A Rose by anyother name is still a rose.

A famous line I am sure many of you have heard before. What is in a name? When we think of a rose we have a defined picture in our mind. We see in our mind the shape of the bud of a rose. Vase like in appearance with the petals wrapped tightly around overlapping each other as if concealing the center of the flower, the focal point of the scent of the rose. That sweet scent we can "smell" in our minds without having a flower in our presence. The name of rose brings to mind images of love and romance. The name rose brings out many different feelings and images. So a name does cause us to define an object, but does a name dictate who we are?

I recently read a blog speaking of names and how they define what the object is and what it does as well. Think of Taco Bell. What kind of food do they sell? What are your expectations from this establishment? Would you think of going to Taco Bell for a hamburger? Of course not! What if I were to tell you they had the best hamburgers in town. They had expanded their menu to include burgers and fries! Would you consider going their, knowing they are primarily a taco joint? I would say not, you would be more likely to go to Burger King, Wendy's, McDonald's or your burger joint of choice. Their names have not only defined what they do, but you also have associated a perceived expectation when going to that particular restaurant. Burger King - have it your way, Wendy's - made fresh to order, McDonald's - Big Mac. So a name carries a great deal of significance and defines who you are...whether you like it or not.

Now as we begin the launch process of a new church, a name can carry with it a lot of baggage, both positive and negative. The name can not only define who you are (your perception is not always the one perceived by others), but can also (perceived by others) dictate what you do. This applies to churches as well. Does having your denominational affiliation in the name signify who you are trying to attract? First Baptist, St. Andrew's Lutheran, United Presbyterian, Your Town Methodist Church. These names define who you are and if you are somewhat church savvy you may not choose one over the other because of the denominational definition, whether it is correct or not! So this is the dilemma we are looking at...what name should we have for our new mission start. Since it is just a congregation of two (Linda and I) should we look for a name now or wait until we have more people pulled into the flock. But more importantly what do we want our name to say about us?

Christ centered, friendly, open, inviting, safe, caring, family oriented, grace filled, loving, welcoming to people be it single, married with or without kids, youth oriented, a place where people can see faith be lived out, these are just some things that come to mind when I think of an idea church. Our demographics in Prattville speak of all these things as the population is very mixed of all sorts of people from differing backgrounds and stages of life.

So being led to a name that defines and represents the "DNA" of the church is not easy. What are you thoughts about names? If you have one, please post a comment.