What's in a name?
There have been times in the past when churches I have been part of, have, as part of a review process, considered whether or not their name was a good reflection of what they stood for as a church, or whether the name should be changed to reflect a different emphasis within the community, to worship, or because of other factors.
So, Hilltop became King's Church, where a (then) expanding group of churches became less associated with the location of the original building. Cranleigh Chapel detached itself from its Brethren roots and became Cranleigh Community Church. Kettering Christian Fellowship became Kettering Praise Community Church to stress the call to worship and relationship across its network.
The King's Arms had very good intentions about reaching out into the community: they also certainly knew how to drink!
I know of one church that went through a sequence of serious problems, and one of the decisions made to overcome a period of crisis was to change their name, as it was felt that the current one implied a measure of arrogance towards, and superiority over other congregations in their town. I don't know if this made a difference, but I don't reject it as being over the top either.
A friend of ours said to us recently, "So, you're Pentecostals now, are you?" No, I'm not. With my denominational background, if I was a dog, I would be a mongrel with no breeding pedigree whatsoever. However, they do say that mongrels are more intelligent, and don't suffer from the health risks such as poor vision, or even blindness to which their more thoroughbred cousins are prone.
When I occasionally visited a lively church in my student days and some of them realised I was part of a URC, they tried to convert me. When we joined a New Frontiers Church and mentioned our Pioneer roots, there was some points scoring to try to correct our poor theology.
Names are meant to be labels that express something of what we stand for. However, what they are not meant to be is a constriction which prevents you from becoming all that God wants you to become. I once heard it said that the names of many denominations identified not just what God did in their generation, but also where their revelation stopped.
Don't let your name hold you back!
So, Hilltop became King's Church, where a (then) expanding group of churches became less associated with the location of the original building. Cranleigh Chapel detached itself from its Brethren roots and became Cranleigh Community Church. Kettering Christian Fellowship became Kettering Praise Community Church to stress the call to worship and relationship across its network.
The King's Arms had very good intentions about reaching out into the community: they also certainly knew how to drink!
I know of one church that went through a sequence of serious problems, and one of the decisions made to overcome a period of crisis was to change their name, as it was felt that the current one implied a measure of arrogance towards, and superiority over other congregations in their town. I don't know if this made a difference, but I don't reject it as being over the top either.
A friend of ours said to us recently, "So, you're Pentecostals now, are you?" No, I'm not. With my denominational background, if I was a dog, I would be a mongrel with no breeding pedigree whatsoever. However, they do say that mongrels are more intelligent, and don't suffer from the health risks such as poor vision, or even blindness to which their more thoroughbred cousins are prone.
When I occasionally visited a lively church in my student days and some of them realised I was part of a URC, they tried to convert me. When we joined a New Frontiers Church and mentioned our Pioneer roots, there was some points scoring to try to correct our poor theology.
Names are meant to be labels that express something of what we stand for. However, what they are not meant to be is a constriction which prevents you from becoming all that God wants you to become. I once heard it said that the names of many denominations identified not just what God did in their generation, but also where their revelation stopped.
Don't let your name hold you back!
posted by Sparky at 5:33 pm
1 Comments:
The church we are planting in Bournemouth goes by the name, Bournemouth and Poole International Church. There was a little concern expressed when we first announced this. A local vicar thought that it would cause unnecessary confusion since a Bournemouth International Church already exists; he did admit that his church, St Andrews, is one of five St Andrews(-es) in the vicinity! That was a different thing he argued.
Why Bournemouth and Poole International Church? Because we have a vision for the whole of the local conurbation, and a vision which extends in line with the Church's general commission to the ends of the earth. Also we thought it would deter association by name - you can hardly have 'Bournemouth and Poole International Church, Portsmouth'.
We relate to the Kingdom Faith movement. Interestingly enough Kingdom Faith doesn't allow fellowships to call themselves 'Kingdom Faith'. There are only 4 or 5 Kingdom Faith Churches in the country all founded directly by the movement. There are 60 or so other fellowships which are allowed to state that they are 'in relationship with Kingdom Faith'. There are well over 500 churches worldwide that acknowledge Colin Urquhart's apostleship. Kingdom Faith stands for something; it's not a matter of 'we like what you do so we'll call ourselves by your name'. As Chris says, 'Get your own vision and get a name that expresses that'.
The vision of Bournemouth and Poole International Church is to be a church 30,000 strong. We are asking God for a tithe of the population. We may upset some ministers and churches on the way; others will come alongside us and work with us. The truth is that making God famous is too important to accommodate 'political' correctness.
Darren
http://www.bpic.org.uk/
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