Creation+0.04
- Healing for All+0.04
- Wealth & Poverty+0.04
- Welcome the Stranger+0.04
- Biblical Stories+0.015
- Blessed Are the Peacemakers+0.015
- Called by Name+0.015
- Doubt & Faith+0.015
- Eternal Life & Resurrection+0.015
- Grace & Forgiveness+0.015
- Gratitude+0.015
- Hope & Comfort+0.015
- Joy in All Things+0.015
- Love One Another+0.015
- Sabbath Rest+0.015
- Saints & Witnesses+0.015
- Servant Leadership+0.015
- Songs of the Psalms+0.015
- Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
- The Church Year+0.015
- The Life of Prayer+0.015
- The Parables of Jesus+0.015
- Faith & Family-0.02
- Faith of Our Fathers-0.02
- Interfaith Understanding-0.02
- Obedience & Discipline-0.02
- Personal Holiness-0.02
- Reading Scripture in Context-0.02
- Resisting Temptation-0.02
- Spiritual Warfare-0.02
- Swords into Ploughshares-0.02
- The Authority of Scripture-0.02
- The Great Commission-0.02
- The Prophets' Call-0.02
- Women Who Led-0.02
- Marriage as God Designed-0.03
- Racial Justice & Reconciliation-0.03
- Radical Inclusion-0.03
- Sanctity of Life-0.03
- The Last Days-0.03
- Fire & Brimstone-0.04
Every item, for this tradition
Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.
| Item | Fit | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Seating | ||
| Box pew | +0.333 | |
| Choir stalls | +0.667 | expected A choir leads the singing and needs a place to stand or sit together. |
| Meeting bench | no fit | |
| Oak pew | no fit | |
| Row of chairs | 0 | |
| Liturgical furniture | ||
| Altar | +0.333 | |
| Baptismal font | +0.333 | |
| Baptistry | no fit | required Believer's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it. |
| Bishop's chair | +0.333 | |
| Brass eagle lectern | +0.333 | |
| Columbarium niches | +0.333 | |
| Communion rail | +0.333 | |
| Communion station | no fit | |
| Communion table | no fit | required The Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper. |
| Communion trays | no fit | expected The bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows. |
| Confessional screen | no fit | |
| Coptic cross | 0 | |
| Epitaphios | -1 | |
| Flaming chalice | -1 | discouraged The flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol. |
| Foot-washing basins | no fit | |
| Haikal screen | -1 | |
| Iconostasis | -1 | |
| Immersion font | +0.333 | |
| Lectern | no fit | |
| Litany desk | +0.333 | |
| Mercy seat | no fit | |
| Octagonal stone font | +0.333 | |
| Paraments | no fit | |
| Pulpit | no fit | required Preaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform. |
| Readers' desks | no fit | |
| Rood screen | -1 | |
| Sanctuary lamp | +0.333 | |
| Tabernacle | +0.333 | |
| Three-bar cross | 0 | |
| Thurible and stand | no fit | |
| Music | ||
| Brass band stands | 0 | |
| Chanter's stand | -0.333 | |
| Drum kit | 0 | |
| Electronic organ | +1 | |
| Grand piano | 0 | |
| Hammond organ | 0 | |
| Handbell table | 0 | |
| Pipe organ | +0.667 | expected The congregation expects hymns led by an organ. |
| Sound system | 0 | |
| Upright piano | 0 | |
| Decor | ||
| Advent wreath | no fit | |
| Banner | 0 | |
| Christmas Eve candles | no fit | |
| Cross | 0 | |
| Crucifix | -1 | discouraged This tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix. |
| Easter lilies | no fit | |
| Eternal flame | no fit | |
| Flag of the church | 0 | |
| Great dome | +0.333 | |
| Icon | -1 | discouraged Icons are not part of this tradition's worship. |
| Memorial plaque | no fit | |
| National flag | 0 | |
| Painting of Christ | 0 | |
| Paschal candle | no fit | |
| Plain spire | no fit | |
| Small dome | no fit | |
| Stained glass window | +0.333 | |
| Statue | -1 | discouraged Statues are not part of this tradition's worship space. |
| Steeple and bells | +0.333 | |
| Votive candle stand | no fit | |
| Furnishings | ||
| Alms box | no fit | |
| Coffee pot | no fit | |
| Commercial coffee pot | no fit | |
| Computer | no fit | |
| Crib | no fit | |
| Desk | no fit | |
| Desk chair | no fit | |
| Folding table | no fit | |
| Full-length mirror | no fit | |
| Pillar | +0.333 | |
| Prie-dieu | +0.333 | |
| Projection screen | 0 | |
| Vestment cabinet | +0.333 | |
| Wooden table | no fit | |
| Utility | ||
| A/V rack | no fit | |
| Camera | no fit | |
| Cast-iron boiler | no fit | |
| Central air conditioner | no fit | |
| Commercial HVAC plant | no fit | |
| Commercial stove | no fit | |
| Congregation van | no fit | |
| Ductless heat pump | no fit | |
| Electric wall heater | no fit | |
| Gas furnace | no fit | |
| Hearing loop | no fit | |
| Lift | no fit | |
| Packaged heat pump | no fit | |
| Plumbing stack | no fit | |
| Ramp | no fit | |
| Shuttle bus | no fit | |
| Sink | no fit | |
| Solar panels | no fit | |
| Stairs | no fit | |
| Toilet | no fit | |
| Used school bus | no fit | |
| Wall camera | no fit | |
| Window air conditioner | no fit | |
| Grounds | ||
| Evergreen tree | no fit | |
| Flower bed | no fit | |
| Fountain | no fit | |
| Garden bench | no fit | |
| Hedge | no fit | |
| Lychgate | +0.333 | |
| Playground | no fit | |
| Shade tree | no fit | |
| Standing cross | no fit | |
Variants
Chosen when you found the church:
- Black Baptist: its own services: Black church worship, sunday at 11:00 am; Prayer meeting and Bible study, wednesday at 7:00 pm; its own school, formality, expression, altar call; its own music; its own lifestyle; its own giving; its own calendar; its own leaders