What’s In a Name?

Lynnette and I have been writing friends around the country, getting them to weigh in on some possible names for the faith community we’re trying to start in downtown Nashville. The process has been interesting, exciting and funny. I’ve never really tried to name a whole lot of things before. There’s power in naming.

Our prospective list of names goes like this:

• imaginE
• reMembering
• Deep Stories
• THE Abbey
• Abbey of Hope
• Thin Place
• Intersect
• Encounter
• Tapestry
• The Well
• beginAGAIN
• Mercy Fountain
• Dance of Life
• rHyThM:
• Harmony
• Drink Deep
• becoming

The capitalization and punctuation can be a bit much, and was merely done to try to set each name apart so it wouldn’t read like a boring grocery list. We wanted a name that conveyed the identity of the community we’re hoping to help bring about. We also wanted a name that wouldn’t scare people. Lots of churches hope to attract a certain type of people by using catchy wording and trendy marketing tactics. These churches gets lots of bodies to walk in the door, but very few to stay and live deeply within a community. As lots of great churches demonstrate (and by default, a lot of bad churches, too), a sense of belonging is more important than a cool name.

The jury is still out on the final name of this adventure. Maybe something so simplistic and beautiful will leap out at the founding members of this community and cause us to shout as one: “Yes! Yes – that’s the one! That’s it! That’s US!” Or maybe we throw darts at the top five names and run with it. Either way, the name won’t limit us in who we are or in the ways we’re trying hard to love and give like Jesus.

The process of naming is profound in its ability to convey power. I can’t imagine what it will be like to name another human being. One of my things while in college was to give people nicknames. I rarely thought that the recipient may not be interested in this, so off I went shortening people’s name, picking up on a trait and commemorating it with a moniker, or coming up with something so unique I can’t even remember the first step in the process that led me to arrive at the weird nickname destination for that particular individual. I though my penchant for branding people made them feel like I cared about them and made them feel like they belonged. But maybe on some deep level, I liked it because it gave me control – not ultimate control over who they were, but temporary control of who they were to me.

So, when it comes time to name my son or daughter, no doubt I will have to choose wisely. A bad name sticks with them forever, or makes them forgettable, or makes them hate their parents and the margaritas they had before they opened the 1001 Baby Names book. But, ultimately, it will be up to my child as to who they become, what they are known for, and what people associate with their name. Try as I may to give them a head start by naming them Samson, Genius, or Boss, their destiny will be in their own hands to mold and shape as their choices in life dictate.

And so it is with our new community. We’ll pick a name, generate a little buzz, find some people to come and see if they want to try and be like Jesus with us. Some may come once or twice or fifty times and never feel at home. Some may show up one Sunday night and we’ll never be able to get rid of them. Regardless, it won’t be because they love the church name; it will be because they love the church and being an integral part in journeying together.

The official announcement will come next week, but if you’re interested in being a part of a group who is trying to be real with each other and the world around them while figuring out what it’s like to follow Jesus in an emerging, postmodern world, come and spend some time with us. We start Sunday, May 14 at 6 PM at 1315 7th Avenue North.