Pioneering: Meditations for Our Transformation
Number
11 November 11, 2012
Our
Name – Our Brand
For this reason I kneel before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may
strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that
Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being
rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s
holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of
Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled
to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19
First,
a disclaimer. Actually, three. First.
This is not written to
endorse any name for our new baby church.
It is written to encourage your prayerful thought about what your
preferred name should mean to those we are trying to reach.
Second
disclaimer: My beloved editor is vacationing half a world away, so all errors
in grammar and punctuation are solely mine.
Third
disclaimer: I did submit a name or two,
but for the life of me and my aging brain, I did not write them down, so I do
not recall them precisely.
What
we name things has meaning on a lot of levels.
I was supposed to be named Cecil Bradley Reynolds – a name my mother
chose to honor my father. But, in
everlasting gratitude to my Dad, he nixed the whole thing and vowed no son of his
would have to go through life as Cecil. (My sincere apologies to the Cecils who
proudly bear that name.)
I
mentioned we’re naming a new baby church.
Forgive me if I insult anyone, but I look at this transformed church as
a brand new infant who has many relatives and one Heavenly Father. It will take all our skills to nurture I, and
guide it, and help it grow it in all the days remaining to us. It will need to be strong enough to withstand
the direct and indirect assaults of the forces of Darkness. And until it can fully shelter us, we will
need to shelter it, and surround it with our prayers, our gifts, and our
complete attention, just as every newborn needs.
This
church will be God’s church, on loan to us for our rock of sanctuary, our power
station, our refuge, our temple of learning, our home port for missions
adventures across the street, across the continent, and across the oceans. It will be much more than where we come
Sunday mornings to sit, sing, sip coffee, and say ancient words.
This
baby will grow up before our eyes. I
believe it will grow faster than we can imagine if we are committed to
nurturing it as we would our own child or grandchild, niece or nephew. And as we grow older, this now mature and
vibrant church will make us as proud as a Christian fellowship is allowed to
be. More than that, if we are constantly
telling our neighbors and strangers about this new baby in our lives, they are
going to want to see it as well.
I
wonder what its first words will be? You
who are grandparents know that the first grandchild gets the naming
rights. Pam, our first daughter named my
mother “Doodle.” My mom would bounce
Pammy on her knee and sing “Pammy Doodle came to town riding on a pony.” And about as soon as speech came to her, Pam
looked at her grandmother and said “Doo Doo.” Close enough! And pretty soon “Doodle” was the license
plate on my dad’s car.
Although
we get to pick the name this time, pretty soon this new baby church will be
naming us, and we will be button-busting proud of what we are called.
Acts 11:26
tells us that the name ‘Christian’ was first used in Antioch of Syria. It was a name not chosen by them (they were
people of The Way). It was given to them
like any vulgar name given by one group to another group whom they hated,
ridiculed, or despised. ‘Christian’ was
a religious slur describing people being out-of-their-mind slaves to Christ.
But
no one seemed to mind. In fact today
that term is, at least to Christians, a beloved name that embodies all the
traits and ways of conduct that we aspire to, namely, to be Christ-like.
There
are not many naming events in the Bible, but each one has lasting
importance. In Genesis 2 we read that
God gave Adam his first job: to name all the animals. In Genesis 17 God changes Abram and Sarai to
Abraham and Sarah. Exodus tells us how
an Egyptian princess named a Hebrew boy Moses.
And in the most important naming event, an angel tells Joseph and Mary
separately that the child Mary carries will be called Jesus.
The
naming process that will start this week will have lasting importance for us,
the “godparents.” (Think of that,
godparents!) Surely, we’d like the name
to reflect our heritage, even the saints on whose shoulders we stand today.
But
if we look at those Biblical naming events, we find that it wasn’t honoring the
past, but about promising the future. “I
will make you fruitful and the father
of many nations.” “You will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Whatever
name this baby will receive, we will love the name and the baby. And we are branded by this name as well. Branded, because the name stands for
something. This church – our new baby
church is the Truth of the Ages, the substance that redeems souls, forgives
mistakes, loves without human limitation, baptizes in the name of Christ, makes
disciples, and triumphs over Satan. Even
if it is named Cecil. I know, because he
was a great dad.
Please
read aloud the Ephesians passage, claiming everything given to us in the name
we derive from God the Father.
Common
Prayer. O God of language and love: let the name
chosen for our transformed church spur us to active involvement in the business
of Your kingdom growth. Inspire us as we
discern its name. And with this name,
put on us the Mark of Christ that we may be slaves of Christ for the salvation
of the world. AMEN.
To think about: Remember how and why you were
named.
Transformation
Team emphasis for the next two weeks:
Our
church’s new name; the Focus Groups; the Plan of Union; and praise for all who
serve this work.
Please address your feedback and
comments to Charles L. Reynolds at papoo99@comcast.net. I’d really like to hear from you!
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