Titles for Tribals?

There has been discussion amongst the “instigators” concerning identities here at Missional Tribe. The gist of it is that we want this to be a place where the playing field is leveled. Where want to be known by who we are and what we share about how we live, not by the title(s) we have earned or use professionally.

The bottom line is that we are primarily brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus is Lord and the rest of us fall in line behind him. This place is not about having to earn the right to be heard by whatever hoops we have jumped through.

Each of us has a voice–and this is intended to be a safe space to speak our stories of missional life to those who want to listen.  [Site Administrators and Moderators are here to help make this site run smoothly, not to control things!]

We realize that there are some whose virtual identity must be anonymous because of vulnerabilities in real life. Two of our instigators are known by names not their own. We certainly want to honor their circumstances. But even though they are publicly anonymous, we instigators know each other’s real identity privately.

There are also times when it is good to know what our various “credentials” are. It helps us understand where we are coming from and some of the context for our experiences. Should that kind of information be saved for our profiles?

So, what do you think?

Do we want to use titles instead of, or in addition to, our names? How does that encourage or intimidate conversation? Is it a non-issue?

I decided to write this post because I named my blog here “The Tribal Abbess” to differentiate it from my “home” blog, The Virtual Abbess and my identity as AbiSomeone, The Abbess at The Virtual Abbey.  It is very much a virtual descriptor, not a positional title.  ;^)   And you’ll find the name Peggy Brown next to all my comments everywhere else.

So, now’s your chance to throw in your two cents….