Southern Baptists have prepared a statement of generally held convictions called the Baptist Faith and Message. It serves as a guide to understanding who they are. Copies are available at FBCA. Here are some highlights:
God
"There is one and only one living and true God... The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being."
The Scriptures
"The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God's revelation of Himself to man... It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter... The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ."
The Church
"A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel...and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.... This church is an autonomous body... The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages."
Salvation
"Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense, salvation includes regeneration, sanctification and glorification."
The Kingdom
"The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly, the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ... The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age."
Evangelism & Missions
"It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. ...to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort..."