Southern Baptist Convention Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Ordinances=== [[File:Baptism at Northolt Park Baptist Church (cropped).jpg|thumb|Full-immersion baptism is the accepted mode of baptism among the Southern Baptist Convention]] Southern/Great Commission Baptists observe two [[Baptist ordinance|ordinances]]: the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]] and [[believer's baptism]] (also known as ''credo''-baptism, from the [[Latin]] for "I believe").<ref name="Reuters1" /><ref name="BFM2000" /> Furthermore, they hold the historic Baptist belief that [[Immersion baptism|immersion]] is the only valid mode of baptism.<ref name="Reuters1" /> The Baptist Faith and Message describes baptism as a symbolic act of obedience and a testimony of the believer's faith in [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]] to other people. The BF&M also notes that baptism is a precondition to congregational church membership.<ref name="BFM2000" /> The BF&M holds to [[memorialism]],<ref name="memorial">{{cite web|url=http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/basicbeliefs.asp|title=Basic Beliefs: Baptism & the Lord's Supper|year=2018|publisher=Southern Baptist Convention|access-date=9 August 2019|quote=The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members [...] memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His Second Coming.|archive-date=March 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312082918/http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/basicbeliefs.asp}}</ref> the belief that the Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience in which believers commemorate the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|death of Christ]] and look forward to his [[Second Coming]].<ref name="BFM2000"/><ref name="memorial"/> Individual churches are free to practice either [[open communion|open]] or [[closed communion]] (due to the convention's belief in congregational polity and the autonomy of the local church), but most practice open communion. For the same reason, the frequency of observance of the Lord's Supper varies from church to church. It is commonly observed quarterly, but some churches offer it monthly and a small minority offers it weekly.<ref name=Communionsurvey>{{cite press release| title = LifeWay Surveys Lord's Supper Practices of SBC Churches | publisher = LifeWay Research | date = September 17, 2012 | url = http://www.lifewayresearch.com/2012/09/17/lifeway-surveys-lords-supper-practices-of-sbc-churches/ | access-date = August 2, 2015}}</ref> Because the organization has traditionally opposed alcoholic beverage consumption by members, [[grape juice]] is used instead of wine.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-01-10 |title=Why We Don't Use Alcohol For the Lord's Supper at our Church by David R. Brumbelow |url=https://sbcvoices.com/why-we-dont-use-alcohol-for-the-lords-supper-by-david-r-brumbelow/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=SBC Voices |language=en-US}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page