Toward a theology of cooperation: A historical, biblical, and systematic examination of the compatibility of cooperation and autonomy among local Baptist churches

The consensus of Baptist tradition includes adherence to both local church independence and interdependence. From the earliest years after the 1609 genesis of the denomination as it now exists, Baptist churches have related to one another, often in formal associations and conventions. While denominations with no commitment to the doctrines of local church autonomy and congregational polity are exempted from this problem, Baptists by their ecclesiology are faced with the question of the compatibility of autonomy and cooperation. This requires an appropriate theology of cooperation.;This study begins with the prerequisite issues that establish the specifically Baptist context of interchurch cooperation. Topics such as biblical interpretation, the nature of the Church, the Kingdom of God, and ecumenism are investigated. These distinctives call for theological precision regarding cooperation among autonomous churches. The three branches of theology, namely historical, biblical, and systematic, provide the template by which to pursue this theology of cooperation.;The historical survey of cooperation among local Baptist churches, contained in chapter three, includes primary sources and evaluations of historians regarding cooperation among autonomous churches. The earliest Baptist churches formed associations and clearly articulated the doctrine and polity upon which interchurch cooperation was based. Baptists in America followed this pattern, eventually producing the Baptist denominational structure most intentionally designed for interchurch cooperation: the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The need for a theology of cooperation is apparent even in the SBC, for its promotion of cooperation is often based on pragmatic rather than theological motivations.;Chapter four provides an examination of the biblical basis for interchurch cooperation. Since reliance upon the absolute trustworthiness of Scripture was axiomatic in early Baptist thought, the Bible is the appropriate foundation for developing a theology of cooperation for Baptist churches. From the principle of the unity of the people of God in the Old Testament to the spiritual reality of Christian unity and explicit examples of interchurch cooperation in the New Testament, the biblical data necessitates both local church independence and interdependence. Spiritual and doctrinal unity, as expressed in John 17 and Ephesians 4, reflects citizenship in the Kingdom of God and is the theological foundation for cooperation and autonomy among local Baptist churches.;The application of systematic theology to the question of Baptist interchurch cooperation, contained in chapter five, includes theological observations and summaries of the Baptist doctrines of both local church autonomy and interchurch cooperation. The statement of the compatibility of these two Baptist distinctives includes the distinction of local church from Kingdom responsibilities, the necessity for doctrinal limits to cooperation, the autonomy of associations and conventions, and the theological danger of local church isolation.;Based on the biblical record and Baptist heritage, Baptist churches should cooperate. This cooperation must be grounded on the theological reality of the unity of all regenerate persons and clearly defined doctrine. These qualifications provide for the compatibility of autonomy and cooperation among local Baptist churches.