A recent trend is to jettison not only the "Southern" brand, but the "Baptist" as well, as many member churches have excised that moniker out of their titles. The church across the street from me is a prime example, jettisoning the "Baptist" brand for a more "hip" amorphous identity. I visited once and was completely turned off by the coffee-house "performance stage" style service, untucked grunge look to the officiants, and self-absorbed attention grabbing style. Not saying that this can't be church, but it sure can be worldliness masquerading as "church."
If you recall, a proposal to change the convention name came up in the past year or so by getting rid of the "southern" part. I'm certain that this will gain traction in the next few years as member retention becomes the prime mission of the group.
Spot on. The second to the last church where I was ministering, Sagemont (22,000 members)...you’ll see it in my testimony link on the freepmail...jettisoned the name “baptist” a while back. The went from Sagemonth Baptist Church to just “Sagemont Church” on all the letterheads and billboards...the public stuff. But all the legal stuff still had baptist on it.