First Baptist Church Auburn — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Tripp Martin (since 2013)

Founded 1838

Denomination Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)

Service Times Sunday mornings; (334) 887-8506

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.auburnfbc.org

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

Historic Baptist Christology assumed; creeds not directly named.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

CBF-aligned churches typically do not require inerrancy in the Chicago Statement sense.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

'Building Together' men's category mentioned; detail minimal.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Traditional Baptist sola fide language likely; not directly quoted.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

RED: Church Clarity rates 'Clear: Egalitarian.' Women deacons confirmed; CBF-affiliated with full women's ordination.

RED: Church Clarity rates as 'Clear: Egalitarian.' Women deacons confirmed. CBF-affiliated. Pastor Tripp Martin trained at Wake Forest (moderate Baptist seminary) and Mercer (McAfee School of Theology — progressive).

WARNING!

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Tripp Martin lead pastor since 2013 (Wake Forest MDiv, Mercer DMin — both moderate/progressive seminaries).

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Style not described on available page.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

'Serve community beyond it' — CBF focuses more on holistic ministry than conversionistic mission.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

CBF tends progressive on cultural engagement; egalitarianism and moderate Baptist posture are explicit.

WARNING!

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Homepage self-describes as Baptist with 'soul competency, congregational autonomy, and voluntary cooperation' — no explicit CBF affiliation text on homepage. External Church Clarity egalitarian rating retained as basis; local SOF not directly accessible via homepage fetch.

Disqualifier

Assessment

RED FLAG: Auburn First Baptist is a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) church led by Tripp Martin (Wake Forest MDiv, Mercer DMin). The church is rated 'Clear: Egalitarian' by Church Clarity — they ordain women and have had women deacons (Leland Cooper was first). Self-describes as 'A Unique Community of Faith, Learning and Ministry.' CBF affiliation and egalitarian stance places this outside conservative evangelical alignment. Near Auburn University. NOT RECOMMENDED for men seeking complementarian/patriarchal church framework.

#cbf#auburn-al#lee-county#egalitarian#women-deacons#red-flag#near-auburn-university

MOOP Engagement Tracker

How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

CBF affiliation and 1838 founding confirmed via site; 'soul competency, congregational autonomy, voluntary cooperation' is standard historic Baptist but used by CBF to frame moderate-progressive identity.

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source auburnfbc.org

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.