fear of the word "Baptist"

[Tom Butler]

I disagree with your characterization of how churches like ours and others make this decision and how we move forward.

I appreciate your perspective, and some of it makes good sense.

it was a missiological and ecclesiological decision not to include Baptist.

I understand. But it's another way of saying it was a marketing decision, which is a way of describing the image your church projects, as well as how to best reach the people for Christ.

 

[gb93433]

For years I attended a General Baptist Conference church here in the Twin Cities, MN. I would guess there were about 200 members and about 300 people in Sunday service attendance. I was never a member.

So much for the 50 year rich tradition of being known as a Baptist church.

Jesus is a 2000 year tradition.Making disciples is something Jesus taught. Any church that makes disciples cannot vaporize so quickly and be so easily misled by the latest guru.

 

[JohnDeereFan]

Do you all see the same thing where you live? I've noticed over the last 10-15 years that many Baptist churches are changing their names to names without the word baptist. What once was 1st Baptist Church is now "the Oasis" or "the Bridge". Does this mean the word baptist scares people away so we must have our church renamed to be seeker friendly. Am I mistaken or do feel the same way on this?

I was in a church once, years ago, that wanted to remove "Baptist" from it's name. It almost tore an otherwise good church apart.

I don't judge anybody who chooses to do it, but I wouldn't do it.

Baptists have a long history and I think we should honor that.

As for our church, we're not really a "marketing" church. Our attitude is that we're there to feed the sheep, not to worry about making ourselves more attractive to the goats.

To borrow a line from Popeye, we am what we am.

 

[gb93433]

I was in a church once, years ago, that wanted to remove "Baptist" from it's name. It almost tore an otherwise good church apart.

What will those churches do when they decline because they have not been making disciples but playing church?

 

[michael-acts17:11]

We are called believers in God's Word, not Baptists. In fact, the true church is not a religious organization with a sectarian name outside the "temple". Our modern view of the church more closely resembles the Roman Catholic Church than the church of Scripture. Although many are attempting to escape what we have become by leaving existing sects(denominations), they are still making the same mistakes: authoritarian structure, preaching in lieu of Biblical teaching & equipping, no focus on training men for eldership within the congregation, teaching from extra-Biblical books, etc.

 

[gb93433]

no focus on training men for eldership within the congregation

Why focus on training elders when they have not been tested by meeting the first requirement of making disciples?

 

[Tom Butler]

I was in a church once, years ago, that wanted to remove "Baptist" from it's name. It almost tore an otherwise good church apart.

I don't judge anybody who chooses to do it, but I wouldn't do it.

Baptists have a long history and I think we should honor that.

As for our church, we're not really a "marketing" church. Our attitude is that we're there to feed the sheep, not to worry about making ourselves more attractive to the goats.

To borrow a line from Popeye, we am what we am.

Good stuff.

I sometimes wonder if some churches' marketing--scuse me, outreach--strategy totally excludes the work the Holy Spirit.

 

[Tom Butler]

We are called believers in God's Word, not Baptists. In fact, the true church is not a religious organization with a sectarian name outside the "temple". Our modern view of the church more closely resembles the Roman Catholic Church than the church of Scripture. Although many are attempting to escape what we have become by leaving existing sects(denominations), they are still making the same mistakes: authoritarian structure, preaching in lieu of Biblical teaching & equipping, no focus on training men for eldership within the congregation, teaching from extra-Biblical books, etc.

In fact, the true church has a sectarian name--it's called Baptist, given to us by our enemies.

The church I serve does not fit any of the descriptions in your post.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "preaching in lieu of Biblical teaching and equipping..." I didn't know we could choose between the two. I thought we are to do both.

 

[David Lamb]

How did you get that "baptist" sign up there? I know the largest Baptist church in England did not have "Baptist" in the name and wonder if someone is playing games with that sign. Hmmmm.

God will get you, Jerome . .

Or if Peter Masters is really that warped.

The sign really is there. You can see at on a page at the Met Tab's own web site: http://www.metropolitantabernacle.org/Basic-Policies-of-the-Church

However, the name of the church is still "Metropolitan Tabernacle"; I imagine the words "Baptist Church (Spurgeon's)" were included on the sign as clarification.

 

[David Lamb]

Do you all see the same thing where you live? I've noticed over the last 10-15 years that many Baptist churches are changing their names to names without the word baptist. What once was 1st Baptist Church is now "the Oasis" or "the Bridge". Does this mean the word baptist scares people away so we must have our church renamed to be seeker friendly. Am I mistaken or do feel the same way on this?

No, I haven't noticed that here. There are baptist churches that have never had the word "Baptist" in their church name, like Falmouth Evangelical Church in Cornwall, and the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, but I can't think of one church which has dropped the word "Baptist" from its name.

I do know of several Plymouth Brethren assemblies that now call themselves something like "Thistown Christian Fellowship".

 

[Jerome]

Great Commission chairman Dr. Ronnie Floyd has recently renamed his northwest Arkansas chain of megachurches. No longer "First Baptist", now it's "CrossChurch Springdale", "CrossChurch Fayetteville", etc.

New slogan is: "Changing Our Name, Strengthening Our Identity"

http://crosschurch.com/portfolio/changing-our-name-strengthening-our-identity/

 

[Tom Butler]

Great Commission chairman Dr. Ronnie Floyd has recently renamed his northwest Arkansas chain of megachurches. No longer "First Baptist", now it's "CrossChurch Springdale", "CrossChurch Fayetteville", etc.

New slogan is: "Changing Our Name, Strengthening Our Identity"

http://crosschurch.com/portfolio/changing-our-name-strengthening-our-identity/

If that's not a marketing strategy, I don't know what one is.

Strengthening Our Identity? How about obscuring our identity?

But, I have an open mind.

 

[Salty]

We left within a year of the change over. In that last year they baptized two people.

The reason for the name change? ...it puts their missionaries at risk and causes delays in getting passports ...Also they say the word baptist is viewed negatively by the popular culture. The pastor says his wife HAS FRIENDS THAT WOULD NEVER ATTEND A BAPTIST CHURCH. I find that incredible, bordering on falsehood. ...

Or you could just go up on a Hillside and pray....

Just curious, why did it take almost a year to decide to leave?

 

[Jim1999]

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

Cheers,

Jim:sleep:

 

[InTheLight]

Or you could just go up on a Hillside and pray....

Very good work Salty!

Just curious, why did it take almost a year to decide to leave?

Changes were incremental, the new pastor was an engaging speaker, we had friends that attended there, there was a comfort level, etc.

 

[Batt4Christ]

Do you all see the same thing where you live? I've noticed over the last 10-15 years that many Baptist churches are changing their names to names without the word baptist. What once was 1st Baptist Church is now "the Oasis" or "the Bridge". Does this mean the word baptist scares people away so we must have our church renamed to be seeker friendly. Am I mistaken or do feel the same way on this?

This isn't just an SBC thing. The BMAA, of which the church I pastor is a part of - many of the new church plants - most often out West and North - are not putting "Baptist" in their name. And there are some fairly long-established churches even here in the "Bible Belt" or Arkansas that are changing names to remove "Baptist".

I have heard many efforts to defend the practice - and while I understand their reasoning - too many presuppositions about the term "Baptist" (and we can thank many yahoos for that, not the least of which, the Frank Phelps-types who have stunk up the title) - and the reality, in practice - our church plants have shown time and again that "Baptist" on the sign = closed minds among the unchurched they are trying to reach.

Do I like it - NO. But I also have chosen to not get too worked up, so long as the teaching and preaching is 100% scriptural and thoroughly conservative Baptist.