What's In a Name

O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name.

Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love

And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy:

Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.

What’s Montague? It is nor hand nor foot

Nor arm nor face nor any other part

Belonging to a man. O be some other name.

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;

So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,

Retain that dear perfection which he owes

Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,

And for that name, which is no part of thee,

Take all myself.

We all know how this famous Play ended up…These star struck lovers as well as a few other family members ended up losing their lives and for what? A Name?

Both of these families were wrong…there was nothing that was more important than the lives lost from both families but for some reason their last names became more important than their ability to live life to the fullest.

Many of the problems we face in our world today also have a lot to do with the Identity or the label we think best describes us…Democrat, republican, conservative, or liberal…many cling to these labels in such a way that instead of convincing others to follow they leave destruction in their wake.

Or another way of saying it that in their attempt to hold on to their label they actually make enemies out of friends.

Identity without Missional Flexibility leads to Animosity.

Paul deals with this in our passage today.

1 Corinthians 9: 19-23

“19 Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.

20 When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law.

21 When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.

22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.

23 I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.”

When we look at this passage it becomes very clear that Paul is serious about reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are all familiar with Paul’s exploits as a missionary in Scripture. We witness his dramatic Damascus road Conversion, We see his immediate acceptance of the role as teacher after Annanies heals his blindness, we see his commitment to discipleship and evangelism in his many missionary journeys, and his writings to correct bad teaching or introduce people to Jesus.

However one the most over looked examples of Pauls commitment to reaching people is modeled most vividly when we see him change his name from the Hebrew pronunciation of Saul to the Latin pronunciation Paul.

It is thought (Incorrectly) that God Change his name from Saul to Paul at conversion…however we do not see the change until we Get to Act 13:9

“9 Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit...”

From here on Paul is the official name he uses…not becuase it means anything super spiritual. So why does Paul make this radical shift…and make no mistake about it this is a radical shift.

As we look at the life of Paul the Missionary or Evangelist we see this sort of thing was common. Hs approach was to always look for ways to put people at ease.

Since Jesus choose Paul to take the gospel to the gentiles it would make sense that he would choose a gentile name.

It could also be argued the Paul changed his name becuase his past was an obstacle.

No matter what reason we ascribe to it Paul understood that his identity was found In Christ and not in a Name.

While Pauls testimony is powerful it was also divisive. We live in a period of time where our testimony is powerful but it is also divisive.

But that does not mean we stop being who God calls us to be. When Saul changed his name to Paul it did not change the fact that his identity as a Child or God or an Apostle. I just took an obstacle out of the road enabling Paul to take Jesus to the World.

Paul understood that Identity without Missional Flexibility leads to Animosity.

The Church in the 21st century that recovers this truth will be the Church that reaches a new generations for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Notices I said Generations plural…not singular.

The Changes that Local Churches make now will determine the reach they have in the Future.

So What are you leading me too? Realizing that we need and want to reach our community our Church Board wants to propose a first step.

We say we exist to

Connect people to God and others by creating a space where everyone can belong

What if one of the ways we could do this is by inviting people to connect by changing our name to:

Connect Church

This is what the Church Board and Pastoral Staff would like you to consider.....Let me share just a little of how we got here, and what the next steps are.

When we thought there was an imminent possibility of relocating the church, it seemed like an opportune time to consider whether a name change was appropriate.

We would have to create new signage anyway, was this the time for a fresh restart with a new name? So the board and pastoral staff started discussing the possibility of changing the church name. As we considered our current name - First Church of the Nazarene – some questions became evident.

Does Nazarene sound exclusive – you must you be a Nazarene to attend? If I’m not a Nazarene, am I invited? Is this a church or a private organization?

Do unchurched people even know what a Nazarene is?

While it is important to us that we are Nazarene, is it important to those outside of the church?

Does the name “Nazarene” create a wall or an obstacle that may keep those outside of the church from entering? Do we only want to reach other Nazarenes?

How does our name reflect our mission?

All of these questions came from personal interactions people and our own feelings about the name.

So after a long discussion we came to the place where

We believe it is important that our church name reflect our mission. We also want to be sure that the church name in no way creates any barriers to a seeker looking for a church. And we want to eliminate any confusion in the mind of a seeker who doesn’t understand what a Nazarene is with the hope of leading new people into a relationship with Jesus and discipling them into a deeper life as the Church of the Nazarene.

We are not changing the legal name of the church. It will continue to be the First Church of the Nazarene of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. We are creating a dba or “doing business as” name for the church. Consequently, there is no formal process within the Nazarene church for approval other than congregational approval.

However the District Superintendent and the DAB were informed of this change and they have given us their Approval.

We are NOT advocating leaving the Nazarene Church…we like Paul are advocating removing any obstacles from being able to lead people to Jesus and introducing them to the CON.

In order for us to take this exciting next step we are asking you consider and approve the Name Change from Broken Arrow Nazarene Church To:

Connect Church

You will all receive a FAQ sheet with potential Questions you might have and answers.

After you read through this document you may want further clarification or you may have questions that were not answered that you want to ask. Write your questions down as you think of them and then you can do one of several things.

Email them to me [e-mail] or you may request a meeting to talk about your concerns and questions by contacting the Church office or me personally.

Contact any board member and ask the question

Bring the question or questions to a Town Hall style meeting that will take place Next Sunday Evening at 5:30 pm here in the sanctuary. On that night we want to answer any question and address any concerns you may have.

Then we will take a vote of the membership on October 3 after the morning worship service.

Please Pickup FAQ on your way out of the Sanctuary.

Prayer/Benidiction