Is the SBC going to remain the SBC? That question is at issue right now. Obviously, our president Bryant Wright’s appointment of a task force to study the issue has ignited a firestorm in the SBC and especially among us house-coat wearing basement-dwellers. Our traffic yesterday was incredible as this dispute broke out – we usually only see those kinds of numbers during the Annual Meeting.
People are interested in this topic.
I thought it might be helpful to list some of the helpful blog posts for those who want to acquaint themselves with this issue. Obviously, I have published several articles on the subject here, so they will not be listed again.
I would encourage readers to examine Alan Cross’s guest post here reminding us that we need more than just a name change. Alan’s article is here.
Baptist Press
- The initial informational article from Baptist Press. Here.
- A discussion of the lively debate by the EC. Here.
Bart Barber
- Bart’s was the first article I read on the subject – before I even saw the BP article. Bart believes our president should have taken the proposal to form a task force to the convention and not appointed it himself. Read the article here. He argues forcefully against the course that is being taken.
- Bart also has a follow-up article about the uphill battle this proposal faces. Here.
Denny Burk
If you read only one blog (other, of course, than SBC Voices!!!), I would suggest Denny’s. It is at the top of my must-read list. He has an article on the subject which contains a listing of helpful articles and some notable quotes. Here.
Al Mohler: His article is here.
Ed Stetzer: He has an article about the name change at Between the Times, here. At his eponymous site he has a more general article about name changes, examining the furor over Campus Crusade for Christ’s recent change to Cru. Here.
Jonathan Akin at Baptist21 has an excellent Q&A on the subject. Here.
Others:
James Smith has an informational article at the Florida Baptist Witness that is well worth reading. Here. Like Bart, he shows that this issue faces an uphill battle for support.
Several of the state papers have perspectives worth reading. You can find them listed on Denny Burk’s site.
Mark Lamprecht (Here I Blog) has published several helpful articles on the subject. One, a guest post by Nathan Creitz predicting success for the name change effort is here. Mark has written a post which displays a wordle based on Thom Ranier’s survey of attitudes about the name “Southern Baptist.” Read it here.
More articles are being posted on a regular basis. Perhaps you have a link to one that would be helpful to read. The comment stream is open.
And that’s not all…
Paige Patterson has spoken on the issue, here.
A quote from Paige Patterson: “I also appeal to our people to keep this discussion on the highest conceivable level, leaning over backwards to avoid judgments of anyone’s motives, which only God can know. I also appeal for the ardent prayers of all our people for our gracious Lord to grant this committee wisdom beyond anything that we could ever have on our own.”
The Southern Baptist Convention is a American icon.
It represents a cultural fortitude that many evangeli-fish have long ago abandoned. Forget this wicked and perverse generation.
I still think Southwest is a great airline to fly in the Midwest city of Omaha , Nebraska. I dont here people complaining about its name.
Singapore girl is still best way to fly to AbuDhabi!
http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/flying-with-us/singaporegirl/
They have not changed that icon since the founding of that airline. It represents well the culture of that City-State.
The name Southern Baptist Convention represents well our cultural and spiritual convictions!
From the Southern Baptist Geneva
Robert I Masters
In the end, it’s just a name, a brand.
We ought to be recognized and known by how we reflect Christ, not if we’re Southern Baptists.
A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet…
I think that if there is something about us that needs to be changed first, we should change that before changing our name. If there is nothing that needs changing–if we can worship at the altar without an altercation with a brother coming to mind–then seriously considering a name change could be the next appropriate thing to do.
But the branding we choose to live by should be inspirational, not prescriptive. The term “Great Commission Baptists” hums in my mind because of that. Regardless what we choose, it is likely to be defined by others in an attempt to prescribe what we ought to be. We need to be very careful to reject those prescriptions unless it helps us reflect the glory of Christ Jesus more completely and more faithfully.