March 12, 2012 issue
Majority of BIC favor keeping their name
By Sheldon C. Good Mennonite Weekly ReviewPage:
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Results are in from a survey of the Brethren in Christ Church of North America that asked whether people favor a denominational name change. About 52 percent of respondents said “no.”
Twenty-one percent favored a name change, and 26 percent were not sure. Two-thirds have a positive view of the current name; 11 percent reported a negative view of it.
When asked about the word “Brethren” in the name, 57 percent had a positive view and 21 percent negative. For the word “Christ,” 92 percent responded with very positive or positive.
Survey results were shared at the BIC General Conference Board meeting Feb. 10.
Based on this data, the board will recommend to the General Conference, which gathers in July, that the name change study be concluded at this time. The board also suggests that a name-change study group be convened at least two more times at four year intervals.
“We need to pay attention to whether we have trends, and this is not clear with just one survey,” said moderator Warren Hoffman. “We want to use this original study as our baseline [for future studies]. This will allow us to determine whether trends are developing.”
The survey was available from October to December both electronically and in print, and in English and Spanish; 3,050 surveys were completed.
Hoffman said the sample of respondents lines up with the demographic realities of the BIC.
The Brethren in Christ are an Anabaptist group with 35,000 members in North America and churches in more than two dozen countries. The name change discussion applies only to North America.
Congregations aren’t required to include “Brethren in Christ” in their name as long as they identify with the denomination somewhere, like on a sign, bulletin or website.
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Comments
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The questions that The Brethren in Christ members are asking are good one's and they must continue to explore this issue.
The idea that the younger members of BIC congregations in urban populations "may not have a longstanding acquaintance," with BIC brand is not in my opinion the major concern of young or urban generations.
The greater issue here is that they (younger/urban BIC members) have alot of people that they could reach and be a blessing to with the gospel, but because of obscurity of the Brand in urban neighborhoods, people will express reservation.
Now, I cannot speak to the nature of urban development in Toronto, but i can nevertheless speak to urban development in the Mid-Atlantic region; and the truth is there are not many Anabaptist related congregation in the these population. Notwithstanding the lack of Anabaptist exposure in urban developments, there has not been enough of an intentional push to engage the urban cultures of these regions in ways that are natural and contextual to the people to the people that inhabit them.
As an Anabaptist and urban church planter in Camden NJ., our churches are holding closely in expression and in deed, the shared values of the Anabaptist tradition in our violence and crime torn cities. What we have learned is that people are hungry for the practical outworking of our values, whether they understand the branding markers or not. People want know deeper the ethic of love, peace, and justice that was demonstrated by Christ; in some cases it is all that they can hold on to.
This is an area of particular focus that needs to be addressed among Anabaptist denomination. We go far and wide to go take the gospel and the rich values of our tradition "Where it is not," yet we shy away from being intentional about bringing those same values in relevant ways to the places in our own back yards that need it desperately; our cities and urban populations.
The question that we must ask ourselves are:
Does our demoninational branding determine our values, or do our values determine our branding?
Could an opportunity to do a new works which engage new generations of pre-believers with the gospel, while being assisted by some branding and philosphy changes be harmful? Are we blending new wines in old skins? (Mark 2:21-22)
Do we love our traditional and cultural markers more than we love the missio dei?
And Lastly,
What effect would a tangible demonstration of the ethic of love, peace, and justice by Anabaptist groups in the city look like? How would the Glory of God shine in such place?
Alberto Buster, Jr. - M.Div Urban Missional Leadership, (Candidate) Church planter, Speaker, and Pastor of The Family Christian Fellowship. (Camden, NJ.)
Follow me on Twitter: @Pastor_Buster
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