Southern Baptist Convention Considers Name Change

I suggest something that expresses clearly their doctrinal position. Perhaps “Converge”

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Er … already taken: http://www.convergeworldwide.org/

While I do not fully agree with all of the Southern Baptists do, I admire their passion to reach the Northeast with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No fundamentalists or evangelical group has made the effort to reach people in the Northeast that these folks have made. It has been hard ministry for them. I have been told that one of the problems people have with the SBC up here that they try to transport a “Southern” mentality as they spread the gospel message up here. For the most part, people in the Northeast are not going to respond to a “Southern” mentality. Albany is the second oldest city in America. It is in the Northeast. There is a different mentality than in the South.

A name change does not fix this problem. Just be “Northeastern” (without compromising biblical doctrine) to reach people in the Northeast.

Mine:

International Baptist Fellowship

I give this a hardy amen. We’ve got to strip off baggage that detracts from the gospel. “Southern” does carry baggage in places outside of the south and for those in the south if you’re trying to reach communities that are not white and middle class.

I like International Baptist Fellowship…although I’m guessing they keep the convention somehow. I’d also venture they try to establish a name that focuses on conservative values…just my gut.

The really cool names are one word ones.
Since Baptist General Conference already took the way cool “Converge,” SBC will have to settle for maybe one of these less cool one-word names:
- Resurge
- ATAC (America’s Totally Awesome Convention)
- Advance
- Enlarge (as in, the Kingdom)

But alphanumeric acronyms are even cooler than one-word names….

- B4G (Baptist for the Gospel)
- B2W (Baptists to [all the] World)
- USB2 (You Should be Baptist Too)
- BCtU (Baptists Cooler than You)

Maybe alphasymbolic acronyms are even more cool?

- B>C (Baptists better than Converge)

Just trying to be helpful.
(I do think they have a point about the “Southern” thing, though. Probably time to get out of that box.)

Hardly the most important issue facing them. There are some Southern Baptists up here in Western Canada. I don’t know that it makes much difference what the convention label is.

However, in an effort to be helpful, I’ll give you a little Canadian story. This is a true story, though some might doubt me as it unfolds.

Canada has ten provinces and now 3 territories. There used to be two territories, Yukon, and The Northwest Territories. One would have to admit that “Yukon” is way cooler a name than “Northwest Territories.” NWT was a very vast domain of snow, polar bears, and not much people. It stretched from the Yukon border all the way to the Atlantic and included the North Pole (well the land around it, anyway).

A few years ago, they decided to split NWT up. Now there are two territories where there was one before, full of snow, polar bears, and even less people in each territory. The eastern half of the NWT decided for the cool name of Nunavut. So for the western half they had a “name that territory” contest. I think each name had to have a certain number of signatures to qualify. I forget what all the choices were, but I do remember the #1 and #2 finisher.

#1 was Northwest Territories. Yup, the bland old name is back again.

#2 was…. Bob.

That’s true, I’m not making it up. Personally, if I had a vote, I would have voted for Bob. It is the ultimate in citizen passive aggression towards government! I think it would have been cool to be able to answer, “Where are you from?” with “Bob”. Don’t you think so?

I also think the vote was rigged.

In any case, for the SBC, if they change their name, I nominate “Bob”.

How about a symbol?

They should probably just go with the acronym, SBC. The IFCA did this a few years ago, I believe, changed their name to just their acronym. You don’t lose ‘branding’ so much but you do lose the ‘Southern’ bit.

Universal Baptist Convention. Makes for a bigger tent, and it can mean whatever you want it to mean at any given time.

… none of us are on the committee.

“The Baptist Convention”. But if “Baptist” is too confining, the just “The Convention”.

But, that’s way too presumptuous. Even though that’s the way many think of the SBC.
Rob the Historic Northern Baptist

[Jeffrey Dean] “The Baptist Convention”. But if “Baptist” is too confining, the just “The Convention”.

[Andrew K.] How about “The Bobcats”?

Advantages:

Also, you can play cool sound effects when someone makes a great point from the convention floor.

EDIT: Awww, looks like the embed didn’t work. :cry:

How about THE Baptists, you know, like THE Ohio State University, THE United States Military Academy, or even THE No Spin Zone? ;)