As a graphic artist, I’ve designed the brand identity for a few small companies and have been privileged to provide artwork to support the large brand of AAA (American Automobile Association). Designing brand identity is possibly my favorite activity in my line of work - choosing a color set, fonts and working through the typography is a rewarding challenge. I appreciate a good logo.

But I’m not sure where branding fits into the Church…

This is an area that I’m exploring and here are a few of the questions that I’d like to hear discussed.

• When did branding (logos and distinctive names) get introduced to the Church?
• Does associating to an exclusive brand of the Church fall inline with Paul’s admonition to not say “I am of Paul or I am of Apollos?”
• Are there acceptable brands for the church and less acceptable brands (e.g. The Cool Church)?
• Does our use of branding show we’ve conformed the Church into the corporate world?