AUGUST 9
scripture reading: Acts 11:19–26
What’s in a Name?
You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the sign of the times. (Matthew 16:3)
Few people noticed when the YMCA changed its name in 2010. The organization was still committed to its core values of youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, but after 160 years surely it was time for a “new brand strategy.” And since most people called it “the Y,” changing the name from the YMCA to “the Y” was no big deal, just a formality. Right?
But just as a door swings open and shut on tiny hinges, so a minor change in an organization’s name can signal a tectonic shift occurring in Western civilization— that is, if you can interpret the signs of the times. This may sound overly dramatic but when the “C” was dropped that year, I felt the earth tremble. The foundations of our culture were being shaken. Again.
Sadly, many people who belong to the YMCA don’t even know what the “C” stands for (I should say, stood for). Since the 1930s the organization has been making roundabout efforts to rid themselves of that pesky letter and its evangelistic origins.
When Sir George Williams founded the first chapter of the Young Men’s Christian Association in London in 1844, its goal was to use Christian principles to help young men develop a healthy spirit, mind, and body. Sharing the Gospel of Christ was central to what the YMCA was all about. A man’s development could ultimately be achieved only through the transforming power of Jesus Christ. When John R. Mott became the executive president in 1888, the Christian ethos of the organization became even more prominent. Mott was perhaps the leading spokesman for the world missionary movement that was flourishing at the beginning of the twentieth century. His goal was “the evangelization of the world in this generation.” From 1899 to 1915, more than three thousand of the American missionaries who went abroad were products of the YMCA and YWCA. For his work as a global diplomat and missionary to the world, John R. Mott would receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946.
“What’s in a name?” asked Juliet. Just because their families were at war, did that mean that she (a Capulet) couldn’t love Romeo (a Montague)? Names are just artificial labels, nothing more, she reasoned. “That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” While that line of reasoning may work for Juliet, it doesn’t work at all for the YMCA!
G. K. Chesterton once told a parable about a lamp post. People complained that it was old-fashioned and inconvenient and so, good riddance! They tore it down. But now if you visit that neighborhood, you will find the folks debating the meaning of life while sitting in the dark. When the YMCA removed the “C,” they tore down another cultural source of Light. Don’t be surprised when darkness comes in like a flood.
If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.
—C. S. Lewis
point to ponder • What is in a name?
prayer focus • Organizations (in colleges, social services, hospitals, etc.) that were founded as Christian ministries but today are embarrassed by their evangelistic roots.