What’s in a name? Sometimes, nothing; sometimes, everything. That applies to churches as well.
Since the 1980s, the trend has been for churches to drop denominational identifiers from their names.
For example, in the South Carolina Upstate region, New Covenant Church has a significant presence. It is a Presbyterian congregation with ties to the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Grace Church, which has campuses all over the Upstate, has never really publicized that it is a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) congregation.
In Charlotte, Steve Furtick’s Elevation Church left the Southern Baptist Convention in 2023 so his wife could preach, but they never really identified as an SBC congregation. Calvary Church, one of the Queen City’s largest Christian churches, changed its name from Bible Presbyterian Church back in the 1970s.
Churches have eschewed denominational affiliation or identification for several reasons.
In the case of Myers Park Baptist Church, the people had come to believe that having “Baptist” in its name actually created a barrier for some people who were looking to associate with a local congregation. The word, in their view, had too much baggage, and so it was dropped and replaced with “Covenant.”
The 800+ member congregation, founded 83 years ago, concluded that changing “Baptist” to “Covenant” meant a lot. It is reflective of the guiding principles of the church. The congregation drafted and adopted a Congregational Covenant in 1981, which reflects the deeply held values of Myers Park. Now their name reflects that tradition.
According to Nancy W. Hudson, chair of the Board of Deacons, “Our cherished Church Covenant remains a touchstone for our members. It is not a list of rules, but rather a statement on how to live and grow together on our spiritual journey.”
The church still retains a commitment to its theological and ecclesiastical Baptist heritage without the typical conservative associations that come with that nomenclature.
For example, in 2017, the congregation approved a Statement Affirming Free Pulpit and Free Pew, which is reflective of their Baptist commitment to being an autonomous church body where ministers are free from denominational constraint to preach “the truth based on their interpretation of the Scripture” and where members are free to question or disagree with anything that is preached or taught.
Myers Park Covenant Church is by all standards a “progressive Christian” congregation. While located in one of Charlotte’s most affluent neighborhoods, the church has adopted and lives out clear commitments to progressive social and theological issues such as LGBTQ+ rights, racial issues and, most recently, immigration issues.
Interim Minister Tim Moore includes those themes in his preaching.
The Church left the SBC in the late 1990s primarily over LGBTQ+ full participation in church life.
In 2001, with a revision in 2022, the church adopted a statement on LGBTQ+ inclusion that states the following: “open to all and closed to none.” Meaning? They welcome and affirm all persons without regard to race, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation or attraction, biological sex, age, economic status, physical or mental capacity.
For more details, visit their website here.
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