If You're Baptist, Why Not Say So?

I am a Baptist (Southern, Missionary), and am quite proud of it, but more so and foremost I am a Christian.

 

When I lived on the west coast it was amazing how many I shared my faith with from other parts of the country who called themselves Baptist and were not saved.

Christ's disciples produce disciples that follow Christ. Very few in churches today actually are truly obedient to scripture but rather do what is convenient.

Mt 4:19, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men."

Mt. 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

James 1:22, "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves."

Imagine Jesus' disciples being fruitless and not doers of the words or make any disciples while they are unwilling and make excuses about sharing their faith.

 

Ours is Cornerstone Community Church. We left out the Baptist name on purpose. How many different Baptist churches are there? Are you just like the one down the street. The name Baptist is quite ambigious. Are you free will? Primitive? Missionary? Shall we require the full name so it will not be ambigious? How about just honoring the One who saved us?

 

First....I come back to priesthood of the believer. Don't want your church to do this? Fine...but they can, if they wish. The Gospel isn't compromised by this action.

Second...you judge intent and motive with your remarks. How can you know why they do it? I personally would feel it important to know why before I cast judgement on its "deceptiveness."

I thought this post on the issue was excellent:

I'm in the buckle of the Bible belt. We can be "loud and proud" and folks know who we are. In other areas, this approach might not be as effective.



Finally...to me, the more operative question is this: at what point do you communicate your Baptistic principles? If your sign says "Baptist," but you never tell folks what you believe, and why...this is more problematic to me than calling yourself "XYZ community church." If a church is slow in getting their doctrine across to their folks...to me, that is more of an issue than what's on their sign.

 

I was with a church in Indiana that decided to leave out baptist in the name because of the impact of 2 very legalistic independant "baptist" churches in the area. Because of many of their actions 90% of unbelievers in that area would not give you the time of day if you were "baptist." Therefore we did not want that to impede our ministry and gospel witness so the decision was made to leave off baptist.

I had no problem with it then, and I have no problem with it now.

As someelse said the name is not what makes a church baptist, but rather what the church believes.

 

Some times baptist churches leave the name "Baptist" out for reason other than being afraid of what lost people think. It is not always about marketing but about communicating in a more specific way who they are and adding Baptist just unnecessarily extends the name.

 

Your post illustrates why I think we cannot make blanket statements about this issue. For the hundreds of churches who fit this bill....there are probably hundreds of reasons for the naming.

 

You are probably right. But then again there are those who hide who they are so as not to scare off the lost.

 

Boo... I'm a Baptist!!! lololol

 

I'm a Christian by God's calling and a Baptist by choice and I say it proudly, even in front of my Catholic mother-in-law. :laugh:

She is very much against Baptists.

 

You are scary enough without the name Tim........... :laugh:

J/K bro.

 

Should the name Baptist ever have been used for 'a church'-- or an association or convention of churches-- in the first place? It's certainly a misnomer-- very few Baptists actually do any baptizing. And even though the early Baptists may have been among the first for centuries to insist on immersing professed believers, I really don't know if, from their beginning, they also insisted baptism is not a prerequisite for salvation, while those who christened infants did believe it. So the doctrine that gave us our name is not what salvation is about. That aspect compares to the Quakers-- shivvering is not the essence of their faith, and they, incidentally, have not 'officially' accepted the name, but did to make an insult into a badge of pride.

My only position is that there should be no hostility toward dropping the name Baptist, especially with the 'tug-o'-war' that has emerged about "moderate" Baptists claiming conservatives are 'forsaking the Baptist heritage,' while these moderates are affirming homosexual rights and other things that have never been part of this 'Baptist heritage.' On the other hand, dropping the name may be like surrendering-- "Alright-- they are the Baptists, we are the real Christians...."

 

Why don't you pray for your mother in law rather than being so proud of being a Baptist. Jesus' discipels were not Baptists. They were Christians. God opposes the proud and give grace to the humble.

It is a well known fact that Catholics know that just a few years ago they were put down by Baptists.

Most of my family were Catholics and almost all of them are Christians today. I never won any of them by ridicule and intimdation, but by simply presenting what the Bible teaches. The gospel is not limited to Baptists but it is the good news of what Christ did for humanity and our responsibility. I have met many Baptists who were not Christians. Are you proud of that fact?

How many Catholics have you won to Christ using your method?

 

HEAR, HEAR!

 

I thought you were deaf Mexdeaf? :thumbs:

 

True, Jesus said HE would build His church-----but----I don't believe thats the issue----the issue is----which church denomination do you line your doctrine up with---thats the thing---you're gonna line your doctrine up with somebody's denomination!!

Why call yourselves "Grace Fellowship"----or whatever other kind of name you want to name----and then when folks come in--thinkin' "Well!! The name's not Baptist---I think I'll go there!!!"-------but yet when they get on the inside----"Grace Fellowship" is every bit Baptist as my Baptist church is!!! Just don't make much sense, does it???

 

What about Metropolitan Tabernacle in London? No Baptist in the name but the guy who pastored there sure was a Baptist (albeit reformed).

There are many, many churches in the USA that never have carried the moniker 'Baptist', yet in doctrine and practice that is what they are.

I personally prefer the title. I wouldn't take pills out of a bottle labeled 'medicine' without knowing what type pf medicine they were. Same goes for doctrine. But I fellowship with some fine people who attend 'Bible', 'Community', and 'Gospel' churches who are just as Baptist as I be.

It all boils down to personal preference nothing more and nothing less.

 

Deafness doesn't affect the voice- or at least in MY case it didn't. :laugh: :wavey:

 

Sure it does. As I said, the word Baptist is very ambigious. What kind of Baptist are you? What about those who went to visit a Free Will Baptist church down the street, and said they would never attend another Baptist church? I'm far from Free Will. We are a sovereign grace Baptist church. If I named our church Sovereign Grace Baptist Church........ and there are many..... how many would know what sovereign grace is?
Do you see what I'm saying?