what is wrong with the name baptist

This is in refrence and rebuttal to an artivle by jospeh Harris which ha can be found here http://www.miniedition.net/, or more easily here, http://www.bmaweb.net/news/061019_opin_harris_name_baptist.htm.

Unfortunately to many Baptist Churches are stinking up the place. Some make it so hard for others to use the identifier of Baptist without being treated unfairly.  I am all for Baptist being on the sign.  I even argued/discussed with at current seminary professor and students from his Church about why they dropped Baptist from their sign.  But I was reminded that the great Baptist Spurgeon pastored two churches that we not Baptist.  Was he wrong for pastoring and preaching at these churches?  Is it more important to be Baptist in name or Baptistic in teaching?  In truth there are some churches that use the Baptist moniker that are truly Pentecostal.  So what of them? Are they better for the name of Baptist?  What happens when a good name is tarnished?  One of the unique thing about a church that does a membership class, a 101 class or what ever they call it, is that they go over who they are, who they associate with, what they believe, and why? In this you find out if the Country Church or the New Life Fellowship are Baptist are not.

One last situation to ponder – You were to plant a church in a small town where there have been three prior Baptist Churches. In which, one had a horrible money scandal, another an adulterous legacy and the third was recently ravaged with Child Pornography. The Baptist name was now much.  When you knocked on a door and said you we asking some “spiritual questions” and the found out you were Baptist, every time you were cursed and the door was slammed because the community had been betrayed and the Baptist before you had failed them.  Who it be stewardship to starchy wave than Baptist flag in their wounded faces, or instead, suck up our Baptist pride and present Jesus to them and later teach them why we feel so strongly about the Baptist faith.

After all it is Jesus that saves and not the Baptist name.

With this said, I am a Baptist, love being Baptist, our church carries the name Baptist, and I even love the ol’ landmarks.