I had the surprise of my life today.

When I picked up the mail I saw this…

I PANICKED!!!!!

I immediately called the number on the bottom of the page and began to plead my case! It went something like this:

Me: Hi! My name is Paul. I just got a document stating that we can’t have the name Church180! Why is that? I’ve researched this and there is no other organization in South Carolina with this name!

Lady: I’m sorry sir but it’s been taken.

Me: Our name doesn’t have a space between the word “Church” and the numbers “180.” Does that make a difference?

Lady: No.

Me: Can we put a dash between the words? Spell out the name? What can we do? We’ve got mailers and signs ready to go! This is a nightmare!

Lady: Let me talk to my manager. (waiting as people talk in the background….) I’m sorry sir. You can’t have that name.

Me: Can I have the name of the person who owns this name? Maybe we can buy it from this individual.

Lady: Sure.

Me: OK! What is it.

Lady: His name is Paul Peterson.

Me: That’s me! Woohoo!

Long story short…

I filed paperwork to reserve a name and incorporate on the same day. They received the articles of incorporation first and reserved the name. A day or so later they received the “Application to reserve a name.” When they looked up the name, it was already taken… by me!

As you can imagine, after this conversation I went ahead and gave our church permission to use the name Church180.

I’ve never been so happy to hear my own name!