branding...

I was thinking, does God want a church with a new brand, or does he want an expression of church that is brand new?

By brand new church I don’t necessarily mean a church plant. What I mean is the process of transformation instigated by God that makes the people new. A new, or renewed community of believers.

I think a problem arises immediately with the idea of the word ‘brand’. The church ‘with’ a new brand. The brand of the church is always attached to the people; they stand with, or alongside the brand. It is not, and does not become an intrinsic part of who the people are. Though it may flow throughout all areas of the community, it is more like an administrative badge. At best it is worn like clothes, but rarely becomes part of the key identity of the believers in the community; it rather provides an identity for them to embrace.

The brand becomes a signpost of how to follow Christ. From the brand come the objectives, the mission statement, the values, the style of worship, the method of evangelism. The brand defines the community.

From the church with a new brand, three groups of people emerge…those who own the brand like a possession; they are passionate for its cause and use it to pursue their goals. Those who are attached to the brand, it comforts them and reminds them they belong to something. And finally, there are those who are under the brand and feel squashed by it, they are reminded that they can only express their faith within the confines of the brand.

However, an expression of church that is brand new somehow embodies its vision at its conception. The vision is usually simple, it is usually (or should be) centred on Jesus.

Its mission and purpose, its identity are intrinsically a part of the community and it’s life. It does not have a brand to conform to, but gives birth to its own style, mode, its own way of life as it follows Christ. Its values are worn in the hearts of those who are part of the community. The values are worked out within the relationships and lives of those in the community, through prayer, day in day out. The members have a sense of belonging because they know they belong to each other. They are free to explore because they trust each other.

The brand new expression of church is brand neutral. Whilst labels and language are helpful, they do not define the community, but rather describe the community.

So, what do you think? Any comments welcome.

More on language and labels - visit this interesting post by Steve Hollinghurst here.