He spoke to local ministers a few weeks ago and shared some of his experiences as a pastor in an Atlanta suburb. For some reason he decided the church needed to remove “Baptist” from their title, though he didn’t tell us why.
Since the church had a congregational form of government, he called them into a previously announced business meeting one Sunday. Again, for some unknown reason, he had the vote before the sermon! After the name was approved, the sizable opposition stood and left, never to return.
Actually it’s not unusual these days for churches to have non-denominational names, such as “Community Church” or “Deliverance House” or the like. The feeling among some is that denominations either don’t have as much appeal now, or that some find them a turn-off.
The late Robert Schuller was a pioneer in the non-denominational nomenclature when he founded the Garden Grove Community Church in 1955. His denomination was the Reformed Church in America, and he said at a conference I attended that he “put the denomination in its place” and listed the church’s affiliation on the last page of the Sunday bulletin!
A friend started a church in another state, and though it was Baptist, he decided “Church” was more important than “Baptist,” so it became Trinity Church Baptist. I must say this sounded odd the day I called him and a receptionist identified the church this way in her greeting.
I’m in a place that prompts a lot of questions, though not any push-back I’m aware of. People ask me frequently what “Siluria” means. I explain that Siluria was the original village that became Alabaster, Ala. There was a Siluria mill, Siluria Post Office and Siluria village. Now there are only three Silurias: us, the Siluria Brewing Company and a brief mention in the Thompson High School alma mater.
I can’t imagine a campaign to change our name. I’m quite sure I would witness the same exodus the Atlanta pastor saw after his crusade.
It’s interesting to study some of the names assigned in scripture.
A few years ago “The Prayer of Jabez” was a popular book, and we learned his name means “pain.” Maybe his mother named him from the labor and delivery room!
Another interesting story in Genesis is about the twin sons born to Isaac and Rebekah after they prayed 20 years for children. They named the eldest, Esau, or Harry, and the youngest Jacob, or Cheater. But after God chiseled away at Jacob’s nefarious character, the Lord changed his name to Israel—Prince of God—the father of the 12 tribes in Judaism.
The God of the Bible sometimes changes names, but more importantly, he specializes in changing character.
Reflections is a weekly faith column written by Michael J. Brooks, pastor of the Siluria Baptist Church in Alabaster. The church website is siluriabaptist.com.
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