In this blending era when distinctives in doctrine and practice are carefully minimized or routinely ignored by the majority of religious entities and are unknown to the religious community and to the public at large, the necessity for clarity in the proclamation of those practices and doctrines that identify Baptists has never been more needed. A half-century ago when I entered the ministry, the basic doctrines and practices that have identified Baptists for nearly two millennia were common knowledge in this nation. Keep the Ordinances is a call to reemphasize the doctrines and practices that once clearly distinguished Baptists.