I’ve always been fascinated by reputations, especially those that stand firm over time and even grow stronger. In the context of organizations and their reputations, a concept most often considered is branding.
A brand is an identity that stimulates precise, meaningful perceptions in its audience about the values and qualities that organization stands for. Reputation is a big part of branding. In order for a brand to stick it must be consistently displayed, constantly adhered to and refined over several years. Few things are more valued than a respected brand. A biblical comparison is seen in this verse: “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold” (Proverbs 22:1 NIV).
Former Disney CEO, Michael Eisner in his book Work in Progress (1998) says a brand “is a living entity, and it is enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures” (p. 171). In fact, undermining a good name can happen faster than it’s built. Consider how this brand name has changed in just the last several months:
The church in Thessalonica made quite an impression on the Apostle Paul. In his first letter to them he writes:
2We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ…As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia…8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. (1 Thess. 1:2-8)
Three qualities stood out to Paul when he commended this church. Thomas (1978) comments on them: “These three Christian virtues—faith, love, and hope—occupied a large place in early analyses of Christian responsibility. The expectation was that in every life faith would work (Gal 5:6; James 2:18), love would labour (Rev 2:2, 4), and hope would endure (Rom 5:2–4; 8:24, 25). This threefold balance probably arose even before Paul’s doctrinal stance had matured and perhaps came from the teachings of Christ himself.”
I’m often concerned about how churches are holding up under trials, like what the Thessalonian church faced. Some key areas affected include morale and relationships, which are related to the work done by human resources management departments in many organizations. In Fast Company magazine, Tischler (2004) writes about Kenny Moore, a former monk who went on to work in HRM related roles in the corporate sector. Moore makes some relevant comments: “For years, I worked on employee surveys, and I noticed three trends: 1) nobody trusts, 2) nobody believes in top management, and 3) people are too stressed to care. In the monastery, we called that a crisis of faith, hope, and charity. So corporate America not only has financial problems, it has spiritual problems.”
Isn’t it interesting (and concerning) that a lack of trust, suspicion toward our leaders, and distancing ourselves because we’re too stressed to stay engaged could be called a crisis of faith, hope and love?
So to confront or hinder such as crisis, the big questions are:
- How will our faith work?
- How will our love labour?
- How will our hope endure?
These are timeless biblical virtues, so it would help to identify the timely relevant issues that require us to exercise faith, love, and hope. Perhaps exploring these questions will help:
- Keep caring (faith working): Where do we need to develop an appreciation for engagement that exceeds a love for pleasure, leisure, or avoidance?
- Believe in people (love labouring): What do we need to stop doing (like meddling, being disruptive, etc. – see 1 Thess. 5:12-15 ) and start embracing that we’ve been hesitant to do?
- Keep trusting (hope enduring): What do we need to trust God with and wait patiently for? Something that we cannot do for ourselves?
From the believers in Thessalonica, we see that every church draws on three spiritual resources for building the praiseworthy Christian community – the life that sets a good example and wins a good name. Amazingly, we continue to find these three virtues – faith, love, and hope - are enough to make God proud.
References:
Eisner, M. & Schwartz, T. (1998) Work in Progress. New York, NY: Random House.
Thomas, R. L. (1978). “1 Thessalonians.” In Ephesians—Philemon. Vol. 11 of Expositor’s Bible Commentary. 12 vols. Edited by F. E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
Tischler, L. (2004). Kenny Moore Held a Funeral and Everyone Came, FastCompany.com. Retrieved August 30, 2010 from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/79/firstperson.html
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