Statements of Faith

At some point this in the next few days i am going to finish off my first Baptist Principles and History essay. For part of it i am looking at whether it is important/necessary to have a statement of faith and whether creeds are important and why.

My basic premise at the moment is that they have a place in terms of our need to express to others what we believe. My issue is that they can often be used to exclude others who do not think exactly as we do and in the same way as us. Also they need to have enough flexibility within them to allow for a community of believers to develop and even change there views on certain things.

Has anyone got any insightful or helpful thoughts on this subject?