Branding the Gospel

It used to be that the church’s approach to fulfilling its great commission looked a lot like that of a traveling salesman. We had our pitch and our high pressure offer. We focused on strangers like they were quotas and we chased notches in our spiritual belts. Or, at least those that were good at sales did. Most of us just felt guilty that we were not brave enough to be so abrasive, or jealous that we weren’t as persuasive.

That seems to be changing. We know that we are not sent to make converts, but disciples; that we are not meant to ignore family and friends in favor of strangers with whom we can afford to be weird. However, the change that is really happening is not an evolution of theological understanding, but an evolution in marketing.

Today the church is all about branding the Gospel. Go to any seminary or church and look at the walls. You will quickly realize that being a good Christian today means having the knack to package Biblical ideas in colorful phrases and names that are easy to remember. It is no longer understanding and living truth, but rather putting your own, trademark-able spin on it.

What is worse, there is an increasing danger that we are not even marketing the Gospel, but rather Christian Culture. Religion. Tradition.