Baptists frequently make headlines. Some stories make us proud to be called Baptist. Others make us feel embarrassed, sorrowful or even angry. Some stories picture Baptists as a bunch of feuding, fussing and fighting, religious fanatics. With such diverse beliefs and practices among over 300 different American denominations and other faith organizations that include the word “Baptist” in their name, it is obvious that in some key ways, many such groups are far from what our historic founders meant when they called themselves “Baptist.” From their beginnings, Baptists emphasized freedom as the glue that held together all of their other beliefs. That emphasis did not promote human sufficiency, self centeredness or irresponsible pride. Actually, it was the opposite.

If you were asked, “What’s the essence of your faith?” what would you say? In our complex lives, sometimes it seems that the things we are supposed to believe and do are so complicated and complex that we miss the essence, the core of our faith. Like a healthy relationship between two people, many elements are involved. But, the one element, which is the foundation or core element upon which all the others stand or fall, is freedom. Freedom does not mean “doing whatever I want.” No. Freedom means, being able to be and do what God wants for me and for others around me. True freedom is life-giving. It does not hinder, but rather enables. The essence of faith is its freeing quality.

The Woodland ministerial staff are going to blog about various topics.

What is a blog? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

A blog (a contraction of the term "web log") is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.