Are you good at remembering people’s names? Dale Carnegie, the famous author and expert on self-improvement skills, said “A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” As you peruse the many articles on the internet and books that have been written through the years, all of them agree that there are some very helpful techniques for people to use in order to improve their name recall skills. These always include caring enough to make a commitment or a conscious decision to remember the name, and then believing that you really can do it. This requires paying attention and concentrating deliberately on the name. Finding a way to make either a visual, musical, rhyming, or sensory connection or association and then repeating that concept in your mind immediately and again a bit later is often the link that will make remembering it much easier.
As Paul ends his lengthy letter to the people, “the saints”, in Rome, it is interesting how very personal his remarks are. As he mentions one person after another by name, he recalls some personal commendation for each one. Perhaps he had met some of them who were now living in Rome in other churches as he traveled on his missionary journeys. Others he may have only know by reputation or commendation from his colleagues. Finally he sends greeting to the recipients of this letter from others who wanted to send their greetings, too. It’s a remarkable reminder that it is always individual people who together become the church, the visible body of Christ. They are one body with many members, each with their own unique contribution and place within that body. (Romans 12: 4 – 5)
Are there some individuals in your church who long to be noticed and to know that someone remembers their name?
