DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS?

     Did you hear the news?  Southern Baptists took an historic step in June at the Southern Baptist annual convention held in New Orleans, Louisiana.  For the first time in our history, messengers elected a black convention president.  Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans, ran unopposed at the SBC annual meeting.   Luter, a former street preacher, brought his mostly black New Orleans congregation back from near annihilation after Hurricane Kutrina in 2005.  About 7,000 messengers stood to their feet, cheered, and shouted, "Halelujah," after he was elected.
     Racism is something Southern Baptists have tried to live down for a long time.  Baptists were split during the Civil War era between the Northern (now American) Baptists and Southern Baptists.  Southern Baptists represented the culture and mores of the South.  In our early days we Nevadans were known as "Southern" sympathizers because we were always "bushwhacking" the federal (Union) troops.  That's why the troops from Ft. Scott burned our town and our church!  That is why we have the annual Bushwhacker Days.
     Several years ago Southern Baptists passed  a resolution sent to the National Baptist Convention (Blacks) to apologize for the racism in our history.  The President of the National Baptist Convention basically said, "Thanks, but no thanks!"  Too little; too late.  There were suspicions among those in the black Baptist Convention  that the SBC has been trying to reach upward mobile black families in the cities.  For the past five years, the SBC has seen a decline in membership.
     And then there is the name-- Southern.  I mean-- the Methodists dealt with the name change years ago.  They converted from "Southern" Methodists to "United" Methodists.  Northern and Southern Baptists could never get together.  But can we at least change our name?  Well, this year the messengers approved an "alternate" name.  Our alternate name is now Great Commission Baptists.
     Of course a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.  Or a  Baptist by any other name can be just as racist.  Or not.