Bapticostal Movement - Southern Baptist Response

Southern Baptist Response

While the Bapticostal movement may be gaining support with individual churches in the convention, the movement has been met with official opposition. In 1999, a regional Southern Baptist association of churches expelled the Calvary Baptist Church in Marshfield, Missouri for the church teaching and exhibition of speaking in tongues and church members being slain in the Spirit.

More recently, in 2006 the International Mission Board passed standards for missionaries which would disqualify those who espoused opposition to traditional Southern Baptist doctrines of eternal security and a rejection of a salvific view of baptism, and also engaged in speaking in tongues or had a "private prayer language".

Following the new qualification of missionary appointments, the Rev. Dwight McKissic gave a sermon during a chapel service to students attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and announced that he speaks in tongues and uses a private prayer language and emphasized not taking a cessationist view of the charismatic gifts. Southwestern quickly distanced itself from McKissic's comments saying,

"Rev. McKissic’s interpretation of tongues as 'ecstatic utterance' is not a position that we suspect would be advocated by most faculty or trustees. In keeping with Baptist convictions regarding religious liberty, we affirm Rev. McKissic’s right to believe and advocate his position. Equally in keeping with our emphasis of religious liberty we reserve the right not to disseminate openly views which we fear may be harmful to the churches."

However, shortly after his election as president of the Convention, Rev. Frank Page expanded on his "big tent" view of Southern Baptists by saying,

"Churches must deal with charismatic issues and theology as a part of their own autonomous structure. I think that many charismatics function well within traditional Southern Baptist churches. In fact, we have several in our church. Some are more vocal and sometimes disruptive. Churches must deal with those kinds of attitudes on a case by case basis. Trustee bodies must do the same."

Mike Huckabee in describing his home church said in a sermon on December 2, 2007, "we tend to be a little Bapticostal where I go."