Nametags

I've had 2 interesting run-ins with nametags this year.

The first was at a technical conference with a very young guy who has invented himself as a motivational speaker cuz he wears nametags 7X24, ALL the time since 2001. (Yes, the answer of how he wears one all the time is because he has a tattoo on his chest in addition to the "Hello my name is..." sticker on his clothes HelloMyNameIsScott). He was actually very good, the basic premise was one of approachability; his success is tied to the fact that he LOOKS for opportunities to talk to strangers. His nametag has enabled him to talk to thousands of people that he would have never talked to otherwise. His message was good, the applications were great, and he had some great quotes.

The second has been at church. Our church wears nametags. We've got 2 services, approximately 400 people. We've been there 3 years and I've been contemplating why we wear them. Beyond the simple/obvious reasons of "I'm forgetful", "It helps with getting to know guests", etc. I've been connecting this with my friend Scott. Scott's success is centered around strangers. Our church's messages this year have been themed around unity. My point is how do you unify a body of believers when we treat each other like strangers. Certainly there is unity in being Christians, we have a common base in Christ, but there are tangible, practical things we must do to be unified.

I'm not pointing a finger, it's more of a commentary. If I don't know someone's name, how much more have I concentrated on who that person really is. What are his/her struggles? How can I pray for that person such that he/she forwards the kingdom? Is this a question of the church being too big, the outside culture being to competitive, we as Christians being lukewarm in our walks, our church not coming together in small groups enough etc.

I'm not saying that we get rid of nametags at church that we solve all these problems, but it's certainly worth thinking about---do the nametags hinder or enhance unity???