Still Baptist: A 1689 Reflection

Canterbury isn't the way forward

Dr. Matthew Barrett recently announced his departure from the SBC and embrace of Anglicanism. Honestly, I get it.

But from the vantage point of a 1689 Confessional Baptist who shares Barrett’s longing for depth, retrieval, reverence, and catholicity, I believe there is a better way forward.

The Confession

In his article, Barrett laments that the SBC did not adopt the Nicene Creed into the Baptist Faith and Message. Fair enough (The BF&M2000 is a topic for another day).

The SBC may have waffled on the creeds. But the problem isn’t “not enough Nicene.”

The problem is a thin ecclesiology and a half-hearted confessionalism. And the solution isn’t to leave Baptist theology behind, but to return to its stronger, older, and more confessional roots.

The Nicene Creed is already affirmed robustly by confessional Baptists. Chapter 2 of the 1689 LBCF articulates Nicene and Chalcedonian orthodoxy with great clarity and precision.

Not Polity

Barrett’s critique of the SBC’s obsession with image, and the culture of secrecy and spin that often follows, is another valid point. However, the solution isn’t Episcopal polity, it’s biblical congregationalism.

The confessionalism gives us elder-led congregationalism, where members are not passive, and pastors are not popes. Christ rules His church through His Word and by His Spirit, through the mutual accountability of a gospel-formed community.

Barrett highlighs the problem well. The SBC was never meant to function as a denomination in the traditional sense. It was established as a cooperative of autonomous churches partnering for missions and theological education. Still, over time, it has drifted toward a de facto denomination, complete with power structures, gatekeepers, and image management.

The solution isn’t more top-down control. The solution is older and better associations.

The 1689LBCF outlines them, not as bureaucracies, but as voluntary gatherings of like-minded churches for cooperation, counsel, and shared gospel witness. It's accountability without authoritarianism, and fellowship without forfeiting autonomy.

The Covenant

Here lies the real dividing line, and the poorest argument in my opinion.

Seemingly, Barrett’s shift toward infant baptism hinges on Acts 2:39 and a perceived continuity with Abraham.

But confessional Baptists stand with the Apostle Paul, who doesn’t leave that up for interpretation. He says plainly: “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed” (Gal. 3:29).

The promise is not to biological children, but to spiritual heirs. The sign of the covenant follows the substance. Faith, then baptism.

The Liturgy

I’m grateful that Barrett found a congregation that takes worship seriously.

I wish more Baptist churches did…

But the answer isn’t found in vestments or processions. It’s found in a recovery of the means of grace.

And unlike the performance-driven worship that Barrett rightly laments, the RPW forms a completely participatory liturgy. The congregation doesn’t spectate, they sing, confess, receive, pray, and respond. No one is watching a show, they are being served by Christ and responding together.

Yes, the Anglican liturgy may be beautiful, but beauty without clarity can be dangerous. A sacramental aesthetic that confuses sign with substance, or grace with gesture, will ultimately cloud the finished work of Christ.

The Catholicity

Barrett longs for catholicity. So do I. But catholicity isn’t about tracing a lineage through bishops. It’s about holding fast to the apostolic faith once for all delivered to the saints.

The 1689 Confession isn’t sectarian. It stands shoulder to shoulder with the Westminster Confession and the Savoy Declaration. It speaks with the Reformers. It stands under Scripture, but not apart from history.

This is why we can joyfully affirm the Nicene and Chalcedonian formulations. But we also go further, pressing into covenant theology, regenerate church membership, and a Christ-centered ecclesiology that preserves the gospel with precision and clarity.

Catholicity doesn’t require dressing like or mimicking Rome’s structure. It requires fidelity to the Scriptures, communion with the global and historical church in doctrine, and worship that is shaped by the Word of Christ.

Our tradition is not novel. It is retrieval done well and taken to its logical end.

The Conclusion

I haven’t left Baptist life. I’ve leaned into it.

Not a shallow Southern Baptist branding machine. But the deep, confessional stream of covenantal theology, ordinary means, and gathered worship.

To those weary of the SBC’s culture, don’t just trade it for Anglican sentiment. Go deeper. Go confessional.

And to Dr. Barrett: thank you. Your voice sharpened us. Your departure saddens us. But may it also drive us, Baptist and otherwise, back to the Word, back to the gospel, back to the church that Christ Himself is building.