Instead,
the panel decided that churches preferring a new name to the one
associated with the SBC’s founding as a pro-slavery church (for which
they promptly apologized in 1995) could opt for a nickname.
The
committee said that the nickname “Great Commission Baptists” could be
added as a descriptor. The “great commission” is the name given to
Jesus’ words in Matthew 28: “Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
you.”
It’s unclear if
other denominations will be happy about the SBC assuming that Jesus’
words apply only to them. It’s also unclear if plain ol’ SBC churches
will be following suit. Might we also see Beatitude Baptists or Sermon
on the Mount Baptists?
This article appears in Feb 22-28, 2012.