Southern Baptists Mull Name Change

Rev. Bryant Wright wants to take the "Southern" out of the Southern Baptist Convention. 

The  pastor, who recently began a second year as the president of the SBC, has created a study group that will examine the possibility a name change, something the tradition-bound denomination has resisted numerous times over the years. 

But according to a story in The Tennessean on Tuesday, Wright said the geographical moniker doesn't make sense in a church with a growing nationwide presence. 

“There are not a lot of folks in New York City interested in going to a Southern Baptist church,” he said. “Or in Cheyenne, Wyoming, or Boise, Idaho.”

The SBC is the second-largest religious body in the United States with 45,000 member churches, 

The Nashville newspaper reported that Wright did not seek SBC executive committee permission to form the 19-member study group, which will not receive denomination funding for its work.

The subject of Baptists and rebranding is not a new one, according to the Associated Baptist Press, including removal of the "Baptist" name altogether in many areas outside the South.

Opponents of an SBC name change have said that the denomination's mission its more important than its name. But supporters maintain that traditionalists are also rooted in the SBC's post-Civil War past more than the future.

Wright has not indicated what name he might want the SBC to adopt, but is seeking input at Pray4BSC, an SBC-related website.