Statement of Standards

CURRENT TRENDS IN THEOLOGY

As a fundamental ministry, we take a strong stand regarding the current trends leading to the one-world church that is to come. Therefore, we oppose all movements which are leading in this direction. This includes Neo-orthodoxy, Neo-evangelicalism, the ecumenical movement, the tongues movement, the New Age movement, and any other movement leading to a discrediting of the Bible and the undermining of the fundamentals of the faith. We believe we should not cooperate with any ministerial group which has those who deny the faith or are actively involved in the above movements. We are also concerned about a recent trend of contemporary methods and music leading to a “user friendly” service which de-emphasizes the preaching of the Word of God. We will guard ourselves from using these contemporary methods and music to draw a crowd believing that the end does not justify the means.

I Corinthians 13:8-10; 14:1-40; Proverbs 22:28; II Corinthians 6:14-18; II Timothy 3:1-5

THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH

We believe the mission of the church is to fulfill the Great Commission given by the Lord Jesus Christ. In order to fulfill this commission, we must actively win souls, seek to get them baptized, and disciple them in the local church. This should be done in our local churches and through financially supporting missionaries who are seeking to do the same in other places.  The key to fulfilling the Great Commission is the planting of churches in our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and around the world.

Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 13:1-14:27

DRESS CODE

The principal of modesty should dictate the style of dress and personal grooming in both men and women. However, we recognize that there are sincere differences of opinion as to what constitutes modesty. No one is offended by a higher standard, but many are offended by a lower one. BCPM does not pass judgment on the issue of modesty and immodesty, but in our desire to glorify the Lord and guard the testimony of our ministry, we have elected to choose the highest standards. We also believe the principal of moderation applies to our appearance. Therefore, we will strive to dress in a manner that will not draw attention to fashion or  style. In doing this, we believe we should be able to keep the focus on the inner man rather than the outer man. Dressing in such a way to draw one’s attention to our appearance will detract from our relationship with Christ. We also see a trend toward casual dress when attending church services.  We believe it is important to look our best when attending services or ministering for the Lord. Therefore, we will strive to maintain the highest standard of church dress without being inappropriate.

Romans 14:13, 19-20; I Corinthians 8:8-13

MUSIC

In recent years, there has been a trend toward the use of contemporary music in our churches. We believe that we should glorify Christ in every area and much of the new music of today glorifies man and not Christ. We must be careful not only of the lyrics but the background music as well. There is a trend to compromise in this area and allow music that sounds like the music of the nightclub or the Nashville stage. We are opposed to this trend as we believe it is worldly. We also see a trend toward using “taped” music in churches. We are not against “taped” music but believe if it is used, we should know the background of the musicians and their testimony. If the musicians producing the “taped” music are godly people who love the Lord with a testimony of serving Him faithfully and the music is Christ honoring then we do not oppose it. If we do not know the musicians or the music is worldly in sound, then we are in opposition to it. However, we believe the best accompaniment is “live” musicians because they are able to feel the spirit of the song, the singer, and the service. They should be used whenever possible leaving “taped” music only for extreme circumstances.

I Corinthians 10:31; I John 2:15-17; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16

CHURCH RELATIONSHIPS

We believe in the independence of every local church. As a Independent Baptist ministry, we believe in establishing Independent Baptist churches which adhere to the historic Baptist distinctives. All church planters are expected to be sent out from Independent Baptist churches, be members of Independent Baptist churches, and establish Independent Baptist churches. Every church planted by BCPM will be considered an Independent Baptist church and have no tie to BCPM.

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