Wed 14 May 2008
There is so much that established churches simply take for granted that can seem almost overwhelming from the perspective of planting a church. Consider the name. How do you go about naming a church? You obviously want something biblical, something that expresses at least a bit about who you hope to be and what you hope to be about.
But you also want something accessible and immediate. Foreign-language names, including Greek, Hebrew and Latin can be seen as being “elitist.” But “The Name of Your City, Street Or Neighborhood First Baptist Church” is certainly not memorable. How much do you consider marketing elements such as the “Rule of 3,” and memorability (is that a word?)? What do you do if you have a name you like but everyone else dislikes? Does that serve as “market research?” Are we even interested in market research?
What is your church’s name? Is it appropriate and effective? Did you choose it? If so, how? If not, would you choose something different? How would you go about choosing a church name? Should you be trying to elicit a response from the unchurched? If so, what response? How important is the church name? When you are looking for a new church, how much consideration do you give the name? Ed Stetzer says that if you are not using a denominational name:
The name should convey reliability, theological meaning, and the church’s commitment to reach and serve the unchurched community.
But his church’s name is Lake Ridge Church. Does that fit these criteria? Am I making more of this decision than is necessary? How would you or have you gone about this process?
- Read Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer
- Read Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process For Making Disciples by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger
- Read Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century by Aubrey Malphurs
- Read 44 Questions for Church Planters by Lyle E. Schaller
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for . . . . or something like that. A bunch of links. Enjoy.
Welcome to another installment of The Weekly Town Crier, where you’ll find this, that, the other and them some other things as well. This is where I collect for you the things that caught my eye over the past this week and made their way to my brain and made some nerves connect and some blood flow or something like that and they made me think. But remember, just because I link something, that doesn’t equal endorsing, just thinking. Enjoy.
You feel a little lost and alone in this great big web world. I know you do. Don’t fear. Don’t fret. It’s OK. The Weekly Town Crier is here to guide you, to keep you from those dark corners you had no business being in in the first place. Stay calm, take my hand (figuratively speaking of course. Perhaps you can grip your mouse a bit tighter and just breathe in, breathe out) and let me guide you through some of the things that caught my eye this past week. But, please remember, linking does not equal endorsing. Come on, let’s see what’s out there, together. You’re not alone in this journey.
A couple things that I wanted to pass along that really didn’t fit anywhere else. First, my good friend Rhett (from the aptly located 
Another week has gone by and what do we have to show for it? More links. More links and more links. Here’s to you, Weekly Town Crier. This is where I collect for you some of the things that caught my eye this past week and, for some reason, made me think long enough to think that it might cause someone else to think, and hence, it’s presence here. Linking does not equal endorsing. Enjoy.
Hi. Welcome. Come on in. Sit a spell. Take a load off. Relax with me. Let’s chat. Well, let’s link to be more precise. Welcome to the Weekly Town Crier. This is where I collect for you some of the things that made me pause along my meanderings through this world wide wasteland. A few roses along the way, if you will. The diamonds in the rough. But just because I link something doesn’t mean I endorse something, just that it gave me reason to pause and think and hopefully will the same for you. Enjoy:
