Love is Our Brand!
Growing up I always wanted a pair of Nike shoes. I can remember when I finally got my first pair of Nikes I was stoked because I was finally going to fit in with the rest of the kids. It was 1989 and they were a pair of Nike Air Max Lights. I remember trying on the shoes at the Footlocker and then never putting them back in the box because I was going to were them home. I felt like I could run faster, jump higher, and play harder. The Nike brand to me was about being the best and I wanted to be the best. As an adult looking back I am amazed how a brand can seemingly change a kid’s whole outlook on life. Well branded products do that. Think about some of the brands you may be loyal to you, most of those them have earned your loyalty because you have bought in to what their image says to you. Others have won your loyalty because they have known their purpose and excelled in it. Nike’s CEO, Mark Palmer, says that Nike has been so successful because of knowing their mission to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* and their focus towards athletes' needs in each sport. Their brand is what it is today because they knew their mission and focused on that.
Do you know the mission of Lake Cities United Methodist Church? Our mission is that we are “dedicated to expanding the Kingdom of God within the surrounding community.” But how do we do that? How do we make that our focus? I believe it begins with knowing that our brand is LOVE. When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment he responded by saying in Matthew 22:37-39, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” A commandment is a divine rule or the way in which we conduct ourselves according to God’s order for things. So if our mission is to expand the Kingdom of God within our surrounding community we are commanded to do so through LOVE.
Our brand is how people recognize us and according to scripture the way in which people should recognize us is through our love. As your pastor here at Lake Cities United Methodist Church I want to see us grow. To do so I believe we need to know our mission and focus on that. It also means that we must understand that the way in which our mission is to be accomplished is through love. So how do we grow the church? We grow our brand. Our brand is love. We must grow in love.
Join us this Sunday (February 7th) at 8:30 or 10:45 AM as we discover how we can grow in love.
In God’s grip,
Pastor Chuck Church
