About 300 board members, ministers and lay leaders of the Primitive Baptist denomination are meeting this week in Charlotte.

Although much smaller in number than Missionary Baptists, the Primitive Baptist denomination has been around since the early 1800s.

In August, the denomination will hold its annual convention in Greensboro, where an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 people are expected to attend. The annual board meeting this week is designed to prepare for that convention.

Qcitymetro.com met with board President Elder Ernest Ferrell, who pastors the St. Mary Primitive Baptist Church in Tallahassee, Fla., to talk about the genesis of the Primitive Baptist Church and some of the issues facing the denomination.

An edited Q&A is below.
***

Q. The Primitive Baptist denomination has been around for a long time, but most people are unfamiliar with it. How is it different than other Baptist denominations?
We Primitive Baptists like to say our name doesn’t reflect anything but the fact that we have been here a long time. We do have particular things that we believe in. We have three ordinances and 16 articles of faith. The three ordinances are: Holy Communion, baptism and washing of the saints’ feet. The washing of feet is somewhat different, but they are all scripturally based. We believe that if Christ did it, then we can do it all well. It was an act of humility to show that even the Son of God could stoop down, even with his enemies, and wash their feet.

Q. Do you know how many Primitive Baptist churches are in Charlotte?
I’m not sure of the total number, but we do have quite a few in this area. Mount Moriah Primitive Baptist, which is downtown, is an historical church. It’s been there for a long time. We are celebrating the 103rd year of the national convention, but we have churches that are over 150 years old. So we’ve been around a while.

Q. How is the Primitive Baptist denomination faring these days?
Christian churches biblically are expected to go through challenges, but I think we have to rise above it with our faith, because challenges are going to occur. Our churches, like other churches, are having some issues, but it’s not going to destroy us because we’ve come though so many things, certainly worse than we are going through now.

Q. What are the specific issues?
I think all denominations are struggling as it relates to the financial part of the church. The first thing that goes when people’s finances go is they cut back on the church. We are facing (financial) crisis like most churches are, like the community is. The faith of our community is falling because people are challenged more. Challenge is supposed to bring out your faith, but sometimes people who are not strong in their faith will allow challenges to diminish their faith. I believe that people who really know God, their faith is challenged but they overcome the challenge and they become stronger.

Q. Is the domination growing?
I think our denomination is growing more in some areas than in other areas. I think there is a decline in churches throughout the country, and our denomination is no exception. Some are doing better than others, but it’s happening everywhere. Nationwide I think maybe we have about 1,000 churches and maybe a half-million people.

Q. It seems that some of the fastest-growing churches are non-denominational. Why is that?
Well, they call themselves non-denominational, but non-denominational is a denomination. They are just breaking away from the traditional church. And just because they are growing doesn’t necessarily mean they are spiritually inclined. It could mean that people have a different expectation. They may like the way the music goes, or they may like the order of service. There may be something else besides whether or not it will make them spiritually stronger. A lot of our churches that are growing – and I can’t say most of them, but some – have more motivational speakers than pastoral preachers. They don’t really talk about Christ that much. They talk about prosperity. They talk about all the things a person can do to develop, but symbolically they sort of throw Christ on the back burner. Issues that affect us spiritually tend to be on a back burner. I believe a strong church is a church that stands on the word of God without exception. People like a crowd. They like to be a part of something that’s big and that’s growing, but narrow is the way that leads to eternal life. It’s not about the size of the church; it’s about the faith of the church.

Q. As president of the denomination, what keeps you awake at night?
My concern is that our church, and churches all over the country, must become more concerned about the soul of our people. We sometimes spend too much time on issues that do not have any kind of spiritual impact. Sometimes we get so bent out of shape about the little things. We’ve got families who don’t have food on their tables. We’ve got mothers who are the head of households and there is no income. We have young girls who are having babies out of wedlock and their mothers are not much older than them, and their grandmothers are not much older than them. There is nobody in the house with any wisdom. There is nobody in the house teaching the importance of loving people and respecting people and giving direction that is honest and clear.

Got news to share with Qcity readers? Email us at editor@qcitymetro.com.
Sign up for our weekly email newsletter below

Sign up for our Weekly Email Newsletter Email: For Email Marketing you can trust

Other Ways to Share Twitter Del.icio.us MySpace

Discussions and Submission Agreement