"First Post of the Week"

Names are important. They not only are for identification, they are also for characterization. I will admit that, at least in the United States, we name our children names that we like and not so much as to build or develop their characters.


We like catchy, memorable names. And the more unique, the better. And the more famous and rich we are, the “uniquer” we get to be. Names like Apple, Moon, and Fantasia are good ones. We, who are the middle-class, are left with Celery, Asteroid, and Reality. Somehow, those are not as impressive. Or just add a “wa” or “na” at the end and presto, you have a new name. Sometimes, we name our children after relatives, but mostly we name because we like it.

But people used to name based upon the circumstance of the day or a character trait during the time of birth of the child. Just take a look at the Bible. Many people were named with a name of significance. Like Moses, meaning “drawn out” since Pharaoh’s daughter drew him out of the water. And Jesus, whose name means “savior”. Or they changed their name to bring emphasis to a change in their life. Saul changed his name to Paul, which means “small” or “insignificant” to highlight that he was not about who he was anymore, but he was all about who he now is with Christ in his life.

Businesses and organizations also need to think hard in choosing a name that best reflects who they are and what they want to be know for. Good choices are imperative for good business. Which brings me to my story.

We took a “short” four-day trip to eastern Washington to visit T.’s parents. As I have mentioned in an earlier blog, there is a section in their town that I have dubbed “church alley”. There is a four-square block section that is home to eight churches. Seriously, you drive past one on the corner and behold, you pass another church on the next corner separated by each other’s lawn. They all seem to be painted white as well. And also, there are other churches that have “sprung” outside of the “alley”. And not to mention the churches in the adjacent town on the other side of the river. Just cross the bridge and you are in a new town and in another state, but for all intents and purposes, it is still the same one big community.

I began to notice, as with any city, that many of the churches had the word “First” in their name. They were, in no particular order:
First Christian Church,
First Presbyterian Church,
The First Church of God,
First Assembly of God, and
First Baptist Church.

Adding the ones in the town across the river, we have:
First Assembly of God,
First Baptist Church,
First Church of Christian Science,
First Church of the Nazarene, and
First United Methodist Church.

Now that is a lot of firsts! I envision the early settlers coming to this spread of country and deciding a church of their denomination was needed, and so they built a building.
“ We need a name,” they surmised.
“ First one in the area, so let’s call it First Baptist.”
“Great idea.”

(Enter into the valley, Presbyterians who build a building.)
“We need a name,” they surmised.
“First one in the area, so let’s call it First Presbyterian.”
“Great idea.”

(And so on, and so on.)

Sometimes, in larger cities, you will see The Second Baptist Church.
“We didn’t quite make it, but we were close. We’ll call ourselves Second Baptist.”
“Great idea.”

I know that I am making light of this, but I mean no disrespect. Really. I just find it odd that we church goers seem to be the only ones who name ourselves in this fashion. I haven’t seen “The First Grocery Store”, or “First Chevron Gas”. It seems to been uniquely ours. I don’t believe the churches are named from a prideful or arrogant heart. I think it more of a significant historical time-line moment. I still think it strange.

But speaking of firsts in this “spiritual” conversation, there is one “first” that reigns.

“And He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation, for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, both visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created by Him and for Him.” Col. 1:15-16

“He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.” Col. 1:18

The “firstness” of Jesus means that He alone is the heir of all things and is uniquely supreme. And His most desirous thing is to be “first” in your life.