Jun 05 2008
Are Christians Christians?
Yesterday I asked the question are Mormons Christians? It seems that the Mormon sect desperately wants everyone to believe they are Christians. The fact is that most Mormons are good, fine, upstanding, moral people. In fact they often act like Christians. Even worse, they act more like Christians than some Christians.
I’m an observer of culture. It appears to me that many Christians want so desperately to be accepted by the world that they don’t even act like Christians. What makes us different than the world? Now there are some who go to far extremes and have their own little sub culture. They will never change the culture because they avoid it. But there are others that want to be hip and cool so they live like everyone else around them.
The divorce rate in the church is as high as those who aren’t beleivers. Christians are involved in extra-marital affairs just like other people. Christians lie, steal and cheat. Famous Christian leaders are engaging in high profile sins. Christians subsribe to HBO, Showtime, etc.. and go to sex filled, and profanity ladened movies. Pornography is a dirty little secret that the church ignores. Christians don’t act that much different than the rest of the world. I believe some are stealing what it means to be a Christian. Jesus didn’t die for our sins to give us a license to sin.
When it comes to faith, I’ve heard people say they believe in the 3 “F’s” (Faith, facts and figures). That’s funny because Jesus didn’t live that way. Tell that to Peter who walked on water. The facts sure didn’t point to that happenng. Tell that to Lazarus who was raised from being dead for over 3 days. Who in their right mind thought that he would rise from the dead. I don’t see much faith anymore. Usually what I hear is remember when God did___________(fill in the blank)? It usually something He did 10 years before. I fell into that trap last fall and Craig Groeschel rocked my world by preaching a message called “Practical Atheisim” at Catalyst. His family was actually praying that all of us in that conference would be disturbed. I couldn’t sleep for 3 days. I realized that I was living by what I could do and not trusting God to move in only a way that He could. I wanted my children to see God do something in our family while they were at home. I don’t want to tell stories about God moving–I want them to see God at work!
When is the last time you saw God move? When is the last time you saw God do something in your life that only He could do? Are you really living like a Christian? I ask this question to myself as I write this. I’m at a crisis of belief point in my life. I’m having to truly rely on God to move. The facts and figures don’t make sense, but Jesus wants me to follow Him not the facts and figures.
So are Christians really Christians?
What do you think?
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Wouldn’t a christian be one who FOLLOWS Jesus Christ?
To FOLLOW Jesus Christ, wouldn’t one have to really follow him by living up to His example that He set for us?
If we follow him, arent’t we WILLING to act as he did, and treat othes as He did?
Can we really call ourselves christians (followers of Christ) are not WILLING to follow him not only in word, but also in deed?
If I say I LOVE Chevrolet…but…drive a Ford, do I REALLY love Chevrolet?
Isn’t the first step in striving to keep HIS commandments, which is an outward sign of inward faith?
James 2: 18, 20, 26
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
• • •
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
• • •
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Kevin,
Good post. No, change that, great post! I appreciate the questions you have asked and the questioning you are challenging each of us to do.
During the years I served as a pastor, people (me included) would talk about God’s past acts as if we were talking about the “good ole days.” We tended to live in the past, to live in past victories won, and seemed to believe that’s where God did His best–in the past.
God convicted me of that sin and the fact that I needed to do a better job of living in God’s present reality, not in something He did for me years before. Now, I could still celebrate those victories, but I know God challenges me to live today as if there were no past and there will be no future! I am to seek Him out, to test His Word, and to discover His plan for my life right now.
That’s not easy to do. I sure have better luck sometimes at remembering than I do visioning.
Now, as far as living differently from the world? Well, I am convinced that as long as I live in the past, I can’t really address how I live in the present! Christians, we don’t have time to be like everyone else! We don’t have time to waste.
M. Steve Heartsill’s last blog post..The Danger of NOT Cutting Your Grass
I agree with Steve, Kevin. It is safer to live in the past. Two things come to mind. One is the passage in I Cor.10 where it says “these things took place as examples” (ESV) and then it lists some of the happenings. I think there is safety and security in the past. We run back to that to find the “pick me up” we need. But it can also be like a child’s security blanket. Take it away from them and “all you-know-what” breaks loose. Someone asked me recently what my one prayer would be for the church. I told him “It would be dangerous.” DecemberRadio has a song in which they sing “I want to be dangerous…again.” The second (and I almost forgot it) is the story from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe where the children are with the Beavers and find out Aslan isn’t safe but he is good. Stepping out into uncharted territory is scary i.e. not safe. But God is good and will go through it with us.
Bill(cycleguy)’s last blog post..They Will Know Us
SUPER POST, Kevin! Just like it’s author! (hehehehe).
Phil Hoover’s last blog post..My heart is aching….
Bill (the Mormon/Vol fan),
The key to the Christian life is that we can’t “Do” anything to please God. He has already “DONE” it when He died on a cross for our sins. The grace message teaches us who are in Jesus that our identity is in HIM. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
How does that song go? “I was looking back to see if you were looking back to see If I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me” (grin)
jimmy paravane’s last blog post..the scraping place
Hey – I have been lurking for sometime because I am preparing for a mission trip to a post-modern Christianity city. Reading so many viewpoints has been helpful for me since I mainly know “Christians” and live in the Bible Belt. I want to understand how others feel and this site has definitely shown me there are many different perceptions of Christianity.
But mainly I am here because I love Bro. Kevin and his family. They helped me and mine through a horrific year when my 2 yr old daughter was diagnosed with cancer. During that time, I really learned what was important in my own personal walk with Christ. I experienced hope in what was a hopeless situation. My Christian friends and church family supported me and loved and cared for me much more than my own “Christian” flesh and blood family members. I wanted to post because I know the type you are referring to. They are related to me. They are deacons in their churches, on committees, teach Sunday School and women’s clubs, but they couldn’t find it in their hearts to feel compassion for my child or me. I believe the easiest way to spot a real Christian is to observe how they live. I don’t feel worthy to call myself a Christian because I know I am a sinner and I struggle with sin everyday, but I know I am given that privilege freely, because my Savior died for me. I want to live for Him, which means dying to my own desires and thanking Him for His plans for my life, even if I don’t always like them so much. BTW, my daughter is now 5 yrs old and has been cancer free for 2 years – Praise the Lord!
Tammy,
We love your family. I remember that Sunday when we laid hands on Colette and prayed for God to move. Praise God for His healing!
Kevin Bussey’s last blog post..Are Christians Christians?
Kevin,
That is a great scripture and well received.
A key phrase in it is “Take my YOKE upon you.”
But how many are willing to do just that?
We cannot take half a yoke. It must be all or nothing.
Bill,
The key is giving up and letting God control us. I agree about the half. But we can’t take control by working our way to heaven. He has already done the work for us. We just obey.
Kevin Bussey’s last blog post..Are Christians Christians?
Kevin,
This is getting so old, and down deep I really love and admire you. My exterior (some times) is far more rough than what I really feel on the inside
We as Mormons DO NOT…nor have we ever…believed that we MUST work our way to Heaven.
Rather, we believe that the atonement (shed blood…death…resurrection) of Jesus Christ IS THE ONLY WAY TO RETURN TO THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
However…because we have accepted that free gift which cannot be purchased at any price, we simply desire to FOLLOW HIM. What I mean by FOLLOW HIM simple is not only in word, but also deed.
So, the question really comes down to followership…or…discipleship.
Now whether our doctrine on some points are different (which is likewise so between Methodists, Episcopals, Baptists etc who all believe in the same shed blood and free gift that we do), why would all those other religions go to Heaven and we would not
Bill,
Then why are young people required to go on 2 year missionary journeys? Why do you have to wear Holy underwear? Why are you required to be baptized in the church? That is works my friend.
Kevin,
You see…you really do not want lovingkindness on this site. You want to judge others. What you just asked is crazy.
Young men ARE NOT required to go on a mission. That is by choice.
We wear garments because the ancient Jews likewise did…after they went to the Temple. It reminds us to strive for purity.
I KNOW you likewise practice works. You lay hands on the sick and afflicted. You pray over your congregation. You serve others, all beacuse you know that is what Jesus would desire that you do.
When you do those things, it is because you want to serve him.
Wow, what a cool post. I love it that you aren’t content to just sit in the pew and watch the enemy make us so comfortable in our culture that we forget we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom. You have given me much encouragement on my journey to be and become a sincere follower of Christ. Living out one’s faith often means living at odds with this fallen world, not getting as close to looking like it that others can’t see any difference. One day I’ll track you down on those golden streets and thank you in person.
DayVee’s last blog post..Bargains, braces, and training wheels
We as Mormons DO NOT…nor have we ever…believed that we MUST work our way to Heaven.”
That isn’t what your book says, and it isn’t what I’ve heard other Mormons say. Of course, they don’t phrase it like that. They put all the “Jesus” phrases in there, though they either don’t know or conceal that the Mormon Jesus is radically different than the real Jesus of the Bible.
For example, 2 Nephi 25:23, which reads, “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” [emphasis added]
That sounds humble enough. It makes it appear that we are saved by grace and the sacrifice of Jesus. It sounds like the Bible, but there is a big difference. Look more carefully and see what really saves you:
A. You do all you can, and you are saved by grace.
B. You don’t do all you can, so you are not saved.
So what is the difference between the two? It is all about what you do, not about what Jesus did. In that case, it isn’t grace that saves you, it is your works.
The key word is “after,” and the phrasing is clear. And after all, Joseph Smith said the Book of Mormon is the “most perfect book in the world,” so that wording must be accurate, right? And every Mormon I have talked to acknowledges that the works are required for salvation.
“Now whether our doctrine on some points are different (which is likewise so between Methodists, Episcopals, Baptists etc who all believe in the same shed blood and free gift that we do), why would all those other religions go to Heaven and we would not ”
Because you are trusting in a different Jesus, not the eternal God.
I find it disingenuous in the extreme for Mormons to present themselves as just another denomination. Your religion was founded on the premise that the “real” church was no longer in existence and there are countless quotes by your leaders supporting this. Here are just a few – http://www.carm.org/lds/attack.htm . Your religion is changing their story now to improve your marketing. Deception is not a good work.
I say that as someone who has Mormon friends and neighbors that I appreciate and enjoy. I just prefer the ones who are honest enough to say that we are not the same.
Please heed the warnings of Galatians 1:8-9: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”
As always, if Mormonism is teaching the same Gospel as Christianity then it is redundant at best. If it teaches a different Gospel then we must heed the warning from Galatians 1. Since there are so many clear foundational differences we can be assured that it is the latter.
Neil’s last blog post..?Aspiring? abortion doctors
Kevin – great points. Part of the problem is that we just look at “Christians” in the U.S. There are countless cultural Christians (i.e., they went to church at some point in their lives) who check the “Christian” box on surveys but are no more Christian than Richard Dawkins.
Neil’s last blog post..?Aspiring? abortion doctors
THE ARTICLES OF FAITH
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God
9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the dlaw.
13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
I must suggest to all Christians and Atheist to read this book “The End of Reason” by Dr. Ravi Zacharias. This book forces the reader’s mind to do the critical thinking that is so lacking in Christianity today. It should also be considered required reading for the atheist who has never really looked at a logical argument for the existence of God, or the Christian who has never really critically analyzed his own faith. Check out more information on The End of Reason here
Mormon Prophet Admits He Believes in Another Christ – Not the Traditional Jesus
By James K. Walker (Chart and notes by Timothy Oliver)
Paris, France – In a surprising admission during last month’s three nation European speaking trip, Mormon president Gordon B. Hinckley stated that the Christ he believes in is not the same Christ as the one followed by those outside the LDS Church.
Hinckley quoted unnamed critics of the LDS Church who claim that Mormons do not believe in the traditional Christ and then he agreed with them.
The LDS Church News reported: “In bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, President Hinckley spoke of those outside the Church who say Latter-day Saints ‘do not believe in the traditional Christ. No, I don’t. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this the Dispensation of the Fulness [sic] of Times’” (June 20, 1998, ).
Despite this major difference on a pivotal doctrine of the Christian faith, Hinckley maintains that he is a Christian. “Am I Christian?” Hinckley asked rhetorically, “Of course I am. I believe in Christ. I talk of Christ. I pray through Christ. I’m trying to follow Him and live His gospel in my life” (Ibid.).
Christians should ask, “Which Christ?” The Bible warns of false teachers who promote “another Jesus whom we have not preached” (2 Corinthians 11:4). The Apostle Paul warned the Corinthians not to believe everyone who preached “Jesus.” The true Jesus was based on the tradition of apostolic preaching – the Jesus “we preached.” Paul compared the preaching another Christ outside of that tradition with the deception of the serpent in the Garden of Eden (2 Corinthians 11:4, Genesis 3 1:4-5). In the same context, Paul warned the Church to beware of “.false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:13).
Who Is Jesus?
Christian creeds contain the basic beliefs of traditional Christians – including what they believe about Christ. Christians claim that their creeds are based solely on the Bible. Furthermore, the authority of the creeds rests on their underlying scripture. Because the creeds are derived from and dependent on biblical data, there is a remarkable uniformity between the creeds of various denominations and churches. This is especially true on the essential doctrines such as the Person of Christ.
Unlike the traditional Christian view of Jesus based solely on the Bible, Hinckley’s Christ is based to a large extent on extra-biblical revelation. It is not surprising then to find significant differences.
Hinckley notes this important distinction: “For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this, the Dispensation of the Fulness [sic] of Times. He, together with His Father, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the year 1820, and when Joseph left the grove that day, he knew more of the nature of God than all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages” (LDS Church News).
Additional Information, or Actually Another Jesus?
It is interesting that Hinckley states that the beliefs of traditional Christians were so different than that of Latter-day Saints, that their traditional Jesus “is not the Christ of whom I speak.” It is not just some different information about the same Jesus but a completely different Jesus.
This is a quite rare confession in recent Mormonism. Early Mormon leaders were quite candid about the differences between LDS doctrine and Christian doctrine. One example is the 1820 First Vision account Hinckley cited which is also recorded in LDS Scripture. In relating this vision, Mormon Church founder, Joseph Smith, makes a similar point to Hinckley’s. Smith said that Jesus told him that all of the creeds of existing Christianity were “an abomination in his sight.” These Christian creeds would, of course, include those that describe the essential attributes and identity of the Jesus worshipped by traditional Christians.
As Hinckley observed, Joseph Smith’s first vision introduced a completely different understanding of God’s nature and an entirely distinct concept of Jesus – in fact a different Jesus – than the one worshipped by “all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages” (Ibid.).
One may still find today, for sale in LDS bookstores, similar examples of candor in books written by General Authorities. In most cases, however, they are old publications written by former Mormon leaders.
Some of the Differences
The Traditional Christian Christ
The Mormon Christ
Eternally God1
Not Always God, Became a God2
Only God3
One of Many Gods4
Creator of All Things5
Was Created; Spirit Brother of Lucifer6
Begotten Miraculously, of the Holy Spirit7
Begotten Sexually, by God the Father8
Not Married9
Married with Children10
Atoned for Sin by Death on the Cross11
Atoned by Sweating Blood in Gethsemane12
Justifies the Ungodly13
Requires Godliness before Justification14
Offers Full Salvation Unconditionally15
Offers Full Salvation Only on Conditions16
Although they are rare, there are similar statements by LDS leaders in the last twenty-five years. For example, Elder Bernard P. Brockbank, of the First Quorum of the Seventy, speaking from the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City during General Conference quotes a June 18, 1976 London Times article that states in part, “In fact, there is good reason for regarding them as a new religion rather than as another variety of Christianity.. the Christ followed by the Mormons is not the Christ followed by traditional Christianity.”
Elder Brockbank then adds a very frank admission: “It is true that many of the Christian churches worship a different Jesus Christ than is worshipped by the Mormons or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For example from the Church of England’s Articles of Religion, article one, I quote: ‘There is but one living God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions..’ We cannot obtain salvation and eternal life by worshipping fake Christs.. The belief that God has no body parts, and passions is not a doctrine of Jesus Christ or a doctrine of the holy scriptures but is a doctrine of men, and to worship such a God is in vain” (”The Living Christ,” Ensign, May, 1977, pp. 26-7).
[...] at Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee, bert is taking on the Mormons, the Christians and any other cult that cares to stop by for dinner! [...]
[...] It’s not in the details, the minutiae of our words or actions or even observable reactions. It’s in our motivations. I gave two examples of how I experienced this online in yesterday’s post. The first one was a “debate” over what it means to be Christian vs. being a member of a cult that claims to be Christian going on over at Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee. [...]
Frank,
I’d have to agree with President Hinckley in the article above.
If for no other reason, Latter Day Saints do not use the cross (an execution device) which represents the death of our Savior Jesus Christ, as a symbol of our remembrance.
As you know, he is a resurrected being, and HE LIVES today, so for that reason…we choose to see him as very much alive.
Thank goodness he was not euthanized!
Can you imagine how surreal it would be, to see people walking around with a golden syringe hanging from a chain around their neck?
Oh and by the way…angels DO NOT have wings. Resurrected spirits DO NOT need them, and I think that after a million years or so, our shoulders would get really tired from flapping those things everywhere we go
Bill,
How many wives will a Mormon have in heaven?
Kevin Bussey’s last blog post..Church Police
One (1)…unless God decides otherwise…which he did many times in the Bible you preach from…i.e. King David whom was most loved by the Lord
Who’s Blogging» Links to this article
By Brigid Schulte
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 8, 2008; Page C01
The Rev. Todd Thomason looked out at the nearly empty pews of his congregation at Baptist Temple Church last Sunday. He had preached long and hard about Abraham leaving all that he knew and setting out into an unknown future on nothing more than faith in God. He was hoping that, after the service, what was left of his flock would have the courage to do the same.
After 100 years, Baptist Temple, he feared, was dying. In its heyday in the 1950s, more than 900 members crammed into the sanctuary of the pretty white church in Alexandria that was built for 500. Now he was lucky to get 30. Perhaps the problem, he began to think, was the name itself.
“We’re probably the most progressive church in the city, but ‘Baptist Temple’ sounds weird, like it’s charismatic and conservative,” Thomason said. He worried that the word “Baptist” had become indelibly tied to the political religious right and that when combined with “Temple” it sounded like a fundamentalist “bring out the snakes” kind of place.
So after the service, Thomason would ask the remaining members of the church to save themselves, so to speak, and vote to change their name.
Like those at many Baptist and other Christian churches across the country where attendance has steadily dropped, many Baptist Temple members feel they are at a point where they must either rebrand themselves with a new name, restart as an entirely new church or limp along a few more years before quietly closing their doors.
Recent national surveys show that in an attempt to fill pews, a small but steadily growing number of Christian churches are changing their names and even their religious denominations. Wycoff Baptist in New Jersey became Cornerstone Christian Church. First Baptist in Concord, N.H., is now Centerpoint Church. The Reformed Church in America outside Detroit became Crosswinds Community Church.
Even the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant group in the country, whose 16 million membership has declined in recent years, has hosted church-naming seminars asking the question, “To Baptist or Not to Baptist?”
The convention meets this week to consider a 10-year program designed to stem the membership loss.
“The word Baptist is such a turnoff,” said David Roozen, director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research in Connecticut, who has documented the name-changing trend. “There is a kind of national skepticism about evangelical Christianity because of the religious right and the connection to the Bush administration. You say ‘Baptist’ and people almost automatically think conservative.”
Others say it’s more about marketing. “We’re entering into a nondenominational era,” said Roger Oldham, vice president of convention relations for the Southern Baptist Convention. “One hundred years ago, when people moved to a new area, they were looking for the name brand they were accustomed to. Now, people are looking for genuineness and transparency. Not a particular label.”
Just up the street from Baptist Temple, Fair-Park Baptist Church, barely hanging on with 30 members, closed its doors a few years ago and reopened as Convergence, with a new mission to cater to area artists, with weekly seminars on “The Artist’s Way” and Sunday services at 5 p.m. in deference to musicians playing until the wee hours the night before. Membership dropped to 15 after the change, pastor Lisa Hawkins said, but has inched up to 35.
The Rev. Stephen Welch, executive director of Northstar Church Network, an association of Baptist churches in Northern Virginia, said few new churches have “Baptist” in their names. “I don’t think it’s a matter of being ashamed, but wanting to position the church where there’s less confusion about who you are and who is welcome.”
At least that’s the argument Thomason made Sunday in the church hall, just before the vote.
Thomason held up the century-old silver cup he used to celebrate Communion that day. “You know what it says?” he asked the crowd that was finishing a pizza lunch. “It says Second Baptist.” The church changed its name in 1924, he reminded them, to avoid confusion with an African American church of the same name. The world had changed, he argued. It was time to change the name with it.
Baptist Temple is the kind of place where Thomason likes to say all are welcome. There are openly gay members and activists and Hill staffers from both political parties. There are former Catholics and converted Jews. There are whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics. In the 1990s, it was one of the first Baptist churches to break with the conservative Southern Baptist Convention when the convention decreed that women should submit to their husbands and forbade them to serve on the altar. Then Baptist Temple called a woman to serve as its head pastor.
Since October, Thomason has been meeting with small groups as they wrestle with their identity and their name. Members have argued over names such as “Fellowship of Peace” and “Rosemont Community Church.” And in one particularly painful PowerPoint session, members hashed out the pros and cons of keeping the word “Baptist.” “It’s who we are,” argued one. “There’s too much baggage,” argued another.
Sue Anderson thinks the name Baptist Temple is “kind of bizarre.” But primarily because of the “Temple” part, which was chosen because of the church’s onetime proximity to the towering George Washington Masonic Memorial. She worries it conjures images of tambourines and people speaking in tongues. But the word “Baptist?” That’s non-negotiable.
“I’m pretty proud to be a Baptist. Throughout history, Baptists have probably been among the most radical and liberal denominations of them all,” she said. “I feel bitter that the name has been hijacked by the Jerry Falwells and Tammy Faye Bakkers of the world. They shouldn’t steal my Baptist heritage from me. I want to fight for it.”
Baptists are famously among the most independent Christian denominations. There are primitive Baptists. Baptists who don’t drink or dance. Baptists who take the Bible literally. There are moderate Northern Baptists who broke with Southern churches over slavery before the Civil War. African American Baptists. Korean Baptists. And there are Baptists like Jimmy Carter and Martin Luther King Jr.
Baptists have no church hierarchy. Each church is supremely autonomous and self-supporting. And all people, they believe, have not only the freedom but the responsibility to interpret the Bible as it speaks to them and to seek God on their own terms. But in recent years, the world has come to equate all Baptists with only the denomination’s most conservative branch.
“When you have to spend your time in explain-and-defend mode, saying, ‘I’m not one of those Baptists,’ it gets in the way of explaining who you are,” said Pat Eddington, a Baptist Temple member who’s been pushing for the name change. “A lot of people see us as surrendering to the Southern Baptist Convention. To me, the difference is, they’ve already won.”
In its 100 years, Baptist Temple has survived a lot: two moves, floods, a fire, a secretary who ran off with the collection money and a pastor’s wife who ran off with the chairman of the deacons. But perhaps the biggest crisis is this: In recent years, as the old guard has faded into nursing homes or died, only one new person has joined the church. And like many newer members, Gayle Reuter said she joined in spite of the name. “I never dreamed it was progressive,” she said.
Reuter joined because of the people, she said, and because of the good works the church does. She doesn’t really care about the name. “But I’m concerned that if people don’t come inside in the first place, because of the name, we may not be able to continue,” she said. “If there’s a chance that we won’t make it, then the name could be really critical.”
With lunch finished, it was time to vote. Yellow ballots and pencils made their way around the room. Three members disappeared into another room to count. Church bylaws require a majority vote of two-thirds of the 37 members present.
Helen and Sam Dickens had already decided to vote no. They joined the church in 1945 as young newlyweds and remember week-long revivals, songfests, crowded church suppers and the days of five choirs and lively softball, bowling and basketball teams. They love the name Baptist Temple. “It’s worked all these years; why change it?” Helen lamented before the vote.
In minutes, the counting committee returned with the results. Ten voted to keep name. One abstained. And 26 members, just 1.4 votes more the majority required, won the day. Baptist Temple will henceforth be known as “Commonwealth Baptist Church.”
In the end, members compromised. They changed their name but could not leave their Baptist roots behind. Instead, they’ll add a tagline, something that explains their kind of Baptist, such as “A Progressive Community of Faith.”
As people filed out, Thomason breathed a sigh of relief. Changing the name is no magic bullet. “It’s not like we change the name and next Sunday 200 people will be at worship,” he said. But it’s a start. Although he won’t be around to see it.
Thomason, who became pastor in 2004, got caught up in the church’s struggle for identity and survival. Some blamed him, not just the name, for failing to bring in new people and asked him to resign. He preached his last on Sunday. Then he, too, like the newly named church, like Abraham, will step out into an unknown future, on nothing more than faith.
Bill,
Wrong! That was never God’s design. That was man’s sinfulness.
Kevin Bussey’s last blog post..Church Police
Kevin,
Of course I hope you know the wives thing was in jest…