Branded: Week 1 Recap

We just wrapped up the first week of our new series called Branded. Everyone and everything gets branded. A brand is simply what you're known for. The challenge last night was to figure out what our brand should look like, because we represent so much more than ourselves. When people see church-goers out in the community, they expect something. There is a label, a brand, put on someone who goes to church.

We represent someone much bigger than ourselves. We wear Christ when we leave church. What we do, what we say, and how we treat people will say a lot about what we believe about Jesus. People will start to get an idea of who Jesus is based on our actions. The question is, do our words and actions really reflect who Jesus is, or are people getting the wrong impression?

Great organization work together to accomplish a goal or mission. The people in great organization are all pulling in the same direction. They aren't playing tug-of-war with each other. They agree on something, a specific action or behavior, and they keep each other accountable for what was agreed on. This is what Paul had to say in Philippians 2:1-2:

"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind."

 This is the kind of life that Paul expects from people who bear the name of Christ. We share a common experience, we understand love because of Christ's love for us, so as a group we should be pulling in the same direction. We should be able to come together and understand our common mission, even if we have different ideas of what that looks like.

We ended VIBE last night by having students write down what they want our group to look and act like. Most of the words that were used had to do with love, family, and kindness. There was agreement in what was written. That's who we want to be as a group. Now we are going to work towards that goal.

-Norm