Great Commision Baptists -- What's that?

[Chris]

Today's newspaper says the SBC "has narrowly agreed to let churches use an alternative name less connected to the South"....will "allow affiliated churches to refer to themselves as Great Commission Baptists".

I'm assuming this isn't a "new denomination" nor is it a new "direction"; but is an alternate name for an old product. Churches still wishing to call themselves "Southern Baptist" can do so? ? ?

[Chris]

I think this sheds some light. Churches that are afraid to call themselves "Southern Baptist" (we have several in my city and adjacent city), now can use a "disguise". The disguise is not mandatory for everyone.

http://www.baptist2baptist.net/sbcnamec ... ctions.asp

[Ed Pettibone]

[quote="Chris"]Today's newspaper says the SBC "has narrowly agreed to let churches use an alternative name less connected to the South"....will "allow affiliated churches to refer to themselves as Great Commission Baptists".

Ed: As if other Baptist are not Great Commission Baptist.

[Haruo]

In the West we have Best Foods Mayonnaise; in the East they have Hellman's Mayonnaise. Same product, same company, same label color scheme.

best foods mayonnaise.jpg (16.63 KiB) Viewed 2401 times

hellmans.jpg (3.44 KiB) Viewed 2400 times

[William Thornton]

Today's newspaper says the SBC "has narrowly agreed to let churches use an alternative name less connected to the South"....will "allow affiliated churches to refer to themselves as Great Commission Baptists".

I'm assuming this isn't a "new denomination" nor is it a new "direction"; but is an alternate name for an old product. Churches still wishing to call themselves "Southern Baptist" can do so? ? ?

My guess is that the non-name change descriptor, GBC, will die a quiet death.

This was an odd deal and a compromise 'solution.' I think it will be forgotten by most.

Haruo, my mother would have nothing but Hellman's. If she moved to Seattle I'd have to ship her Hellman's no matter what anyone said.

[Ed Pettibone]

Ed: I prefer home made Mayo and with churches My preference is ABC-USA and as most here are aware, we also participate in the CBF.

And William, did you deliberately misspell the first name of "Anonymous" ? Of course that jle was a bit of a tip off to his identity.

[Sandy]

The name "Great Commission Baptists" is a little bit more descriptive than "Converge Worldwide," which the Baptist General Conference adopted recently. In fact, they did change their name completely, without the option of "voluntary." Great Commission Baptists isn't a complete shift, since it doesn't leave the Baptist name behind.

Hiding behind a different name is certainly not a trend only being experienced by Southern Baptists. Western Pennsylvania is full of churches of various names without denominational identification, yet most of them are affiliated with someone. Unless you can identify a logo, or you ask, you can't tell (unless they're Charismatic).

[Ed Pettibone]

The name "Great Commission Baptists" is a little bit more descriptive than "Converge Worldwide," which the Baptist General Conference adopted recently. In fact, they did change their name completely, without the option of "voluntary." Great Commission Baptists isn't a complete shift, since it doesn't leave the Baptist name behind.

Hiding behind a different name is certainly not a trend only being experienced by Southern Baptists. Western Pennsylvania is full of churches of various names without denominational identification, yet most of them are affiliated with someone. Unless you can identify a logo, or you ask, you can't tell (unless they're Charismatic).

Ed: And Sandy, not all Charismatics are of the same brand, just as not all chocolate bars are Hershey's. And not all Hershey bars are the same, some have nuts.

[Chris]

I began noticing , 45 years ago, that Catholics and Episcopalians usually did not include those words in the names of their churches, e.g. "Christ and St. Luke's Church" of Norfolk. It seemed to me that all other denominations DID include the denomination name, so that a visitor could see the
brand name" out front. I liked this. About 7 or 8 years ago, I began to see churches in our local Baptist association popping up with names like "Community Church", and, more recently "Waters Edge Church". All of these were Southern Baptist churches which apparently do not want the visitor to know of the SBC affiliation. What is it they are ashamed of?

Waters Edge church is not near the water...so even that is a misnomer.

[Sandy]

I began noticing , 45 years ago, that Catholics and Episcopalians usually did not include those words in the names of their churches, e.g. "Christ and St. Luke's Church" of Norfolk. It seemed to me that all other denominations DID include the denomination name, so that a visitor could see the
brand name" out front. I liked this. About 7 or 8 years ago, I began to see churches in our local Baptist association popping up with names like "Community Church", and, more recently "Waters Edge Church". All of these were Southern Baptist churches which apparently do not want the visitor to know of the SBC affiliation. What is it they are ashamed of?

Waters Edge church is not near the water...so even that is a misnomer.

Maybe that's a reference to living water....who knows? Several years ago there was a church in Houston called the "Watered Garden" church. People referenced it as the "watered down church" and so they changed the name.

I think a lot of churches with names that don't identify them with a denomination are trying to get people past the denominational identity barrier, with its preconcieved ideas, so that they will take a look to see what's inside. Once they get past that barrier, most of them stick around.

During our church visiting when we moved to the Pittsburgh area, we visited an ABC-USA, Methodist and Episcopalian church that were not denominationally identified. The Methodists we figured out because the UMC logo was displayed on their sign and their bulletin. The ABC-USA congregation never really disclosed their identity. We figured the Episcopalians had to be some kind of liturgical group from the order of service and the robes, but had we gone to their later service, that was just contemporary music and a sermon by a guy with an untucked shirt in blue jeans. We found out later that he's the "associate pastor," a graduate of Liberty and Southeastern Seminary.

[johnfariss]

There is a church a few miles from me named, I think, "River's Edge" or "River's View," something like that. They are probably 30 miles from the Potomac River and 10 or 15 from the Patuxent, but there is a little branch, maybe 2 or 3 feet wide, within view of them.

Of course, Baptist churches without "Baptist" in the name are not new. The previous name of the first church I served was "Tanner's Meeting House," and they founded "Brown's Meeting House" and another one whose name I cannot recall just now, similiarly named for the first pastor. Tanner's renamed itself Warren Plains Baptist Church only in the 1870s, and that was after they moved from out in the woods to the rail junction serving the town of Warrenton, NC. Brown's still goes by that name, or did the last time I was there, in the late 80s. All these date to the late 1700s and early 1800s. An earlier genration of Baptist churches in eastern North Carolina were usually named by the closest body of water, such as Reedy Creek or Yellowjacket Creek, but again, that was followed by "Meeting House" and not "Baptist Church." I believe it was only when the social status of Baptist churches started to grow, and they moved into actual towns and cities that they began to name themselves "Baptist Churches" and not just "meeting houses."

John Fariss

[Chris]

I believe it was only when the social status of Baptist churches started to grow, and they moved into actual towns and cities that they began to name themselves "Baptist Churches" and not just "meeting houses."

John Fariss

I thought "meeting house" was the exclusive property of the Quakers.

[Dave Roberts]

It was used in 18th and early 19th century Baptists with some frequency.