BGAV’s Religious Liberty Committee will offer messengers a complimentary printed copy of this book and study guide during BGAV's 2026 Annual Meeting thanks to support from EverBless Foundation, Micah 6:8 Fund, and Cooperative Missions giving.

BGAV’s Religious Liberty Committee will offer messengers and pastors a complimentary copy of Walter Shurden’s The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms and a new, accompanying study guide written by Bill Bryan during BGAV’s Annual Meeting, November 9–11, 2026, at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. A digital version of the study guide is available for download below, and groups are encouraged to print copies for local use. Video links to “Being Baptist,” an additional resource prominently featured in the guide, are included.

The resource invites congregations to explore four convictions that have shaped Baptist life: Bible freedom, soul freedom, church freedom, and religious freedom. As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, the project encourages Virginia Baptists to consider how these freedoms inform their faith, congregational life, and public witness today.

Bill Bryan, author of the study guide, has served as senior pastor of Abingdon Baptist Church in Abingdon, Virginia, since July 2018. A pastor and educator, he has taught seminary courses in the United States and overseas since 1998 and teaches in the master’s and doctoral programs at B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary at East Texas Baptist University. Bryan holds Master of Divinity, Doctor of Ministry, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees and has served on BGAV’s Religious Liberty Committee, bringing both congregational experience and theological scholarship to this resource.

“Walter Shurden’s clear and compelling exposition of the four fragile freedoms, woven into the very fabric of our Baptist identity, crystallized for me what it means to be a Baptist,” Bryan said. “For the past 32 years, I have had the privilege of teaching and preaching these freedoms in the churches that I have pastored. I was honored to help BGAV develop a resource so that our Virginia Baptist family might better understand, preserve, and vitalize our four fragile freedoms in today’s uncertain world.”

Funding for the resource includes grants from EverBless Foundation and the Micah 6:8 Fund, alongside BGAV support made possible by participating churches’ generous contributions to Cooperative Missions. Together, these gifts make it possible to place the book and study guide in the hands of Annual Meeting participants at no charge.

The project reflects a shared commitment to helping churches engage religious liberty as a living responsibility. By supporting access to these resources, the funding partners are investing in congregational learning and thoughtful conversation about convictions that each generation must understand and practice.

Bryan’s study guide accompanies Shurden’s exploration of Baptist identity, inviting readers into conversation about the relationship between personal faith, the gathered church, scripture, and freedom of conscience. It also utilizes “Being Baptist,” a series of videos produced in the 1990s by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship  featuring experts in Baptist history and doctrine that relate specifically to each session’s content.  Churches can use the combined resources as a starting point for study and discussion beyond the Annual Meeting.

The project also recognizes the leadership of Shelton Miles, a driving force and a longstanding champion of religious liberty in BGAV life. As a lobbyist on behalf of BGAV to Virginia’s General Assembly, his commitment has helped bring renewed attention to the importance of teaching these convictions and passing them to future generations.

In the publisher’s note opening the study guide, BGAV Chief Marketing Officer Gary Long describes religious liberty as “a living trust, handed down to us and entrusted to our care.” That understanding gives the project its purpose: encouraging churches to receive their Baptist heritage thoughtfully and consider what faithful stewardship of that heritage requires now.

The resource offers pastors and church leaders an opportunity to bring that conversation home. Participants are encouraged to read the book alongside the guide and consider how the material might serve their own congregations.

BGAV expresses gratitude to Bryan, Miles, the Religious Liberty Committee, the funding partners, and the churches whose Cooperative Missions giving sustains shared ministry. Their contributions make this resource an expression of the cooperation it represents.

Annual Meeting participants are invited to receive the complimentary book and study guide during the event. Information about the meeting, themed “Heart for the Not Yet,” is available at meeting.bgav.org.

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Online Resources

Study Guide (PDF download)

The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms by Walter Shurden (Smyth & Helwys)

Baptist Faith and Message (1963)

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“BEING BAPTIST” CBF VIDEO SERIES

“Being Baptist: The Priesthood of All Believers” with Dr. Bill Leonard - Part 1 of 5

“Being Baptist: The Authority of the Bible” with Dr. Gary Parker - Part 2 of 5

“Being Baptist: Religious Liberty” with Carolyn Blevins - Part 3 of 5

“Being Baptist: The Autonomy of the Local Church” with Rev. Dr. Loyd Allen - Part 4 of 5

“Being Baptist: Believer’s Baptism” with Charles Wade - Part 5 of 5 (This video is not used in this study.)

Video series from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Media Collection. Archives and Digital Initiatives, Mercer University Library, Macon, GA. Used with permission from the publisher.

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BGAV RELIGIOUS LIBERTY COMMITTEE VIDEOS

“John Weatherford” with Wyatt Shelton Miles III

“Thomas Woolsey” with Bill Bryan

“James Madison and John Leland” with Ken Pruitt

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