The sentiment comes up all the time! It comes from people who have finally wandered into worship, saying, "I walked past your church for months before I was brave enough to come in!" I hear it from myself when I invite people to church saying, "I am the pastor of Providence Baptist Church, but..." I hear it in the bewilderment from others when they wonder why I am the chair of the SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, or having a glass of wine at dinner, or dancing at a wedding reception.
It is a sad thing! "Baptist" is one of those good words that in so many circles has gone bad. In a post-denominational world, where no one really asks, "What kind of Episcopalian are you?" or, "Are you a really-Calvinistic Presbyterian?" questions are raised about Baptists.
Much of it is our own fault! Baptist are the largest Protestant denomination in the US, and for the past 30 years we have been engaged in a intra-family feud that had little to do with God, Jesus, the Bible or the Kingdom of God. It has been about control, and power and real estate. It has been about who gets to control their little part of the kingdom, which culture would win.
(Now before anyone else starts to get giddy with glee about the downfall of Baptists, let me remind you of Martin Marty's great line about the "baptisfication of American religious life." The same battle are now being fault in every other denomination.)
So the question arises all the time--shouldn't we just get rid of the word Baptist on our sign? It really wouldn't change anything about the way we do church. We would still have the same style of worship, the same commitment to doing missions, the same structure. The name reduction would only serve to reduce the negative baggage that Baptist now carries.
There is still a part of me though, that really hates allowing others to steal all the good words. I hate the fact that the very freedoms that make America America are core Baptist ideas--freedom of religion, separation of church and state. Those are ideas worth fighting over!
But is a name?
The easy way out would be just to take those letters off the sign, to re-brand ourselves as "Providence Church on Daniel Island," or even go back to our original name, "The Church Outside the Walls."
Another solution however might be to be really honest and loud about who we are. We are a Baptist church that invites people to bring their minds to worship. We are a Baptist church that invites diverse--at even opposing ideas of those who are truly seeking God. We are a Baptist church that is more concerned with the Kingdom of God than any kingdom of our making. We are a Baptist church that really believes in those core Baptist ideas like freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. We are a Baptist church that says that anyone who is in need of the grace of God is welcomed here--and who does that leave out? That is a different kind of place! Maybe the kind of place that you would be interested in visiting, in joining?
It reminds me of the old Saturday Night Live skit about Smuckers Jelly. Remember when their slogan was "With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good!" The Not Ready for Prime Time Players had a field day with that!
But maybe so should we! "With a name like Baptist, you have to be different!"
I am sure that this conversation will continue! I hope it does. Let me know what you think!
