Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

I have been involved recently in several organizations that have proposed name or logo changes.

Here they are:

• The Oregon Golf Association re-designed its logo and website, though it has not changed its name.

• Salem Leadership Foundation revised its logo, again without changing its name.

• Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club, my home club in Salem, changed its logo, and is considering a name change to something along the lines of “sports club.”

• And, the church my wife and I attend here in La Quinta, California, has gone by its name – Southwest Church – for many years.  It has become a recognizable brand in the Palm Springs area, if not farther – if the word “brand” is appropriate for a church.  But last week a change became official.  It is now called Wellspring Church.

In this blog, I’ll focus only the latter, even as express my general view that, given the potentially high costs of name and logo changes, assessments must be made to decide that the cost is worth it.

For the church here in the California desert, I wondered why a change was made that would require moving away from such a well-established name as Southwest Church.

The senior pastor, Ricky Jenkins, described the rationale for the change in what he wrote for the congregation in a church bulletin.  Here is what he said:

“For several years, our elders, pastors, and staff have been prayerfully listening for God’s direction, asking how we can faithfully serve this valley for generations to come.  We believe God is leading into a new season – one that honors our past and prepares us for the future.

“Throughout Scripture, when God begins something new, He often gives a new name – a sign of renewed identity and purpose.  Abram became Abraham.  Jacob because Israel.  Simon became Peter.

“As we prayed about this next chapter, our desire was simple:  A name that points to Jesus, not to us – one rooted in Scripture, shaped by our calling, and deeply connected to this valley we love.”

The basic Scripture that brings up the name, Wellspring, is found in the fourth chapter of the book of John, verse 14:

“But whoever drinks of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

In another words, a “wellspring.”

So, our church has a new name. 

Another reason for the change, I suppose, could be that, if the church were to expand beyond the “southwest,” then the word southwest could be a limiting factor.

We’ll see how all this turns out. 

Meanwhile, we will keep attending this church when we are in the California desert because, when all is said and done, the church is God-centered, ethnically-diverse, age-diverse and portrays other solid qualities.  The first phrase in this list is the most critical.

And, for the other organizations, we’ll remain involved, too – name changes, logo changes, etc., hoping that all will be worth it.