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Names Matter
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I want to start by saying I'm terrible with names. Terrible. There are times that within a conversation I have forgotten someone's name. There are many reasons why this is true of me, none of which have much importance.
Forgetting someone's name is forgetting someone's name. Forget it, and it's like you've forgotten the person themself.
In recent months, I have tried to make a dedicated effort to improve on remembering names. I'll share the ways soon, but first...
A couple of Sundays ago, I was priveleged to be able to go to Kansas City to watch the Chiefs vs Dolphins with a great friend. Every time I drive to Kansas City, I usually stop in Clinton. It's one of those towns that when driving, you want to stop in. Multiple gas stations. Multiple choices for food. Short. Quick. Easy.
On the way home, we stopped at McDonald's to grab dinner. While there, I saw a teenager that look familiar to me. At first, I couldn't place them. Then, it clicked. The first Wednesday Night service where I was making an intentional effort to remember names, this student attended. For that reason, I remembered her name.
She said: "I think I know you from somewhere."
I said: "We met at one of our services in The Factory. My name is Justin and I'm the Student Pastor. Your name is..."
She was blown away. She was shocked I remembered she came, seeing as she came only a handful of times. She was even more shocked I remembered her name.
Names matter.
Names matter because people matter. People matter because every one represents someone Christ died for. To remember someone's name holds more than just temporal signficance. In the moment, it knocks on the window of eternity.
As I've tried more and more to keep this in mind every time I meet someone, here are a couple of things I've found to be helpful.
- Once they tell you their name, repeat it often. In the past when meeting someone, they would say their name and I would say "nice to meet you." Now, when I meet them, I try to repeat their name in the coversation any opportunity I can get. I've heard it said that when you learn, each time you add an additional sense (i.e. the five senses) you exponentially improve the odds of you remembering. By both speaking and hearing someone's name repeatedly, you improve the odds of remembering their name.
- Make eye contact. We live in a time where eye contact is increasingly rare. But if we track with increased use of the senses, increase our memory, then by adding sight to see and speak, then this further increases our ability to remember the person's name, by their face.
- Connect the person (and their name) to a story. Finally, I think it's always helps to connect a person's name and face to a story. Hearing a story causes uniqueness. Uniqueness increases remembrance. With over 7 billion people on the planet, we all blend together. When you hear a story, the individual just became unique in your world.
End result with this student in particular? She hasn't attended our church in months. She'll be coming again this week.
