The 2nd week after I was hired at my current assignment, I had a student come in and I called her by her first name. The look of bewilderment surprised me a bit and then she said, “How did you know my name?” I responded by telling her I’d met her the previous week. She said, “The previous youth pastor here never knew my name and you knew mine after a week.”
This was a small, yet pivotal moment in my development of life and ministry. For some students, perhaps CEO’s, bosses, coaches, teachers, etc., calling someone by name can make all the difference to someone. Perhaps for you, you’ve experienced this first hand. In whatever place you find yourself in, my guess is there is someone that usually sits above you on the totem pole. If that person knows your name or has called you by name, it says something about you.
A great example of this lies in the 2000 movie, “What A Girl Wants.” I think the great story line in this movie is not the main plot, but the sub-plot that exists with Mel Gibson’s character Nick Marshall and a low on the totem pole character named Gigi, played by Lauren Holly, who is just an office hand that is convinced no one ever notices. In the movie, Gibson’s character has the ability to hear what women are thinking. In a few brief interactions, Marshall hears what Gigi is thinking and her desire to noticed and called by name. Eventually it unfolds that Marshall takes action to see to it that Gigi is known and has an identity.
My desire to want to be called by name has led me to value the students I have the opportunity to serve and to learn their names. One of my goals in my first year of ministry at this assignment was to learn the names of all the students that called our church home and interacted in some way with the life of our youth ministry. It can be easy in a large church context to come and go and never be noticed. Our staff takes proactive steps to see to it that no one goes unnoticed and can be called by name.
That goal was achieved and when students walked in, they could be called by name. Doing so has created a sense of confidence in their lives when they walk through the doors. For several of these students they spend their days at school wandering around if anyone notices them, the least we can offer them is the gift of calling them by name and in this case, a representation of Jesus.
People around us are crying out to be noticed. For some, your ability to call someone by name can is everything. People have an identity and want to be acknowledged in that way. In your context, how well do make the effort to call those around you by name?
You’re loved.
