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Can We Collaborate With Churches Of Different Denominations?

 • Series: Straight Truth Podcast

The sermon links below, were delivered from the pulpit of Founders Baptist. These sermons relate to some of the main things Dr. Caldwell spoke about today in the podcast. If you are interested in gaining a broader, more informed perspective on these issues, consider listening. This week on the Straight Truth Podcast, Dr. Josh Philpot has questions for Dr. Richard Caldwell regarding cooperating with other denominations of the Christian faith. The kind of cooperation that he has in mind would involve working intimately with leaders, churches, and organizations that broadly confess the name of Christ. We know of these kinds of movements that have happened in the past. There have been ecumenical movements that have come together to share the gospel. There have been different denominations that come together in efforts to help the poor, homeless, and destitute. There has even been a harmonious establishment of Catholics, evangelicals, and para-church ministries working together with the impetus to bring about social reform in the culture. Dr. Philpot asks Dr. Caldwell if these are things that Founders Baptist Church would do and would Dr. Caldwell participate in these sorts of things. Dr. Philpot posits several scenarios for Dr. Caldwell so that we might understand why he would or would not participate in such activities. The first scenario – Would Founders Baptist Church cooperate with other churches in the City of Houston to support missionaries? What about cooperation for evangelistic efforts in the city; or possibly for gathering in a large prayer meeting? Dr. Caldwell says that there are places where we can cooperate with our brothers and sisters who are not exactly where we are. The one nonnegotiable is the gospel. Some questions need to be asked: Is the gospel rightly communicated? Is it being pragmatically presented? Is there a right view of God and Scripture? Dr. Caldwell shares that these things are essential. We must agree that man’s greatest need is the forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with his creator. If we agree on this and we agree on these other main things, then we can participate in certain events with other evangelicals. If we agree on first-order doctrines, then we can cooperate with others. (These first-order doctrines are also referred to as “essential”, “primary”, “first-tier”, and “core”.) The second scenario – Could Founders Baptist Church and Dr. Caldwell himself participate in a large crusade or evangelistic effort that would include many others on the platform coming from a wide variety of faith spectrums? Dr. Caldwell says he could not and that this ties into the first question and the answer he gave to it. We want to be sure that whomever we might be cooperating with is a healthy source of spiritual information. For example, he says, how should we think about cooperation with a Roman Catholic Priest? Do we talk and speak about the same gospel? Do we have the same standard of authority? Would our participation be a nod of approval that is safe for those with whom we wish to share the good news? Dr. Caldwell says no, so no, we would not cooperate with a church or denomination that we didn’t believe to be healthy at the gospel level. The third scenario – What about cooperating with Roman Catholics and others for the unborn? Can we work with them on initiatives such as supporting crisis pregnancy centers? Dr. Caldwell says that we may find both ourselves contributing to a crisis pregnancy center, perhaps, even the same center. But he says he would not go out looking to join arms with them on moral issues. He does not see moral reformation as the calling and mission of the church. We, as a local church, have a specific ministry as is set forth in the great commission. But as individual Christian citizens, we engage in other things. Dr. Philpot puts forth two other scenarios for Dr. Caldwell. He asks Dr. Caldwell about having conference speakers at Founders from different denominations and having men to preach from the pulpit at Founders on Sundays that aren’t Baptist. The answers Dr. Caldwell gives for both ties into the answer he gave for the first scenario and question. Men that come to speak and teach at Founders Baptist Church must be men who believe the Bible is the Word of God, that it has authority, and that it is inerrant. They must be faithful to the Scriptures and faithful to the gospel. He explains that because there is agreement on the main things, some other differences can be set aside.