Hello all:
The congregation that might wife and I are now attending is a small one that has gone through several splits in the last couple of years. It was a congregation that at its peak had about 450 people in attendance on a Sunday morning, and is now down to about 65 regulars. The main reason for the splits, a person, is long gone, and the church has been trying to recover for about the last 18 months.
My wife and I have been going there for about 3 or 4 months now, and we love it there. The people are wonderful, and the minister is excellent.
Before I go into my main theme on this post, though, I’d like to ask you all to pray for one of our elders who was placed in hospice yesterday. His name is Charlie, and he is a wonderful man that has been very kind to me and my family. He has cancer and is not doing well. I would assume most of you know what going into Hospice means, so I won’t elaborate. But please pray that the Lord will comfort him and ease his pain.
So….to names. Our congregation has gone through some painful times, and we seem to be starting to recover. We are starting to get people either coming back or visiting for the first time. When we placed membership, being a small, young family, it seemed to have a very positive effect on the congregation. We are planning some new ministries to do some outreach, and we have been praying for God to send workers to our congregation. Alot of things are changing, and I think it is all for the better.
So, one of the things we are thinking about changing is the name of the congregation. We are currently named after the street we are on. The name has a lot of baggage because of what has happened over the last few years, and when I think of the name itself it conjures up thoughts of an old, dying out congregation.
We are considering area names such as “Southeast Church of Christ,” and there have been thoughts about naming it after the city we are in. My wife came up with the idea of “Southside” as well. (The congregation is on the Southeast corner of Portland, barely outside the limits of Portland).
So, I thought I’d ask if any of you have any ideas for a name for the congregation. The only real rule I would think is that it has to have “Church of Christ” in it (I’m sure I’ll hear it about that!)
So, what do y’all think?
-Clarke
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February 16th, 2006 at 8:00
Hi Clarke,
I can relate to your search for a name. Our family of congregations has been going through a similar phase of name changes connoting a break with the past. Some of our ministries have chosen place names (eg. North River Church of Christ; Atlanta Church of Christ-East; etc). Others have gone with names that seem to be descriptive of the atmosphere they want to have (eg. Faith Fellowship Christian Church).
As you know, most churches of Christ use place names (frequently the name of the street on which they are located). That’s pretty straightforward and safe. I’ve also seen churches use the name of their county, nearby river, community, town, local university, business park, etc…
Going with something other than a place name might raise a few eyebrows among the more conservative brethren. But it would not violate any command of scripture AFAIK.
The first century churches didn’t seem to need a name. Nowadays there is a need to let people know what to expect doctrinally. “Church of Christ” may have been sufficient to communicate that in the past, but I’m not sure it clarifies as much today. Maybe the church name could be a web address where people can go to find out more details! eg. “southportlandchurchofchrist.org” ;->
Alan
February 16th, 2006 at 9:11
Hi Clarke,
I was looking up some of the distinctives of Portland and came up with a couple ideas:
Rose City Church of Christ
River City Church of Christ
Tabor Church of Christ
Bridgetown Church of Christ
Good luck finding a new name!
Adam
February 16th, 2006 at 9:18
I’ve never really understood why the obsession to name congregations among churches of Christ, since it’s not exactly a Biblical concept. Even “church of Christ” should be a description, not a name.
I’d suppose “The church of Christ in Southeast Portland meets here” would be too much of a mouthful, though.
“Christians meet here” on the sign has always seemed to convey the non-denominational message best to me.
February 16th, 2006 at 15:21
I am going out on a limb with this; so please no tar & feather sessions.
What is your target mission? Determine what the radius of your outreach is and name the congregation accordingly. Is it for a neighborhood, town or region? Will you be heavily involved in (international) missions? Will your mission also include a large dose of benevolence? There is a mission niche waiting for you and the name should reflect it.
i.e.:
Portland Benevolence Church of Christ
Southeast Missions Church of Christ
South Side Community Church of Christ
Our Lady of Perpetual Guilt (Just kidding!)
As an aside, I do believe churches should spend some thought and resources on basic marketing. Not to the extent of a Saddleback (Rick Warren, “Purpose Driven Church”) but developing a clear, concise message to reach their “market”.
Alright, I have said it. Please no rocks through the windows (or Linux for that matter).
Sincerely,
Phil Spadaro
February 16th, 2006 at 15:50
Alan:
I like the church name is your website URL idea, but I think that would probably be too bold for this congregation…that, and while we are trying to update our technology (we have the skill to do it, but not the money) we are a long way from being to the point where we are technological enough to go that route. But I do like the idea. I thought about bringing up the fact that all of our local ICC congregations are starting to use names like “Potters Hands” and “Our Place” even. We’ll see.
Adam:
Thanks for the ideas. There was a Rose City Church of Christ in the past, and I’m not really sure what ever happened to it..
Jeff:
There was one proposal to call rename it to just “The Church” or “The Lord’s Church.”
Its bold, but also I worry about many feeling it is to presumptious. There is something to be said about simplicity, though.
Phil:
I just about had a heart attack laughing about Our Lady of Perpetual Guilt…
We are getting ready to reach out to our local Christian College…. I’m not sure we are quite close enough to be the College Church of Christ, but that might be worth playing around with…
-Clarke
February 16th, 2006 at 16:23
“…it has to have ‘Church of Christ’ in it.” Your kidding, right? If not, why?
Like Jeff I see something in simplicity. How about the Southeast Church, or Southside Church. Since the church is autonomous, there is no need to hitch your horse to another hitching post with the same branded name.
February 16th, 2006 at 17:03
Larry:
Does it absolutely have to have “Church of Christ” in it? No, it does not. However, we are definatly affiliated with the Churches of Christ and we are not out to run away from our afiliation. We do however, want a new begining from the baggage that has enveloped our congregation over the last few years. The Church is indeed autonomus, but we are proud of our heritage and embrace it. I know thats taboo among most of my fellow bloggers, but it is who we are.
-Clarke
February 16th, 2006 at 18:29
While I’m “affiliated” with the COC (in that I meet with a small COC group,) I would not hesitate a moment to run away from an affiliation that was not loving and kind to other Christian groups, as well as kind and loving to the “unchurched.”
For years I was affiliated with a COC that was ultra legalistic, and I was just as guilty as the others. I admire your willingness to stand pat with the Churches of Christ, but when a group becomes Judge and jury of all Christendom and refuses to fellowship with anyone except those in their tight little group, things are haywire.
Where you attend might be great, and if so, I understand your affiliation. I’m happy in the COC where I meet, but my primary affiliation is to God and I would run to where He wants me to be.
I admire the original Stone-Campbell Movement, but not proud of a subsequent heritage where we promoted Christian union then divided into 30-50 splinter groups that refuse to fellowship anyone except themselves.
I still like the name Southside Church.
February 17th, 2006 at 9:50
Larry:
I think I somwehat understand where you are coming from as I grew up in both “mainline” and “non-institutional” congregations.
I used to feel that divisions were warrented and necessary, but I don’t feel that way anymore. I still draw the line on salvation issues, however, and baptism is a salvation issue for me. That is not to say that we should not treat others with kindness, respect, and love, but I feel that we should definatly draw a line there.
At the same time, we cannot be so standoffish that we lose our opportunities to teach others the truth. It is a hard line to walk.
I understand why our brothers and sisters are standoffish, and thats why I won’t run away from them. I feel that the call of the Restoration Movement is an important one. However, we make two large mistakes when we assume that the restoration is finished and that we’ve figured it all out to a T, and the second is that we’ve cut off everyone who disagrees.
Campbell didn’t convert large groups of people out of the denominations out there because he cut them off and refused to work or deal with them. He stood fast in his beliefs and taught the bible to everyone who would listen.
So anyway, I’ll get off my soap box. I am very happy where we are, I love the congregation I am in despite a few problems it has had in the past that we are going to overcome. Unlike the conversation at Travis’ blog, I’m not out to change doctrine, convince people that women should be able to preach, or anything to that effect. I just want our congregations to take a more loving approach, and to realize that we need to fellowship with those others that are baptised.
-Clarke