A Practical Reason For A New Label?
As many of my readers know, I have tended to be a staunch defender of labels that define in the context of American Evangelical Christianity. I willingly identify myself (and congregations I am involved with) with terms such as “Baptist,” “Fundamentalist,” “Separatist,” and so on. For that matter, I have also tended to invest myself in organizations that have brought like-minded individuals (at least to some degree) together. With that being said, I am beginning to wonder if the time hasn’t come for some new kind of identifying label. And no, I am not now intending to eagerly embrace the term “Libruhl Compromiser.”
I have had several opportunities lately to try to assist people who were relocating (or at least considering it) with finding a congregation in their new locale. Most of the time, the places they have been considering have been unfamiliar to me. Like most people today, one of the ways I have begun to search out options has been to enter my search criteria on a site like Google. However, I have found, as perhaps many of you have, that using terms like “baptist church” or even “Fundamental Baptist Church” can produce many returns that I would not end up feeling comfortable recommending.
Perhaps it is an idle thought, but I have begun to wonder if there might not be some better means of identifying congregations- if not to replace terms that are already “out there,” then at least to aid in the distinguishing process? On the one hand, there are already so many labels floating around- yet, for example, if one were inclined to search for a “Reformed Baptist” congregation, if indeed such a congregation existed in a particular locality, the results that would come in such a query would require far less refining than would, say, a comparable search for a “Fundamentalist Baptist.”
I am interested to hear feedback on this. What criteria might you enter in an internet search? Do you have ideas as to how a new identifying mark might be arrived at? Does it seem to you as if we are discussing something that requires no fixing ’cause it ain’t broke? If a new term or label was suggested, how would you work to insure that it would be useful in a context outside your local church?
Labels tend to evolve. I think when someone thinks up a new label that is good (effective, accurate, usable, etc.) and starts using it, it will just catch on over time. So far, I haven’t heard of any good likely replacements for the label “Fundamentalist.”
Conservative Christian committed to the idea of Fundamentalism = “Conservatist”
Greg, been thinking about this for a while…
The only way any new term could be protected would be if it could be some kind of trademark or denominational label that could be legally protected. Barring this, anyone can call themselves whatever new term one might come up with. Maybe what you are after is a trustworthy ’seal of approval’ from a “Better Churches Bureau”, but I kind of doubt that independent Baptists would go along with it.
Likely we are stuck with the hodgepodge we currently have.
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
When searching for a church in a strange area and that has a website I just do two things. See how they word their statement of faith particularly about the Bible version that preach from and how their teenagers look in any pictures. It usually says a lot for the kind of church that they are.
While I tend to agree somewhat with what Pastor Coon wrote, I do believe it is important to understand how limited an internet search can be in this area. For instance, you could enter specific search terms and what’s been written about a particular church may not even be close to the personality of the local congregation.
Some may have the “church” look and preach from a particular Bible, but the people might have tongues long enough to sit in the den and lick the skillet in the kitchen.
In my particular denomination, I know from one church to another, the basic tenants are the same, and the Sunday School literature is the same. Worship may be different from one congregation to another, and likely is. One pastor may choose to preach from a traditional version, while another pastor may choose to preach from a more literal translation.
Thanks for a thought=provoking post.