Brand name overload

Its funny how churches who start to get the power of naming easily get carried away with it. What I am challenging here is not so much that you named your church "The Journey" and that your style is somewhat laid back and cool. That's potentially ok. Its what happens when every department in the church wants to do the same thing and asks the church to plaster their logo and brand name everywhere and no one is willing to tell them "no".

So we walk in your church and you have gone above and beyond and given me great signage that tells me where everything is. Good right? This is how it reads...

Go ahead... Read it fully like a visitor...
Exhibit A


The church-savvy ones of you have deciphered the secret code language into the following...

Exhibit B


Which of these signs helps a visitor the most?

This is all about context. When you are in the main church context, what matters to the guest is the category of things you offer, not the kitschy brand name that has no meaning to us.

When are you in the main church's context? On it's website, on its stage, inside the foyer, on it's signage and it's printed materials to start. Someone from the church has to stand up and stop the confusion--or at least categorize it. We're all fine with: "Our Youth Ministry: The Tribe". You just can't use it in the main church context without telling us what it is. Calling it "The Tribe" without categorizing it makes newbies feel like outsiders--like someone did not include them in your secret name game.

If you are a youth group, we're fine with you calling it "The Tribe". Just know that it is your job to build the Tribe brand through your students and through your own website. It gives the kids ownership. It helps them tell their friends. That's all good. Please just don't ask the church to promote "The Tribe". They should simply promote the youth ministry or youth group. Visitors just need to know you have something for their teens. The fact that you call it "The Tribe", does not add to the sell for me as a parent.

Same thing goes for the coffee shop and the book store. Have a name if you want, but please don't let your brand name get in the way. Just guide us to the coffee shop. Do you really think your bookstore's name will increase my desire to check it out? "Ooo. Wow. Their bookstore is called 'Living Stones'--I can't wait to check it out!" "Look honey, their coffee shop is called "Holy Grounds", we have to experience that!" If you are unaware, I am being a bit sarcastic.

This is what it can unknowingly come across like to a visitor...

Welcome to Journey... on your bulletin you will find a list of 32 code names to guess what ministry they belong to. We are so introverted and proud of our cool names we can hardly stand it. We doubt you will. : )

Here's the deal. A church is not graded by how many clever brand names can be traced back to it. I think there needs to be a communications police that gives a citation to churches with signs like Exhibit A. Know anyone who needs to get a citizen's arrest?

Thinking its about us

If we are firmly following Christ, it is not about us anymore. It is not about what we like. It is not about our style and our preferences. As church leaders it is not about having our pretty face on a billboard or a website. It is not about us. The colors we like do not matter. It is not about us. It is about the object of our affection; and the way we do church reveals the object of our affection. God? Certainly. Others? Definitely. Us? Not so much.

I'm not the only one who has this crazy thought. Jesus asked a question that struck a cord... "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?" Most of us see that as a lovely plea to reach a lost sheep. But what about the 99 other sheep? Who were they? They were us. Jesus clearly advocated leaving the sheep (us church folk)--howbeit in a safe place--but His focus was not on them. His focus was on finding the lost one.

When we make decisions about sermons, design, style, decor, etc... who are we making them for? For ourselves as church leaders (based on our personal likes and dislikes)? For the flock (the loyal followers)? or for the lost ones. Which one do you think Jesus would be focused on? No doubt He always protects the flock--but He also always pursues the lost. Lord, help us as wise shepherds to tend to the flock, without losing focus on the object of your pursuit and affection. Help us to see through the eyes of lost sheep.

Brand-building without success
Church start-ups aside, one of the biggest challenges I run into on the road is a church that undergoes a re-branding in order to create momentum that does not already exist. The downfall of this effort is that to most churches, rebranding is a packaging concept. It never affects the core. If you repackage something that was not growing in a healthy way, the recipients of your message might be attracted at first, but the draw will not last. As well, your community can see through an attempt to modernize that is inconsistent with true change. If you want to re-brand, build real momentum first. Re-brand from the core out. The only way you can do that is learning how to organically connect with people and grow without an ounce of packaging. If you are not seeing success in organic growth, it means you have not mastered connecting with new people--an indication that your radar is off and you would not likely re-brand properly anyway.

Biblical thought: "...For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones." Matthew 23:27.  Jesus shared this charge with religious leaders. As churches, we exist to give off His life. The number one way to increase your real attractiveness is to connect people to Christ in a life-changing way. When this becomes your core, your brand becomes a relevant bond between who you are and those you are called to reach.

For more on this topic, check out this post...

Pardon my deep, verbose interjection. I know this post seems about 5 years too late, but I am feeling quite pensive and need to brain dump... If you know me, you will see this as my need to analyze everything... well?

As a former Windows PC user (I am still one via Parallels on my MacBook), I recently began to identify the roots of MY previous Mac hatred. I do not suggest that these are the roots of other Mac-haters—but they rang true for me. When I was a PC user (6+ years ago), I was the answer man. Problems came—I fixed them. Confusing and troubling things took place—I was the one they called. Build a network, or upgrade a video card—I was your man. I had adapted my logic to flow with PC logic—stair-stepped, regimented, process-based logic. I had the “If this, then that” flow chart embedded in my brain. The longer I used PC’s the more I knew advanced levels of PC logic that I used to impress others and prove my (perceived) superior intellect.

I realize now that I had developed a large amount of my self worth from the problem solving that came as a result of my PC mastery. What is fascinating, is that now that I use Mac, I do not ever get those calls. I am not the “go-to” guy anymore. I cannot begin to describe how liberated I am from that grind—the grind that used to define my self worth. As a Mac user, the problem solving I do and the building I do is in using the computer as a tool and mastering the end result. The tool has become a solid instrument, like a vice grip in my hand. PC used to be the thing I worked "on". Mac is what I work "with". This helps me to understand the PC IT person dilemma. When no one needs to fix the computer, how am I still important? 

Now if you read that as a shot aimed at PC IT people, please rethink. What made me write this is that I (for some random reason) was thinking about PC's and realized how much of my previous self worth came from my knowledge of them. It is a shot at how we find our value in anything that is subject to change.

Have you ever placed your value in something that was changing on you? Do you know the feeling of having your job be replaced by a computer, or of your industry becoming obsolete—or maybe—just maybe—of being a pastor who sees his church dwindling while all these "new" churches are now thriving in your community. There is only one thing that we can find our value in that does not change. It is in Christ alone—not in what we do and not in how we do it. He will never be obsolete. He alone makes us valuable. All the jobs might be moved offshore to another country, the worship style you lead might be replaced, but He will never leave you and thus you will never lose your value.

Our true value is in the person He has made us. How we use that should always be a work in progress. And for all the Mac-lovers out there—one day, even Apple will be outsmarted and outsimplified.

p.s. Funny thing. While I was typing this, my Mac crashed. True story. Go figure.

Michele did great in surgery. Praise God-No cancer. Removed appendix. Found a kink and scar tissue in her intestine and removed it and fused it back together. A little more than we expected but all is good. Thanks for praying!