Maybe the LCMS SHOULDN'T change its name

Insightful comments from Church Marketing Sucks:

It appears Radio Shack is attempting to rebrand itself as "The Shack." They say it's what their friends call them. Have you ever met a friend of Radio Shack? I might be alone, but the last thing I would call Radio Shack is a friend. ...

The Shack. Really? David Coursey says this is a "silly comb-over" attempt. My friend Brett Hutchinson says that a "nickname is not a brand strategy."...

The next time you consider adding or revising your slogan, or even more drastic, changing your name, remember that slogans and names have very little to do with who you are. It's nice when they reflect who you are, but once you have an identity, names and slogans must reinforce who you already are, not who you aspire to be.

I recognize that "Missouri Synod" may not have the brand recognition of Starbucks, but there are a few points against a name change.

• Those who know what the Missouri Synod is, know us for our strengths -- excellent pastors, teachers, schools, colleges and seminaries; a strong stance with the Bible against Historical Criticism and other attacks on the truth of Scripture; wonderful, committed, Biblically informed congregations; reverent worship with superior preaching and congregational singing.
• A new name will not change who we are, nor get us where we want to be.
• Missouri Synod has the possibility for great slogans and nick names: how about "The Show-Me Jesus Synod"
• Those who say that "Synod" is meaningless to the unchurched, fail to recognize that "Church" is nearly as meaningless and may, among the unchruched, be loaded with more negatives.
• Who cares if others pronounce synod wrong?
• The Pew Forum reports that, "Only the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Catholic Church, Southern Baptists, Mormons, the Assemblies of God... and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church reported increases; all [other denominations] either posted declines or flat membership from 2005." Talk about a list of names with marketing liabiblities! Those are the ONLY ones growing. Obviously a name does not grow a church.
• If our denomination is to grow the Kingdom of God, it will not be by names or marketing, but by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, working through our members. "Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it."