No one in the SBC will be “harassed” for holding to the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3)—including Nicene orthodoxy. But where he will feel pushback is when he starts wandering away from Baptist confessional commitments. To put it bluntly, no Anglican is going to feel comfortable teaching in our seminaries. We aren’t Anglican, and we never will be.

From time to time, people move from one Christian tradition to another. This is not a new thing, although sometimes it can be painful and unpleasant as one pulls up anchor, says goodbye to friends and loved ones, and heads for another shore. These things happen. And the best that we can do after all the conversations are done and attempts to persuade are over is wish each other well with as much grace as possible. That is why it is usually not necessary to comment publicly on such departures.

But Southern Baptists have just witnessed a departure that unfortunately may require some comment. Dr. Matthew Barrett, well-known SBC seminary professor and prolific author, has just published an essay explaining why he is leaving the SBC for Anglicanism. In his essay, he levels more than one broadside against the SBC and unfortunately bears false witness in the process (Exod. 20:16).

I won’t rehearse the whole essay here, but here’s the gist of it. Dr. Barrett says he is leaving the SBC not only because of the attraction of Anglicanism but also because the SBC has “officially rejected” the Nicene Creed, does not have the polity to sustain orthodoxy, covers up sin to protect its “image,” and perpetrates “spiritual abuse” upon its parishioners. These are serious charges made in public and for that reason deserve a public response. I’m sure I won’t be the only one to do so. But let me take them each in turn.

(1) Barrett claims that the Southern Baptist Convention has “officially rejected” the Nicene Creed. This mischaracterizes what happened in a recent failed-effort to add the Nicene Creed to the Baptist Faith and Message. At the time, I publicly opposed the proposal, but not because I oppose the Nicene Creed. Rather, it was because the procedural precedent was bad and because I think that if we are going to do this we ought to affirm all three ecumenical creeds. So I opposed the measure but did not oppose the Nicene Creed itself. Indeed, my own Southern Baptist church joyfully confesses every week the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. Characterizing opponents of that particular proposal as “officially rejecting” the Creed is a slander against faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. It also overlooks the fact that the SBC adopted a resolution just last month reaffirming its long held commitment to Nicene orthodoxy.

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