Southern Great Commission Baptists???
The Southern Baptist Convention decided this week to sort of, kind of, not really change its name this week. The legal name will remain the same, but a modifier has been added. In addition to, or in substitution of, SBC churches may call themselves, Great Commission Baptists.
I know that my regular followers have been wondering where the Deuceology blog post about this has been. They know that I have been a lifelong Southern Baptist and are wondering what I think about it. So, here goes.
I don’t care.
I hope that wasn’t too anti-climatic. I simply don’t care what the name of the denomination of my local church.
I understand all the sides of the issue.
Are you really a Southern Baptist if your church is in Massachusetts or Kenya?
The name is offensive to some due to the origination being tied to the South and slavery.
Some are proud, like the leadership of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, of the Southern Baptist name. They do not see the need of any sort of change.
Again, I don’t really care. I’m not terribly proud or ashamed of my Southern Baptist heritage. I’ve never felt the need to apologize to anyone for what my ancestors did. All of that is history. I don’t ignore it , but neither do I fly a banner or allow it to trip me up.
My concern is whether people know Christ.
If I call myself a Great Commission Baptist in New England, and people know Christ, then that’s what I want.
If I call myself a Southern Baptist in the Bible Belt , and people know Christ, then it’s a win.
I won’t boast in either one.
All I want to do is boast in Christ.
Are you a Southern Baptist? Do you care about the name? Are you okay with this non-change change? Did you even know about it?
I am not and never have been a SB. And i still don’t care.
My question is why the names anyway? Can’t we just call ourselves Christians or Christ-followers and be done with it? Back from my black out, or is it more PC to say dark out?
I can’t argue with that. The main reason we have this denomination is to support missions. The problem is that it becomes like politics. Some people will vote for their party no matter what. Same with the denomination.
My longstanding view point on denomination names is this. It is a secretive attack on the Christian church by none other than Satan himself. Nothing divides the body of Christ more than putting a label on it and calling any one certain label better than the next because of a historical background.
The only good I see in it is that it gives me an instant general idea if what the theology is. My sister goes to a non-denominational non-branded church. Someone I know thinks she is going to a cult church because of that.
I’m glad to see the SBC doing a little bit of tweaking. I’m not SB, but I know that young people across the nation are leaving denominations, and I personally think that’s what sparked the name change. More 20s and 30s aren’t connecting so they figure a name change might help keep the younger ones in the denom. Good or bad we’ll know in the next 5 years.
The abbreviation the SBC is suggesting is GCB. The problem is, that is also the name of a show about to come out on ABC that was previously called “Good Christian Belles” and before that had the title of the book it’s based on “Good Christian B*****.” So…uh…yeah, way to do your research SBC. I think the show even already has the associated twitter account and Wikipedia article. (Sidenote: the SBC doesn’t exist outside the US technically. IMB missionaries work with the countries denominations or remain unaffiliated as an intentional decision to help the SBC focus on the local churches, not a global empire).
I should have picked up on the show and book since I wrote a post about it.
I’m a southern Christian. (South Texas)
We do things alittle different around here…beer is bad and so is cussing…
up north…we have drinkin cussing Christians…
I don’t care…
I don’t care…
What are we doing for Christ?…
I’m a Christ follower.
There is the best point of the day. I’m that. I just happen to have always worshipped in a SBC church. Next weeks it may be a GCB church. The problem is that identify ourselves as X and want everyone we associate to be X. We should identify with Christ
I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and was baptized and am and always have been member or a SBC. I couldnt agree more that, “i dont care.” So many people get so caught up in the politics of church and they put so little emphasis on winning lost soul to Jesus.
I am proud to be Baptist, even to be a part of the second largest Christian organization second only to the catholic church, in the world.
And as I stated in my blog yesterday, faithful servant, and The Duece pointed out in this one, whats done is done. If I repent my sins He is faithful to forgive.
Its time as Christians, we come together and worry about teaching Gods word and the message of Jesus Christ to the lost and dying world instead of worrying about a name. A lot of claiming Christians need.to learn Gods word before He will ever be able.to use them.!….thx Duece
In my time on the Way (what Jesus following folk were called before Antioch), I’ve worshipped at:
A Charismatic church
Assemblies of God Churches
A Vineyard
A Nazarene church
A Calvary Chapel
An Evangelical Free church and now
A non-denominational church
All had both people who knew and followed hard after God, and those who didn’t. That said, like you, I don’t care what name is on the door as long as Christ is preached and folk are finding him. Where I have a problem is when it becomes an “I, even I, I follow Paul, Apollos,” etc.
All that said, I’m a Christ-follower.