The article in the Courier in which some attempted to sell the idea of dropping the word “Southern” from the name of our denomination (“SBC name-change task force reaches decision,” Dec. 22) did nothing to change the minds of those of us who stand against this motion. Since the idea was first presented, I have prayed and asked every pastor and deacon I know about the idea, and all of them agreed that this is time, effort and money wasted during a period of dwindling resources.
This whole idea hinges on the notion that the word “Southern” is a liability and detrimental to our efforts to win the world to salvation through Christ. The contrary is the truth: The South (our home) is the very symbol of strength in Christian faith and values. Where do you think the Bible Belt is? The very name of the Southern Baptist Convention is synonymous with integrity and adherence to Judeo-Christian values.
The survey used to sell and support the name-change idea is itself flawed. If you ask people with liberal religious values what they think about a denomination with conservative beliefs, you will not get rave reviews from them.
I feel fairly certain that the leaders who propose dropping “Southern” will not stop till they enact a name change. At that point I will not leave my church – founded in 1800 by my Southern ancestors – but I will make sure my tithes and offerings do not in any way support the “new” denomination, but only my local church.
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