“...I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written...”
(from Revelation 2:17)
Recently the Ford Motor Company changed the name of one of it’s models. The Ford “Five Hundred” which was introduced a couple of years ago is now the Ford “Taurus”. In fact, all new Ford Taurus models are classified as “2008” models to differentiate them from the 2007 Ford Five Hundred. The Five Hundred was based on the Volvo sedan (Ford at least used to own a controlling interest in Volvo). It has been marketed to compete with the relatively popular Chevrolet Impala. (Ford still makes ANOTHER full-sized car, the Crown Victoria which uses mostly very old technology and is marketed to police departments, taxi companies, and males over age 55.) The “Five Hundred” has surprisingly been
a very poor seller. Ford Motor Company believes that renaming the car the “Ford Taurus” after the model that was Ford’s biggest seller in the 1990s will greatly boost the car’s sales. I believe it will. I also believe that back around 2000 when Chevrolet reintroduced the “Impala” name, if it had instead named the same car (say) the “Citation”, it would have sat on dealer’s lots!
There’s a lot to this name stuff. If you are alert and notice trends,
you’ll notice, for instance, that during the past fifteen years, a number of
Baptist churches have changed their name and removed the “Baptist” label. There are Baptist churches in Southboro, Dedham, and Norwood, among other locations who have done this. Research has indicated that the public at large(rightly or wrongly) view Baptists as people who carry around twenty pound King James Bibles telling everybody they’re going to Hell, and that they also oppress women.
(My experience is that such behavior DOES characterize about 10% of Baptists but absolutely does NOT characterize 90% of them.) Baptist churches who change their name usually find that it’s helpful. A number of Assemblies of God churches have also changed their name and removed “Assembly of God” from it. Usually “Assembly of God” is replaced by “Christian Center”. In New England a huge percentage of Assemblies of God churches now use the name “Christian Center”. Our church still prominently uses the Assemblies of God name and logo,
but we’re now part of a distinct minority. The Assemblies of God churches have changed the name because when the public thinks of “Assemblies of God” they think of sleazy television evangelists and a bunch of nuts rolling in the aisles and yelling in other tongues. (In over thirty years in the Assemblies of God I have NEVER seen anyone rolling in the aisles, and in the few instances in which people were inappropriately yelling in other tongues, usually the leadership corrected the abuses of speaking in tongues and did not allow things
to get disorderly.) In all fairness, I have to hand it to Pastor Phil
McCutchen of Bethany Assembly of God of Mendon. Phil has kept an very traditional, old-fashioned church name, and despite that, his church is growing by leaps and bounds. In all honesty, our church is struggling to attract visitors. Would a different name help us? I don’t think so, although I’m not sure.
I pretty much like my own name, Robert Eugene Baril. The one problem with Baril is that most people say “barrel”. It’s not “barrel” it’s pronounced with the accent on the second syllable--- kind of like “Berr - ILL”. “Robert” means “bright in fame”. I really DON’T like “Bobby” although for the first eleven years of my life I was always “Bobby”. In the first grade, I had no idea who “Robert Baril” was. I only knew I was “Bobby”. My sister always calls me “Bobby”. I really don’t like it, but I know it’s a habit and she just can’t change it. I like “Bob Baril” ...almost as if it was one word, “BobBaril”. My middle name “Eugene” means “wellborn”. My father’s name was “Eugene”. He didn’t like it because he was Gene Baril but everybody would assume Gene Baril was a girl, as in Jean Baril. Sometimes I wish I had a Biblical name, but I guess “Bob” is fine.
A female friend of mine was born Melody Pace. She HATED the name “Melody”. As a very little girl, her mother called her “little Punkin”. Eventually her name became known as “Punk”. To her family, it was a name of endearment, but others would hear it and think she was some sort of a wild maniac. Around age thirty, she legally changed her first name to “Tobiah” and goes by “Tobi”. Sometimes I still slip and call her “Punk”. She takes it in stride and realizes that “Punk” means it’s someone who has known her for a long time.
Did you know that “Jesus” is really NOT the name of Jesus. I have to be
careful when I write that because some rural Southern evangelist types will get mad and say, “He’s AGAINST the Name of Jesus!!!” No, I’m not. I do use “Jesus” when I pray and teach about Jesus, but His real name was “Yeshua” or “Joshua”. That means “Salvation” or “Jehovah is Salvation”. In Biblical times, names were VERY important.
So what do you think? Would you be more inclined to by a “Ford Taurus” over a “Ford Five Hundred” even though they’re really the same car? Would you be more inclined to visit a church called “Calvary Christian Center” rather than “Calvary Assembly of God”? What’s in a name?
(from Revelation 2:17)
Recently the Ford Motor Company changed the name of one of it’s models. The Ford “Five Hundred” which was introduced a couple of years ago is now the Ford “Taurus”. In fact, all new Ford Taurus models are classified as “2008” models to differentiate them from the 2007 Ford Five Hundred. The Five Hundred was based on the Volvo sedan (Ford at least used to own a controlling interest in Volvo). It has been marketed to compete with the relatively popular Chevrolet Impala. (Ford still makes ANOTHER full-sized car, the Crown Victoria which uses mostly very old technology and is marketed to police departments, taxi companies, and males over age 55.) The “Five Hundred” has surprisingly been
a very poor seller. Ford Motor Company believes that renaming the car the “Ford Taurus” after the model that was Ford’s biggest seller in the 1990s will greatly boost the car’s sales. I believe it will. I also believe that back around 2000 when Chevrolet reintroduced the “Impala” name, if it had instead named the same car (say) the “Citation”, it would have sat on dealer’s lots!
There’s a lot to this name stuff. If you are alert and notice trends,
you’ll notice, for instance, that during the past fifteen years, a number of
Baptist churches have changed their name and removed the “Baptist” label. There are Baptist churches in Southboro, Dedham, and Norwood, among other locations who have done this. Research has indicated that the public at large(rightly or wrongly) view Baptists as people who carry around twenty pound King James Bibles telling everybody they’re going to Hell, and that they also oppress women.
(My experience is that such behavior DOES characterize about 10% of Baptists but absolutely does NOT characterize 90% of them.) Baptist churches who change their name usually find that it’s helpful. A number of Assemblies of God churches have also changed their name and removed “Assembly of God” from it. Usually “Assembly of God” is replaced by “Christian Center”. In New England a huge percentage of Assemblies of God churches now use the name “Christian Center”. Our church still prominently uses the Assemblies of God name and logo,
but we’re now part of a distinct minority. The Assemblies of God churches have changed the name because when the public thinks of “Assemblies of God” they think of sleazy television evangelists and a bunch of nuts rolling in the aisles and yelling in other tongues. (In over thirty years in the Assemblies of God I have NEVER seen anyone rolling in the aisles, and in the few instances in which people were inappropriately yelling in other tongues, usually the leadership corrected the abuses of speaking in tongues and did not allow things
to get disorderly.) In all fairness, I have to hand it to Pastor Phil
McCutchen of Bethany Assembly of God of Mendon. Phil has kept an very traditional, old-fashioned church name, and despite that, his church is growing by leaps and bounds. In all honesty, our church is struggling to attract visitors. Would a different name help us? I don’t think so, although I’m not sure.
I pretty much like my own name, Robert Eugene Baril. The one problem with Baril is that most people say “barrel”. It’s not “barrel” it’s pronounced with the accent on the second syllable--- kind of like “Berr - ILL”. “Robert” means “bright in fame”. I really DON’T like “Bobby” although for the first eleven years of my life I was always “Bobby”. In the first grade, I had no idea who “Robert Baril” was. I only knew I was “Bobby”. My sister always calls me “Bobby”. I really don’t like it, but I know it’s a habit and she just can’t change it. I like “Bob Baril” ...almost as if it was one word, “BobBaril”. My middle name “Eugene” means “wellborn”. My father’s name was “Eugene”. He didn’t like it because he was Gene Baril but everybody would assume Gene Baril was a girl, as in Jean Baril. Sometimes I wish I had a Biblical name, but I guess “Bob” is fine.
A female friend of mine was born Melody Pace. She HATED the name “Melody”. As a very little girl, her mother called her “little Punkin”. Eventually her name became known as “Punk”. To her family, it was a name of endearment, but others would hear it and think she was some sort of a wild maniac. Around age thirty, she legally changed her first name to “Tobiah” and goes by “Tobi”. Sometimes I still slip and call her “Punk”. She takes it in stride and realizes that “Punk” means it’s someone who has known her for a long time.
Did you know that “Jesus” is really NOT the name of Jesus. I have to be
careful when I write that because some rural Southern evangelist types will get mad and say, “He’s AGAINST the Name of Jesus!!!” No, I’m not. I do use “Jesus” when I pray and teach about Jesus, but His real name was “Yeshua” or “Joshua”. That means “Salvation” or “Jehovah is Salvation”. In Biblical times, names were VERY important.
So what do you think? Would you be more inclined to by a “Ford Taurus” over a “Ford Five Hundred” even though they’re really the same car? Would you be more inclined to visit a church called “Calvary Christian Center” rather than “Calvary Assembly of God”? What’s in a name?
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