Re: Some churches dropping “Baptist” from the names
I find disturbing.
“Baptist” carries a significant message to the world
about the nature of that church. It is a congregation of baptized believers
voluntarily joined together for the purpose of worshiping God and carrying out
the commission of Christ. It indicates one of the two ordinances of the church
– baptism – and implies both form and purpose.
Re: Some churches dropping “Baptist” from the names
I find disturbing.
“Baptist” carries a significant message to the world
about the nature of that church. It is a congregation of baptized believers
voluntarily joined together for the purpose of worshiping God and carrying out
the commission of Christ. It indicates one of the two ordinances of the church
– baptism – and implies both form and purpose.
To drop the word from the title is misleading. If it is a Baptist
church, it ought to say so. When we lived in Arizona years ago, our churches
had to differentiate themselves from other Baptist churches, by the word “Southern.”
So, when we moved to a different place there, we would look for churches with
“Southern” and “Baptist” in their names. We would never
have considered a church without the word “Baptist.”
I am aware of the arguments for such changes – appeal
to todays young adults, decline in denominational allegiance, a decline
to reflect the nature of the fellowship of the church and so forth. I have been
a Southern Baptist for nearly 60 years and am proud of the heritage of my larger
Baptist family. I would be hard pressed to abide removing the word “Baptist”
from the name of my church. If I were new to a community and looking for a church
home, I would not consider any church not so named. “Baptist” means
a lot to me!
Walter Enete
Pineville