Southern Baptists will remain Southern Baptists. After a lively debate, messengers voted 1,731 (55.4%) to 1,391 (44.6%) against a study committee to consider a name change for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).
The motion to create a study committee was the only motion out of a record 29 motions to make it to the floor for debate.
Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said, “Southern Baptists are ambivalent about their name. They love being Southern Baptists and all that it means.”
There is a strong loyalty to the name, even though many know the name is a hindrance in some areas of the country, he explained.
Claude Thomas of First Baptist Church, Euless, Texas, who submitted the motion, said, “I brought the motion to this body … because we have gone beyond our southern regional characteristics. We are committed to reach people around the world for Jesus Christ. We are committed to evangelism.
“It is wise to appoint a committee to study our present name — does it communicate who we are and serve us well or would there be a better alternative?” he asked.
Southern Baptist messengers lined up on both sides of the issue and were still lined up when the time for debate expired.
Messengers against establishing the study committee noted the unnecessary costs that would be involved both to study the name change and to implement it if it were to take place.
Financial investment
SBC President Jack Graham said, “We don’t know the cost of [the study]. It will require an investment to do the right kind of research.”
Byron Ingles of Georgia said the money would be better spent on seminaries and missionaries.
Dottie Selman of Ohio said, “You’ve come … asking for a study committee but have no idea what it will cost. That is not good business.”
Others disagreed, however. A pastor of a church plant in New York said, “I would rather spend the money than have a name that … has become an impediment to sharing the gospel. … The word Southern Baptist is almost evil (as the name of his church).”
Herb Stoneman of Salt Lake City, Utah, also pointed out that the SBC now consists of two nations — Canada and the United States — so it needs a name “that would better reflect who we are.”
Ed Taylor of Virginia said, “It is a waste of time to study because no matter what we change our name to, the media will let the secret out that we really are Southern Baptists.”
Another motion that garnered debate from the floor was the Executive Committee (EC) naming the SBC as sole member. The motion was referred to the EC.
“The Executive Committee of the SBC will be delighted to make the Executive Committee a sole member of the SBC. … We would be glad to do it in due haste,” said Morris Chapman, president of the EC. “I have a charter naming the Executive Committee a sole member of the SBC, dated 1997. We’ve had it in hand in order for us to implement it once all other entities had implemented it so we could.” (See related story on sole membership, page 6.)
A motion to reconsider requiring Southern Baptist chaplains to be ordained was referred to the North American Mission Board.
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