Kentucky association deems church too Calvinistic

OWENSBORO, Ky. — A Kentucky Baptist association denied membership to a church after a credentials committee found its confessional statement too Calvinistic, according to a report in the Western Recorder. Daviess-McLean Baptist Association (DMBA) voted 104–9 to deny membership to Pleasant Valley Community Church in Owensboro during its annual meeting held Oct. 17–18, the Kentucky Baptist Convention news journal reported in its Oct. 25 issue.

“Our concern in the initial stages of our investigation revolved around the fact that Pleasant Valley Community Church’s confessional statement is one that (is) Calvinistic in nature,” the newspaper quoted from a recommendation by the association’s credentials committee. “While we know the doctrine is not heresy, we do recognize that it is vastly different than the majority of churches within the DMBA,” the statement noted.

Frank Page, head of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee, recently identified the growing influence of Calvinism as one of the biggest challenges facing the SBC.

According to a 2007 study by LifeWay Research, about one in 10 Southern Baptist pastors considered themselves to be five-point Calvinists. Page, a former SBC president elected as the Executive Committee’s CEO last year, said he hears often from churches struggling with the divide between Calvinist and non-Calvinist theology.