I have always told those who hear me speak to check out what I say. I am not inerrant. I will have failures and I don't have a direct line to God. The reason I'm a Baptist is because of the belief fo the Priesthood of the Believer. This is not a Baptist only distinctive. Other fine denominations and non-denoms believe this also. One of my Seminary Professors, James Leo Garrett, Jr, wrote a great definition for Priesthood of the Believer- click here. Priests in the OT were the mediators for the people to God. At the resurrection of Jesus, the great veil in the temple "was torn in two from top to bottom" (Matthew 27:51 NIV). This indicated that Jesus is our High Priest and we no longer need a mediator. Jesus is our mediator! We don't need a priest to go to God! We can come on our own. Baptists have always emphasized the POB. In recent years though, there has been an arrogance among those who have taken over the leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention. Some leaders say they know what is best for the convention. They are telling SBC churches, seminaries and missionaries what they must believe. It sounds to me that we are becoming Roman Catholic! I believe that the Bible is inerrent--the original manuscripts are without error. But no one's interpretation is inerrent. What if the one interpreting the scripture is out of fellowship with God? What if they are influenced by their own circumstances.

I love my Baptist heritage. I attended an SBC church growing up and was baptized there. I attended a Baptist Univerisity and Seminary. But we don't have a direct line to God! I thought part of being a Baptist was being able to disagree in love. I'm not always right! I am fallible. I am human.

But what is it about the present leadership that thinks they are the only one's who know best! They use the excuse that they have prayed about it. Well, so have others. I pray that we will go back to our roots and understand the Priesthood of the Believer! I would hate to get to heaven and find out that our view or interpretation was wrong and we didn't allow other believers to voice their opinion or interpretation and they were right!

Edited @ 5:21PM after further clarification of a quote by 2 professors.