Name Dropping
Mark 1:4-13
Philippians 2:5-11
With a node to Pastor David Uth at the First Church in Orlando – I would like to try something interactive with you this morning. I will say a name and I invite you say the first thing that comes to mind. ([1])
- Bill Gates
- Oprah Winfrey
- JK Rowling
- Aung San Suu Kyi
- Bono
- Your grandmother
- Steve Jobs
- Brittney Spears
- Lance Armstrong
- Walt Disney
- Randy Pausch
- Susie Orman
Some of those names were immediately recognizable to you; quickly brought a memory to your mind, and others needed an explanation. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear these two?
Martin Luther King Jr.
Mother Theresa
And these two?
Baptist
The First Baptist Church of Littleton
A few weeks ago we had a special meeting and talked about ways to grow the church and become a more inviting community. A recurrent theme at that meeting, as in past conversations, focused on how uninviting the word “Baptist” is to those who don’t know us. Many of you shared that in conversations with others about the church, you almost always had to include a discussion and an explanation of who we are “not.”
~ You have to explain that we are not the typical Baptist Church.
~You have to explain that we do not do altar calls and we do not make people feel guilty and sinful. Some of you shared with passion, as in the past, how much you dislike that kind of evangelical tactic.
~You have to explain that we do not hand out lists of “thou shall not’s” for your life the day you walk through the door. We do not judge people when they come in and try to regulate their behavior.
My brother who works in Public Radio, a medium where words are critically important, shared that it is understood that a presentation that requires an explanation after it concludes, means you are losing ground. In other words if it isn’t clear enough the first time, you have most likely lost them.
If the mere mention of a name invokes a bad feeling or memory, that person has taken one or two steps away from walking through our door. And if we have to explain who we are not – then most likely they may listen politely, but have no intention of checking us out.
Memory invokes meaning – meaning invokes memory.
Inviting and welcoming people into church and into a faith community in this culture, is a task that needs to start off with many positives.
There are many who don’t think of a church as a place of healing, wholeness or community, and turn to twelve step programs, support groups, self-help books and therapy. These are all very good, however people are very often stuck in their memories of church, immobilized by their religious wounds and failures of faith, and don’t even know what they are looking for or what to expect in a church.
The name “Baptist” as a noun is uninviting and confusing. Turn it into an adjective that describes a church and you have a double whammy. How sad it is that when people feel the need for healing and help, they think of Barnes and Noble rather than a church community
Think about the power of “names.”
We may “drop” a name when we want to increase our standing in the conversation, a relationship, or situation especially if they are famous.
Actress Rosalind Russell used to like to tell this story on herself. It seems she was taking a cruise and one day on deck she was sitting next to a man who had a terrible cold. She advised him: "I think if you will go to bed early, take a lot of fluids and two aspirin, you will feel better in the morning."
He didn't register a response and so she added: "My name is Rosalind Russell -- you know? I make movies."
The man apologized for his non-recognition, thanked her for her advice, and introduced himself:
"My name is Charles Mayo, and I run a medical clinic." ([2])
Names are powerful. Dropping a name in the right way at the right time may help us discover a connection, and build a relationship with someone we didn’t know. Name dropping may be a good thing, if done with words of grace and humility and may strengthen a relationship.
Companies compete for naming rights, and pay large sums of money to have their name on a building or a product. The Boston Garden was changed to the Fleet Center, after Fleet Boston paid $30 million dollars for 15 year naming rights. Following an acquisition, they had to pay two to three million dollars to get out of that contract and it became TD Bank North. [3] I believe it is supposed to change again – but many folks still identify it as the place the Celtics and Bruins play – you know The Garden.
There is power in names. Even here many items within the church that were donated, were donated in memory of someone, and their name is put on plaques or on the item because it evokes the memory of the person and their contribution to this community. It keeps the name alive, long after the person has passed away.
But when a name confuses, misidentifies and closes doors it may be time to consider “dropping” it from our title, but not from our heritage or our affiliations. If we have to spend time telling people who we are not – then we might have to double or triple our efforts to get the word out about who we are. I noted with interest that that church where I got the idea for the beginning of this sermon is First Orlando and their website is www.firstorlando.com. However it is also a Baptist church, where the name is used on the inside.
Names are powerful. First impressions are powerful.
In the Scriptures names were very powerful, purposeful and meaningful. Names were chosen to reflect significant spiritual or historical events, and at times names were changed.
In the two creation stories we see the care that was used in the naming.
Day and night, birds and beasts were created and named.
The Rivers that flowed from the garden were created and named.
Man and woman were created and named.
Jacob wrestles with God, who changes his name to Israel, meaning one who struggles with God. There is a precedent in the scriptures for changing a name.
In the Gospel lesson from Mark, we see some confusion at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, between what he was doing and what John was doing. It seems misunderstandings about theology, practices cropped up right away. Here was John out in the desert, dressed in clothing made of camel's hair, wearing a leather belt, eating locusts and wild honey, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. No wonder there was confusion. There were misunderstandings about practices of faith from the very beginning. Then Jesus comes to be baptized by John, who always had proclaimed that there would be another coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. And as the story of Jesus unfolds, we read that there was some tension and misunderstanding between those who followed John, and those who followed Jesus.
Christianity is confusing enough on its own in our culture, and so we need to bring clarity to the world about the healing and hopeful message of Jesus Christ. It is the name of Jesus which what we need to share with the world and be clear about because in all we say, and do and model for our neighbors and friends we need to be grounded in an attitude of humility and grace.
Let me ask you, when I say the name of Jesus, what do comes to mind?
(Receive input from the congregation)
Those are the types of messages that we need to authentically and gently share, so that we are an inviting and welcoming church. We need to talk honestly about the healing, hope, and life found in Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Christian community.
Philippians 2: 5-11
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name, that
At the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
May we prayerfully and humbly consider all the ways that this church and this sanctuary, which should be a place of refuge and strength, open wide the doors so that all may find a place of life and hope with Jesus Christ.
Amen
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