Is the YMCA's name and logo change a good idea? Vote here

The YMCA has decided to change it's name and it's company logo. It will no longer be known as the YMCA as evidenced in the statement released July 12, 2010. Here is an excerpt from that statement for you to read, then you can vote on whether you think the name and logo change is a good idea ...

Switching the name to "The Y", even though it is easier (same number of letters but two less syllables) and already in common use as street slang for the YMCA, provokes the question: What does it stand for? "The Young"? Or is still short for YMCA?

Perhaps an even more important question is what does the YMCA stand for as an organization?

The YMCA was founded in England 166 yrs ago on Christian principals which included loving your neighbor with kindness, goodness, and gentleness. It has meant providing both assistance and a place of refuge for the lost and lonely. Ultimately it means becoming an extension of Christ himself on earth so that other people can know and understand the love and mercy of God ...

Make sense after all why associate themselves with 2 of the world's biggest evils; men and Christians? Seriously, I worked out at my local Y for many years and watched them go from the YMCA to the Family Y. Now they completely revolve around woman and daycare.

Not that I mind that there are women per se but less than a mile down the road there is a multi-million dollar YWCA (now I'm not sure what they call it) although according to the big sign they have out front their mission is to end racism.

They're not terribly interested in me there and from what I understand they do not allow men on their board. Over at the Family Y er. former YMCA I think half of the board members and 85% of the employees are woman.

This post has motivated me to send the following email to my pastor:

I’ve been inspired to rant about a topic I’m sure you know is dear to my heart.

Announced on July 12, 2010, the YMCA has now dropped the last three letters of its nomenclature. It’s now just the “Y”.

Its history as the Young Men’s Christian Association will henceforth be just that—history.

To the untrained eye, this is just a marketing ploy; merely another American institution conforming to the acronymic tide of modern commercial jargon. And I as a long-time member have been regretfully aware of the organization’s evolving distance from the principles served by the two middle initials. The days of the YMCA catering exclusively to either men or Christians are long gone. Indeed the times have assured that such a large organization would inevitably have to retreat from such a narrow, political incorrect identity.

I propose that this seemingly mundane bit of news is a harbinger of a larger issue. I see it as symbolic of the failure of the very objects whom the Y’s marketing gurus have deemed irrelevant enough to erase from their name—Christian men. I ask if this step is not symptomatic of an abundance of social, cultural and spiritual erosions we’re seeing increasingly demonstrated throughout the first decade of the 21st century? If you would answer no, then this is no big deal. We should move on. But if yes, then shouldn’t we accurately place a major portion of the fault squarely at the feet of Christian men themselves?

How could we so lackadaisically relinquish our authority as Men of God? Are we not biblically commanded to assume a role of leadership in our communities? Have we not been charged with sustaining the truth of His holy word? Just how hard are Christian men FIGHTING to perpetuate the cultural significance of the church? What avenues are we establishing to serve, support and mentor the young men who must shepherd the next generation of believers?

Make no mistake. There are secular forces who celebrate this move by the YMCA, however insignificant it may seem to us. They have a larger agenda to not only dilute our social influence, but to portray our efforts at self-preservation as primitive, moronic and even sinister. Read a paper. They’re winning.

Call me an alarmist, but I am convinced that our very foundations of faith are at stake. There is a great need for an outright revival of men to take their rightful place at the head of our churches, families and communities. I’m throwing down the gauntlet to inspire a new-found motivation to STEP UP NOW and courageously fulfill our biblical obligations as men. Do it by whatever means necessary to mobilize the manly masses. The sooner the better. Count me in.

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