Print |
E-mail to a friend
OPINIONS
Eddie Henson: Southern Baptist name change not tied to membership
I note with interest the Jan. 20 piece by Milt Hankins on the editorial page of The Herald-Dispatch. Mr. Hankins begins with an accurate statement. He mentions that at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, the proposal was presented to consider changing the name of the convention. However, Hankins' statement that one of the primary reasons for the suggestion was that membership and baptisms have declined over the past "several" years is not accurate.
Yes, Mr. Hankins is right regarding the decline. Membership in the Southern Baptist Convention churches has shown a slight decline in recent years. In fact, 70 percent of the older established Southern Baptist churches are either plateaued or have experienced decline in the past 20 years.
On the other hand, through evangelism and church starting, the SBC continued to grow significantly until 2006. In 1995 the figure was 15.4 million. That increased to 16.6 million in 2005. Figures for the following years are 16.3, 16.27, 16.23 and 16.16 million (figures from Wikipedia online). You will notice at this same online site that other mainline Christian denominations in the U.S. have experienced a more significant decline and for a much longer time.
So, true, we have experienced a slight decline in total membership for the past six years. However, this was not the reason for proposing changing the name of the convention. Of course, the decline in baptisms was addressed at the convention, but never in relation to the proposal to address the possibility of changing the name.
In fact, the suggestion of a name change is nothing new. It has surfaced in times of significant growth. The concern has always been the same. The name should identify an organization. When the convention was formed in 1845, "Southern" was appropriate as it described who we were -- a group of Baptists in the southern states. However, for decades Southern Baptist churches have been located in all 50 states. As long as I can remember (I became a Christian and soon after that a member of a Southern Baptist church 69 years ago) the suggestion to change the name of the convention to reflect who we were has surfaced time and again.
Much of my ministry has been in areas where many of us felt the name itself was a distraction. We felt good about our history and what the name represented, but were concerned about the geographic connotations.
The other main reason Mr. Hankins says for suggesting a change in the name is "too many negative connotations." I find that condescending and judgmental. It must reflect Mr. Hankins' feelings. However, many in our area and across the U.S. do not react negatively when they hear the term Southern Baptist. In fact, many have positive feelings about what the name has represented through the years.
One negative connotation Mr. Hankins indicates is that people think of SBC churches as "fundamental." I think that terms like "evangelical" (or evangelistic) and "conservative" and "missionary" better describe who we are. However, if by "fundamental" he means a group who believe the Bible is God's Word, and that it is to be the basis for our faith and practice, then we are fundamental. If he means we believe that the human race is not the result of some pond scum hit by lightning millions of years ago, but was created by God, the term fits. If he means we believe Jesus is the eternal Son of God, who became flesh through the miraculous conception and virgin birth, who lived a perfect life, was crucified, buried, and raised on the third day, ascended back to heaven and will one day return as Sovereign Lord, yes, we are fundamental. And, if by fundamental and narrow he means that Southern Baptists believe that there is only one way of salvation -- that is, through Jesus Christ -- yes, that title fits us.
So we are satisfied with our history and all God has been doing through the people called "Southern Baptists." But we'd like a name that depicts us as a national or international group of Christians who are on mission to tell the good news about Jesus to people everywhere.
"Baptist," "Southern Baptist" or some other title -- that's not the real issue. We, and many from other churches and denominations, simply want to be identified with the Name that is above all names. We'd prefer to be known as Christians, followers of Jesus.
Eddie Henson is a retired minister who lives in Huntington.
