Dr. William B. McClain is the Professor of Preaching and Worship at Wesley Theological Seminary. Dr. McClain once told about meeting a South Korean tailor in Seoul, Korea. Amazingly, this South Korean tailor introduced himself as "Smitty Lee." Dr. McClain was fascinated to discover a Korean named Smitty… and he asked whether the name Smitty was a Korean name. The Korean tailor said "no" and then he told the story of how his life had been saved (some years before during the Korean War.) His life had been saved by a courageous American soldier from Virginia who was called Smitty Ransom. The tailor went on to explain a rather familiar custom in that Asian culture… and he summed it up in two simple sentences: "He saved my life. I took his name!" That is precisely what happens when Jesus Christ comes into our hearts… He saves our lives. And we take His name.

We take on the name Christian, one who is of Christ, one who follows Christ, one who belongs to Christ… one who serves Christ and one who lives daily in the Spirit of Christ.