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Why Take "Baptist" out of Church Names?

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by jprieto, Jul 6, 2011.

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  1. jprieto

    jprieto New Member

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    I believe firmly that Baptists are the ones who truly teaches exactly what the Bible proclaims. There is much to be credited to Baptists in history, specially American History.

    WHY then are Baptist Churches taking out the word "Baptist" from their names?

    Denomination identification is VERY important so that church goers may know UPFRONT exactly how they will be taught God's Plan of Salvation, since that's probably where they will invite the people they are trying to reach.

    As Baptist, we believe salvation is obtained by repentance of sin and acceptance of grace available through belief in the death of Jesus Christ and His deity.

    I know local MEGA churches that still believe you can lose your salvation, specially if you stop going to church!

    God has no secret agents .... and baptists are God's people ...... why hide?

    Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Mark 8:38

    What say you?

    ps: please remember that non-believers may be reading your replies, so please keep your replies spiritual/gentle and not hostile, as my past posts were replied to.


    .
     
    #1 jprieto, Jul 6, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 6, 2011
  2. annsni

    annsni Well-Known Member
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    Well, I don't believe that Baptists are the only ones that are Biblically solid and know MANY churches under other names that are perfectly solid as well. As for why take "Baptist" out of the name, it's a thoughtful decision in most cases. In our case, we started a new church campus and decided that we'd not use "Baptist" since there was already a Baptist church very near by (KVJO, skirts only, etc. so not at all any church we're duplicating) and Baptist in our neck of the woods has a VERY stained reputation. Ask anyone around here and you get the idea of Westboro or Faithful Word as what Baptist is and that's not a true representation. So, as I said, we decided to not go with Baptist because of having to change our name fully anyway (we were "Town" Baptist church but now we were in another town so that would be weird - like having New York Baptist Church in Kentucky) and then when we started the third campus under the same name that we chose, the home church decided to keep the one name for all three churches and changed their name as well. It keeps us identified together. However, our beliefs and practices are the same.
     
    #2 annsni, Jul 6, 2011
  3. preachinjesus

    preachinjesus Well-Known Member
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    #3 preachinjesus, Jul 6, 2011
  4. jprieto

    jprieto New Member

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    But if the legit baptists renounce the baptist name to avoid being associated with westboro or other diabolic groups using the baptist name in vane ..... then the only people left using the baptist name are the bad guys --- it's good thing for the devil, but not too cool for God.

    It is better for the evil few to lose credibility than the righteous majority to turn over a good name.

    Let us keep on using the baptist name, so that we become the majority using it, and the public seing our good works will then be able to distinguish the good from the bad.

    In the middle east Americans are hated, should we therefore stop telling people we are Americans? God forbid! Let us continue to be Americans fighting for democracy worldwide, so that the good name (Americans) may one day be restored.

    Joel Olsteen is Baptist, imagine if the public knew that --- much healing would be restored to the baptist name.

    So if Christians do not have a good reception in your area, will you then identify yourself as "spiritual" and not "christian" ??

    Is that what's next?

    See Mark 8:38 "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

    Read Baptist history ... and be proud to be Baptist ... the world has much to thank us for!!

    Instead of hiding the fact that we are baptists, why not help the public reason: if westboro was indeed baptist in faith, why not then "love your enemies?" since that is what the bible followed by baptists teaches ..... get me?
     
    #4 jprieto, Jul 6, 2011
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  5. jprieto

    jprieto New Member

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    lol .... you are right, we may just go around in circle on this one ---- but someone has to move straight ahead -- to tell it like it is. So yes, kids, look .... they are staining the baptist name, our big ben ..... go and stop them!
     
    #5 jprieto, Jul 6, 2011
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  6. annsni

    annsni Well-Known Member
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    We are also a largely Catholic area and MANY Catholics will actually refuse to set foot in a Baptist church just because it's Baptist. Why? I have no clue but there was someone who would not come to our church for an event but then when they found out we changed our name, they did. Weird!! But they heard the Gospel and responded and now they know the truth.

    I'm certainly never going to take away the Bible or any of the orthodox teachings from the church but I'd rather be known as standing on the Word and not just a name. :)
     
    #6 annsni, Jul 6, 2011
  7. Jim1999

    Jim1999 <img src =/Jim1999.jpg>

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    I just changed the name of a telly show called The waltons. They are now just The Country Folk. Some people don't like country mountain living.

    If I wasn't a Baptist, I would be ashamed of myself!

    Having the name up front, it lends opportunity to explain who you are, and what you believe. A spurious name leaves similar thoughts as before, in my opinion.

    Cheers,

    Jim
     
    #7 Jim1999, Jul 6, 2011
  8. jprieto

    jprieto New Member

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    You won a soul for Christ ... how will it be known that is was because of your baptist belief that you shared your faith?

    Imagine many baptists living in your area -- or recently moving in -- how will they know you are also of the baptist faith if you dont have baptist in the church name?

    Must they visit dozens of wrong-teaching churches before they discover yours?

    Let God do the converting rather than human cleverness .... stand your ground, let others see that baptists (you) do goldly and good deeds, so that the baptist faith regain and maintain its integrity in the community.

    Again, read baptist history; there is much you as a baptist should be proud of. Many baptists in the past gave their lives for their faith as baptist believers .... so please do not hide being a baptist christian because of what your neighbors would think of you.

    The baptists are responsible for religious freedom in this country, for encouraging others to learn and study the bible, for revealing salvation by grace, etc

    .... why hide your denomination?

    Because more and more churches are leaving out the "baptist" word from their church names, the public is left to view baptists as members of westboro and similar racist churches

    if you only knew the joy of standing up for what is right

    and let God take care of results

    you preach
    others mentors
    then God converts

    forget about being clever by leaving the baptist word out of your church name

    best to pease God, than your community

    if churches do not identify with a belief (denomination), how will we know who to support? what if we support a church with westboro views? do you see how you are being part of the problem?

    If Baptist belief reflect Bible teachings, why hide the name?

    It would be interesting thing to see how you would identify yourself in the times of Christ? in the times of Paul?

    Would you had stood up? or found comfort in blending in?

    I'm sharing this with you in love, not in offense, for I am about encouraging and not attacking.

    stand up, stand out, hold on

    He will come back for us ... soon!
     
    #8 jprieto, Jul 6, 2011
  9. JesusFan

    JesusFan Well-Known Member

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    My Baptist Church decided at its incenption to NOT have the word Baptist in it due to the fact that many of the members came out from RC circles, and thought that the name baptist would make it hard to evangelize among the community due to negative connotations!
     
    #9 JesusFan, Jul 6, 2011
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  10. jprieto

    jprieto New Member

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    Hey Jim

    I love your signature

    It has changed me
     
    #10 jprieto, Jul 6, 2011
  11. glfredrick

    glfredrick New Member

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    Only someone living in an area where Baptist is accepted would fail to understand why it is removed in other areas or for some reason.

    As has already been said above, Baptist is a dirty word in some areas. Take my mother, for instance, born and raised a Catholic in Wisconsin, she was invited to a local Baptist church by a friend when she was about 12. Her father beat her when he found out. The beating stuck with her, even now that she is close to 80 years old. Baptist in that instance was not worth it. She still cannot bring herself to enter a church that might be the place where she found Christ. Her experience is typical of that region. When my wife and I became Baptist the entire family had a big problem, thinking that we had fallen in with a cult. I was already an ordained Baptist pastor before my parents ever stepped foot inside one of the churches where I was active, and that was emotionally troubling for them because in that place the name Baptist was on everything, everywhere.

    Now, take the Bible belt, south of the Ohio River... There, Baptist is a family name and if one is not a Baptist they are looked at with suspicion. Additionally, the churches that I have seen that major on being Baptist often preach "Baptist" from the pulpit instead of preaching Christ. I've been to far too many churches, services, preachings, etc., to think otherwise. Seen it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears. It is Baptist this, Baptist that. And, I sit there wondering why it matters!

    I greatly prefer to BE Baptist, but not talk about it so much. Seems to resonate with a lot of people also. Our church has grown to over 2500 in average attendance in 10 years without talking about being Baptist (SBC) save that the membership introduction spells it all out. We never mention it at all. Don't have to. We are following and serving Christ, which is our main focus and the goal of all our efforts.
     
    #11 glfredrick, Jul 6, 2011
  12. jprieto

    jprieto New Member

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    what if Paul called himself a "spiritual" thinking it would be hard to evangelize if he label himself as a "christian" since christians back then had "negative connotation" ??

    I encourage you to put baptist name back in your church name and let the power of the Holy Spirit work in the hearts of the locals in your community, rather than human cleverness.

    Christ is witnessing our debate

    which side favors him more?

    i say "stand up" and you say "blend in"

    which you think is what his disciples were told to do?

    it a matter of "sacrifice" vs "comfort"

    its what you have to endure that pleases God .... not how clever you blended it

    love you all
     
    #12 jprieto, Jul 6, 2011
  13. JesusFan

    JesusFan Well-Known Member

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    lets Let Jesus Decide this issue for all of us!

    per Him, he wants us as Christians be "wise as serpants, harmless as Doves!"

    So let us go out into our communities under jesus, not baptist or any other anme, as His name is ONLY name given among men by which We MUST be saved!
     
    #13 JesusFan, Jul 6, 2011
  14. glfredrick

    glfredrick New Member

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    I will make note of the fact that "Christian" in its context (Paul) meant "Christ follower." Baptist has no such connotations nor is it particularly scriptural. It is but one aspect that sets us apart, but others do likewise. The early Reformation distinctions are lost these days, and thankfully so. They led to war 500 years ago.

    Of note is the fact that many are also now distancing themselves from the term "Christian," choosing instead the term "Christ-follower." Too many "Christians" who are not, so the need to set oneself apart exists yet again.
     
    #14 glfredrick, Jul 6, 2011
  15. Earth Wind and Fire

    Earth Wind and Fire Well-Known Member
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    I concur with you on this....Several years ago in Northern NJ it was the Baptist Pastors themselves that were in favor of eliminating the "Baptist" as a name & reference point & when I asked them why , a pastor told me it was to attract Catholics & catholics will not set foot in Baptist Churches.....so its apparently just a numbers game. Messed up, right!
     
    #15 Earth Wind and Fire, Jul 6, 2011
  16. Tom Bryant

    Tom Bryant Well-Known Member

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    I'm not a great church historian, but I imagine that having the "Baptist" affixed to a church name is relatively recent.

    I know plenty of churches that have baptist in their name and that's it. I know churches with Baptist in their name that accept sprinkling, that regularly point out what they see as errors in the Bible and some who even accept practicing gays into their membership. So it isn't baptist in name. It's a set of doctrinal and church gov't beliefs.

    And before you ask, we have Baptist ion our name and will not change that. I just can't see acting like dropping the name Baptist from the church sign is all that important.
     
    #16 Tom Bryant, Jul 6, 2011
  17. Tom Bryant

    Tom Bryant Well-Known Member

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    Maybe it wasn't at all about numbers but about reaching catholics and getting them into the church to hear the Gospel.
     
    #17 Tom Bryant, Jul 6, 2011
  18. Deacon

    Deacon Well-Known Member
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    Curiously Paul never called himself a Christian!

    "Believer" better suited his purpose.

    Paul rallied against associating with various factions in 1 Corinthians 1:10.

    Rob
     
    #18 Deacon, Jul 6, 2011
  19. Tom Butler

    Tom Butler New Member

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    Those of us in the South, where there's a Baptist church every two blocks, can't really relate those those folks in what I call pioneer areas, where there may be one Baptist church in the whole town, if any. So I don't want to diminish what folks like annsi and her husband are up against.

    Having said that, there is a troubling aspect. It is, that in order to attract unchurched folks (or RCs), or others who have a bias against Baptists, one winds up actually having to veil the church's true identity.

    This strategy has risks. One is that an RC who visits such a church will eventually find out that it is Baptist in theology. Will they be upset that they accepted an invitation to church thinking it was not Baptist, and now they feel deceived?

    Maybe it's not a problem at all. Perhaps Annsi and others who've gone this route can give us the benefit of their experience.
     
    #19 Tom Butler, Jul 6, 2011
  20. annsni

    annsni Well-Known Member
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    See, we want to be known by Christ - not some more modern moniker. Interestingly enough, we've been to three Baptist churches on our vacations (VERY hard to find in coastal New England) and not one of them would be a church we'd ever attend again. Honestly, if I moved into this area, knowing what I know, I'd look for a church other than Baptist. I'd look at the names that don't have a denomination in it's name at all. Two churches around here I love are Grace Church and Shelter Rock. Both EXCELLENT churches that once had the name "Baptist" and who changed the names years ago and are doing a wonderful work.
     
    #20 annsni, Jul 6, 2011
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