A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet… Romeo and Juliet – Shakespeare
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump. I ran over and said: "Stop. Don't do it." "Why shouldn't I?" he asked. I asked “Are you religious?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Me too. Are you Christian or Buddhist?" "Christian" he replied. "Me too. Are you Catholic or Protestant?" I asked. He said "Protestant." "Me too. Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?" I asked. "Baptist" he stated. "Wow! Me too. Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?" I asked. "Baptist Church of God” he replied. "Me too. Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?" I asked further. "Reformed Baptist Church of God” he responded. "Me too. Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God - Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God - Reformation of 1915?" I asked. He proudly replied "Reformed Baptist Church of God - Reformation of 1915." I said "Die, heretic scum!!" and pushed him off the bridge.
So, what is in a name? Does it really matter that we continue to call ourselves “Southern Baptist”, or even “Baptist” for that matter? An article (Travis Loller – Associated Press, Published: 2/21/2012) discussed the proposal to change the name of the Southern Baptist Convention. It stated:
Some Southern Baptists worry that their denomination’s name still carries the stigma of a 19th century split with northern Baptists over slavery. Others who fought hard to build the brand and its conservative theology and politics don’t want to see it go...
So the idea to add the description of “Great Commission Baptists” to the name of the Southern Baptist Convention might be a compromise that excites almost none of the 16 million who make up the nation’s largest Protestant denomination…
The “Great Commission” description endorsed by the SBC’s executive committee on Tuesday would be strictly optional. It still must be voted on by delegates at the annual convention this summer. Southern Baptist churches are independent, and many of them don’t have “Southern” in their names anyway…
Supporters of the “Great Commission” name argue it would offer an official identity for churches trying to spread the Gospel to diverse groups of people outside the South and worldwide. The notion of changing the Southern Baptist name is not new: It was first proposed in 1903 and has been unsuccessfully brought up more than a dozen times since. The fact that membership and baptisms are declining gives it new urgency...
The name task force considered a few hundred suggestions, but narrowed it down to three. The other two in final contention were “Continental Baptist” and “Evangelical Baptist.”…
Malcolm Yarnell, a professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and director of its Center for Theological Research, sees some benefit for ministries on the leading edge of winning souls. “ ... for those that are church planters, especially if they’re in frontier states, non-Southern states, they will see it as a great benefit because they can refer to themselves without having to refer to the cultural baggage,” he said. “Because you know to be a Southerner in the North carries baggage, and we all know that.”…
It remains to be seen if and how the alternative will be used. The names could be used together, like “Southern Baptist Convention — Great Commission Baptists,” or either could be used by itself.
In the New Testament, groups of believers were simply addressed by where they were located and where they met. In Colossians, Paul addresses his letter to “the saints and faithful brothers in Christ in Colassae.” (Colossians 1:2) In chapter 4 vs. 15, Paul sends his greetings to the brothers in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the “church in her house.” Priscilla and Aquilla were mentioned by Paul in I Cor. 16:19 as well as the “church that meets in their house.” In the 16th chapter of Romans, Paul greets Pricilla and Aquilla again, and also lists several other groups of believers in households. I guess before all of the divisions in the Body of Christ became so prevalent, a church in Jerusalem might have been known simply as “The Church in Jerusalem that meets in Bob and Sue's house at the corner of Main and First Street.” They would need a really long bus in order to put that name on the side.
