News hope Weekly 4/10/13

www.newhopebaptistmpls.org "An Imperfect People Serving a Perfect God"      Dateline: verb verb verb. the verb is the word.  "ist"a suffix of nouns, often corresponding to verbs ending in ize  or nouns ending in ism, that denote a person who practices or is concerned with something, or holds certain principles, doctrines, etc.: apologist;dramatist; machinist; novelist; realist; socialist;  Thomist. (definition from dictionary.com) Back in my days in the music scene, it would always bother me whenever someone would refer to me as the "bassist" of the band. I always would correct them by calling myself the bass player... we do not have a drumist or microphonist either. The suffix "ist" has a certain connotation of staunch boredom and brings about visions of immovable stagnation. The definition of "ist" shows us that the "ist" makes a noun while "ize" makes a verb. Perhaps this is why "ist" seems so boring to me since I like action.  I no longer come across too many folks calling me a bassist but I still have an "ist" to scratch... I don't want to be a baptist, I want to be a baptizer. I understand the "holding certain doctrine" part of "Baptist" and I do not challenge that. What I challenge is the effectiveness of words and descriptions we use to label ourselves in this world so badly in need of more baptisms not more baptists. I could not count how many times people have asked me if our church baptizes people even though our name is New Hope BaptistChurch. Do you suppose they would ask that question if I introduced myself to them as "Jake the Baptizer?"   People, it is time for the church to be people of action not description. In other words we need to be verbs not nouns. For too long we have let the "ist" settle in. As a result we have become academic and analytical (which works for a chemist or scientist but not the church). Heck, I would even be willing to change the name of our church to New Hope Baptizing Church and our convention to the Southern Baptizing Convention or Worldwide Baptizing Convention (especially sense the topic of a name change for the convention never seems to fade away).  Jesus Christ did not designate His bride by name but by deed. He gave us the power to "go" and "do" and there is plenty of work to be done in many places in this world.                                                                                                   In Christ,                                                                                                "Jake the Baptizer"