Names are a central feature of our lives. In a very real sense, without names, we are unknowable. Names tell us who and what, sometimes even where.
The use of a person’s name indicates some contact or knowledge of that person. To “know” a person is to know their name, even if it is preceded by “Mr.” or “miss” or “ma’am” To know a person well is to use their first name. To know a person very well is to use a nickname or some other endearing personal term. Americans name people, places, things, and organizations for deeply philosophical reasons, frivolous purposes, and practical concerns. We sometimes give organizations multi-word names because the words create a meaningful acronym, for example, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, MADD. Or we choose a name simply because it is unique and we like how it sounds, eg Google.
For most Americans, names are practical, though not always philosophical.
In ancient times, people also gave names for all these reasons, with the possible exception of acronyms. But usually people in ancient cultures gave names because the name had a special meaning. Names were more than a label.
Names were often given as a symbol of some significant event or characteristic in the person’s life. Names often represented the essential nature of a person and could reveal some aspect of their innermost being. Eve was the “mother of all living”. Names were often changed in biblical times to signify a new beginning. Abram became Abraham and Sarai became Sarah. Jacob became Israel. A newborn baby was named, Ben-oni, “son of sorrow” by a dying mother, Rebekah, but a loving father, Jacob, quickly changed his name to Benjamin, “son of the right hand.” Jesus changed Peter’s name to Simon, the tough fisherman.
The name changes were part of the history of the university that I had the privilege of leading for a few years: Grand Rapids Baptist College and Seminary (GRBC & S). In 1941, an evening Bible school was founded by the name of Grand Rapids Baptist Bible Institute. With the growth of the students and the educational program, the name was changed in 1959 to Grand Rapids Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary. Later, the term “Theological” was dropped when Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary was established as a separate but related graduate school with the same Board of Trustees and president.
In 1972, the name of the university was changed again from Grand Rapids Baptist Bible College to Grand Rapids Baptist College. This new name described the expansion of the academic program from a Biblical college curriculum (with specializations in Bible and Music) to a Christian liberal arts college curriculum (including Bible, Music, History, Biology, English, Administration Business, Education and various other specialties). ). But the new name still suffered from some limitations. For example, it was geographically restricted to one city. The school’s long-standing nickname continued as “Baptist College,” which tended to send the message that non-Baptists do not need to apply. And the name of the school was still regularly confused with the former name or a derivative, Grand Rapids Bible College, or the more complicated Grand Rapids Baptist “Church.”
This name confusion was particularly troublesome because it tended to perpetuate the institution’s previous mission as a Bible rather than a Christian liberal arts college. Then, in the spring of 1992, the Board of Trustees again authorized a study to consider an institutional name change. Following a preliminary review, the Board of Trustees in the fall of 1993 voted to implement a process to determine the best name for Grand Rapids Baptist College. At that time, the Board also voted to keep the name, Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary.
One of the wisest decisions the Board made was to allow me, the President at the time, to announce the Board’s decision right away, to announce it as a “study” rather than a name change. fiat fulfilledand advertise it as a study to consider what might be the “best name” for the school. On a political level, this meant several things: that voters heard about a possible name change without being excluded from the process, which gave many of them time to acclimate, and that people who thought that the old or current name, GRBC, was the “best name” were not eliminated from the process, because it was still possible that the Board would finally reaffirm that name.
Over the next several months, students, staff, constituents, and the public were invited to submit ideas or suggestions for names. Perhaps the funniest presentation was the name “Hobbes”, for the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes. This created a local joke to the effect that Calvin College, a quality higher education institution, is located just three miles from GRBC & S on the same road. Had the Board selected Hobbes as the new name for the university, locals would have forever referred to “Calvin and Hobbes” on East Beltline Ave.
In March 1994, the GRBC & S Board of Trustees reviewed around one hundred and thirty names in four categories: geographic, theological, historical, denominational, narrowed the list to three names, including GRBC, and ultimately decided to change the name of the university. , “Cornerstone University”. The name Cornerstone College fulfilled the practical need for a name that would reduce confusion about the mission of the university. But it was also philosophically anchored in Christian symbolism and biblical meaning.
In Ephesians, Paul refers to Christians as “members of the house of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the entire building is united and raised to become a holy temple in the Lord “(2: 18-21). Jesus is the “tried stone” that makes “judgment the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line” (Isaiah 28: 16-17). Jesus Christ is the “Living Stone” and Christians, “as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house … through Jesus Christ … a chosen and precious cornerstone” (1 Peter 2: 4-9).
A cornerstone is also the key building stone or foundation block by which all other stones or blocks are measured. A cornerstone speaks of the permanence of values such as truth, faith, beauty, virtue, righteousness, justice, freedom, peace, and love.
From any objective point of view, the new name for Cornerstone was a resounding success. The students accepted it quickly, if not immediately, and the area’s business community and the public responded with admirable enthusiasm. Alumni reaction was initially mixed, as would be expected with any collegiate name change, but in a relatively short time most alumni were enrolled. The main value of the new name was its message that a new wind was blowing through the institution, one that looked forward and positioned the school for the future.
In the fall of 1998, after an internal academic process and interaction with the appropriate state authorities, the Board of Trustees voted to change the name of the school again, this time from Cornerstone College to Cornerstone University. At the same meeting, the Board and administration agreed to announce the new status in April 1999, unaware that the school’s basketball team would win the NAIA Division II Men’s National Basketball Championship in March of that year. This unplanned public relations giveaway created a much larger media platform than would have been available otherwise because a national championship is remarkable and rightly attracts attention at any level of sports.
The university avoided a backlash from those who might have dismissed the change as a cheap buy for the bronze ring, probably because, in the end, it made sense. The university had been growing, the national championship did not hurt, and a well-conceived marketing campaign attracted positive attention. The campaign included billboards across the city that featured a small sprout of green spring corn in a plowed field, the new name, and the phrase “Think Big, Think Big.” Easy. People got it and liked it.
Organizational name changes should not be taken lightly. Nor should they be avoided at all costs, because the cost can be a potential loss or even the premature demise of the organization. Name changes offer an unparalleled opportunity to send a message to constituents, customers, or the general public. New initiatives, new products, new services or, better yet, a new and valuable vision can be etched in people’s minds when an organization changes its name.
What’s in a name? The future of your organization.