The Soul Anchor [Hebrews 6:19] - October 1, 2024
Generally, “name dropping” has been known as the practice of casually mentioning the names of famous people one knows or claims to know in order to impress others. “My good friend so and so says…” Since you know “so and so” you must be important! Now, there is a new kind of name dropping in the business world.
For example, “Campbell’s Soup” recently announced that it is dropping the word “Soup” from its brand name. After 155 years, the company known for its red labeled canned soups, will now be known simply as Campbell’s Co. Mark Clouse (CEO) said in a statement that this “subtle yet important change” will retain the company’s iconic name “while better reflecting the full breadth” of its current portfolio. Campbell’s is saying that they are about more than just soup. Actually, Campbell’s Co. owns brands like Prego sauce and Goldfish crackers. Earlier this year they completed a $2.7 billion acquisition of Sovos Brands, the maker of Rao’s pasta sauces. *Author’s note- they better not mess with the flavor of Rao’s pasta sauce.
Campbell’s isn’t the first to make such a change. Dunkin’ Donuts dropped “Donuts” from their name, becoming known as simply “Dunkin’”. Because, as a business, they weren’t just about donuts. Most of their business comes from beverages, and by dropping the “Donuts” from their name they can now but more focus on their coffee and other beverages and food items.
This is why Starbucks Coffee became just Starbucks in 2011. Then-CEO Howard Schultz noted, “It’s possible we’ll have other products with our name on it and no coffee in it.” Recently Weight Watchers became “WW,” opening a new mission that is less focused on dieting and more focused on health and wellness. Also, Kentucky Fried Chicken became simply “KFC”. Author’s note: This may be because no one is sure it’s actually chicken anymore.
This pattern is more than just a change of name, it reveals that these companies know what business they are in—and what business they aren’t. It also speaks of who they are attempting to appeal to.
Does this affect the ministry of the church? Certainly, many Denominational Churches have taken the name of their denomination out of their church name so they can have a wider appeal on The Church of England is dropping the word church in a quest for relevance. According to a new study, “modern-sounding” words such as community are now in favor.
DIOCESES have jettisoned the use of the word “church” in describing the “new things” being established in their parishes, raising questions about what theology is being applied in the Church of England, an independent report says.
New Things: A theological investigation into the work of starting new churches across 11 dioceses in the Church of England reports that, in the past ten years, about 900 “new things” have been started. None of the 11 dioceses used the term “church” as its main description of such developments.
The report is published by the Centre for Church Planting Theology and Research, at Cranmer Hall, Durham, and draws on research carried out between November 2022 and June 2023, including interviews with representatives of each of the 11 dioceses. The author of the report, which was published earlier this year, is the Revd. Will Foulger, Vicar of St Nicholas’s, Durham, a resource church in the diocese, and a former director of mission and evangelism at Cranmer Hall.
A key finding of the research is that each of the 11 dioceses was “working with a unique ecclesiology”. Six used the language of “worship” in their main descriptor of “new things”, two used “congregation”, and seven used “community”. Some of the differences across dioceses were “stark”, the report says, “especially when it comes to the issue of traditional ecclesial forms (worship, sacraments, etc.), with some dioceses recognizing these as central, and others less so.” Only one diocese was working with a designator that was “rooted explicitly in Anglican sources”.
Philippians 2:9-11 (NIV) Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Acts 4:12 (NIV) Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Luke 10:17 (NIV) The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.
God bless,
Pastor Frank
Comments