Labels

“So, what kind of church are you?”

I get this question all the time.  People stopping in at the office ask it.  Friends ask it.  Family members ask it.  And, even though I’m the pastor, I don’t know how to answer.

I think what people want is some kind of label, some way of tagging us with a particular identity.  Then, depending on their background or experience with that particular label they can accept us or dismiss us; decide if we’re a bunch of crackpots, or we’re legit.

Many organizations spend a lot of time and energy defending, describing, or clarifying their label.  “Yes, we’re evangelical, but not that kind of evangelical.”  And that’s fine, I guess.  If you want to spend a large chunk of your time parsing a label, that’s fine, it’s just not my thing.

I believe that labels are dangerous.  Labels lead me to make gross generalizations about people without really listening.  It allows me to judge them and treat them according to stereotypes.  It short circuits the process of really getting to know someone and understanding their particular motivations about why they think and behave the way they do.

I’m trying, in my own interactions with people to avoid labels.  Whether they’re political, religious, social or lifestyle labels, I’m trying to push them out of the way and get to know the individual for the unique person that they are.

So, these days, when someone asks me, “Are you an X church?” I generally respond with something like “What do you mean by X?”  I hope that leads to a long discussion where I get to talk about all the things I love about the Imago community and why we do the things we do.  And I hope, instead of just hearing a one-word summary of our church, they hear some of the complexities that make us a unique church, trying to faithfully live out the kingdom of God in Peoria.