What would you name your
Denomination?
Organizations and
denominations have recently been in the mood for changing their name. A bunch of colleges have renamed themselves “university” though they still
function mostly as colleges.
The Southern Baptists are debating dropping the word “Southern” since
so many of their churches aren’t in the south. (I wonder if they’ll keep
“Baptist.”)
The International Bible society traded that name for “Biblica.” Is that
clearer?
Of course the Oriental Missionary Society can’t say
“Oriental” any more so they are now “One Mission Society.”
The YMCA has moved beyond being just for Young Men and maybe also
drifted away from being Christian and an Association, so they are now just the
Y.
The most recent name change
is by Campus Crusade for Christ.
Their ministry is no longer just on Campuses, the word Crusade is repugnant to
Islam, and “for Christ” is a bit too hard-sell for many who
now prefer a softer approach—so their new name is simply “Cru.” Most
denominations and organizations go through a series of name changes through
their lifetimes. This latest spate comes mostly from “Branding studies” where
you hire expensive consultants to help you “re-brand” your product.
So, what
would you rename your denomination if you had that power? Why do denominations (or local churches) need to
sometimes change their names? And, while we’re at it… what would you rename your local
church if you could name it anything?
That’s what I’ll be thinking about this
week.
So, what do you think?
The
discussion of this column is on
Facebook:
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Keith Drury
www.TuesdayColumn