I have a name tag at Church which I usually do not like. The lettering is too small and it has too many words on it to be in any way helpful to people who have not been bitten by a radioactive hawk and possess a super-human ability to see very clearly.

With all that lettering and the number of words on my name tag, it has become clear the only thing people see on my name tag is the word "Church".

As one who is curious to know about people and learn from them, it is usually counter-productive to meet an atheist or an agnostic wearing a name tag that says "Church" on it. It smacks of establishment and no one likes "the man".

I sought out to make a new name tag for myself.

I am not creative enough to come up with this name tag on my own but I discovered this style after viewing a number of Meetup groups who were discussing creativity. While their name tags were temporary stickers, I thought it would be great to go with a bit more of a permanent/official/reusable look.

So here is what I got:

While some might consider this too weird or "hey look at me!", I have discovered the flexibility and uniqueness of this name tag has opened the door to a number of wonderful conversations with people. And the thing is, it is the other people who choose to engage in the conversation first!

One day I wore that I love "Girard". To my amazement, I met a guy who knew who Girard was and was well versed in his writings. He and his wife were in from out of state for medical treatment for their son. After thirty minutes, he and I traded names and contact information so that we might reconnect on the internet as we find things related to our conversation.

Earlier this week I visited a coffee shop and the brewista stated, "oh, you are the guy with the name tag. What do you love today?"

Not a big deal by any stretch of the imagination, but it has been a wonderful experiment thus far in engaging with people to talk of life, philosophy, religion, God and even Anchorman: