BRADENTON -- Changing a name can be a dangerous thing and the Southern Baptist Convention may not be exempt from its consequences, said Rev. Paul Lambert, of the North River Community Church in Ellenton.
“People are very familiar with the name,” Lambert said. “They either respect it a great deal or they don’t.”
The Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee was scheduled to meet Monday night and discuss its president’s decision on whether or not to change the convention’s name, Roger Oldham, the committee’s spokesman said.
Oldham said a task force was appointed in September 2011 to study the effects of a name change, and President Bryant Wright would then present his decision based on that advise. The committee has 83 members from 35 states, he said.
About 40 percent of American adults surveyed online said they had an unfavorable view of Southern Baptists, according to a study conducted by LifeWay Research. a nonprofit entity of SBC. About 2,114 people were surveyed.
According to LifeWay Research, one of the points of the study was to determine “how the name might impact the interest or connection with a congregation.”
Of the people surveyed, 35 percent said they “strongly agreed” Southern Baptist church was not for them, the study said.
“Our concern is not public relations, politics, positioning or personal agendas,” Jimmy Draper, chairman of the task force said in an October 2011 statement. “We must ask ourselves constantly if there is anything that would help us to reach more people, plant more churches, and penetrate lostness here in the United States and around the world as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission.”
SBC, founded in 1845, has over 16 million members attending more than 45,000 churches in the U.S., according to its website. Lambert said SBC represents the largest group of protestants in the country.
If a name change is proposed, it could take several years before the new name is enforced, Lambert said.
In the October statement, Draper said the task force could not “envision a name change that would not include “Baptist” in the name.”
North River Community Church, though affiliated with SBC, would not be affected by a possible name change because it operates as a nondenominational church, Lambert said, The Ellenton church was organized in 2008 and has about 25 members, he said.
“Denominations in America are struggling right now, and that’s why it may not work,” Lambert said of a possible name change. “I don’t think (SBC) will pick up more people. I don’t know if people will drift away, but I don’t think it’ll draw more people.”
Miriam Valverde, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow on Twitter @MiriamValverde.
