The Gospel - a branded article?

223 the gospel a brand articleIn one of his early films, John Wayne says to another cowboy, "I don't like working with a branding iron - it hurts when you stand in the wrong place!" I found his remark quite funny, but it also made me to reflect on how churches can damage the gospel through inappropriate use of marketing techniques such as heavy advertising of branded products. In our past, our founder looked for a strong selling point and made us the “one true church”. This practice compromised biblical truth as the gospel was redefined to promote the brand name.

Involved in Jesus' work of spreading his gospel

Our calling as Christians is not to market a branded product, but to participate in Jesus' work with the help of the Holy Spirit and to spread his gospel in the world through the Church. Jesus 'gospel addresses several things: How forgiveness and reconciliation were accomplished through Jesus' atonement sacrifice; how the Holy Spirit renews us (and what it means to live a new life); the nature of our calling as followers of Jesus who join his worldwide mission; and the sure hope that we will belong forever to the fellowship that Jesus has with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

There are uses, albeit limited, in which marketing (including branding) is useful in carrying out the gospel ministry to which Jesus called us. For example, we can use logos, websites, social media, bulletins, newsletters, icons, newsletters, and other communication tools to help us spread Jesus' message and instill faith in people. In any case, such means should be useful and not prevent us from being light and salt in our civil communities. From this point of view, I am not against properly applied marketing, but I would also like to make an appeal for caution and link this with an outlook.

Appeal for caution

According to George Barna's definition, marketing is "a collective term including all activities leading to two parties agreeing to exchange goods of adequate value" (in A Step by Step Guide to Church Marketing). into church marketing). Barna expands on the term marketing by adding activities such as advertising, public relations, strategic planning, customer surveys, distribution channels, fundraising, pricing, visioning, and customer service as elements of marketing. Then Barna concludes: "When these elements come together in a transaction that causes the parties involved to exchange goods of adequate value, the marketing circle closes". Let's keep the idea of ​​an exchange for goods of adequate value in mind for a while.

It was only a few years ago when some of our pastors studied a well-known book by a leader of a Southern California mega-church. The essential message of the book was that you could offer people and their communities something that they would enthusiastically accept if you market your church in a specific way. Some of our pastors have tried the recommended marketing techniques and were disappointed as their membership did not grow.

But should we market the gospel (and our churches) the way Walmart and Sears market their products - or even use marketing methods that certain churches use to generate numerical growth? I think we agree that we do not need to promote the gospel as a consumer item of supposedly great value. That is certainly not what Jesus had in mind when he gave us the assignment to preach the gospel in the world and to make disciples of people from all walks of life.

As the apostle Paul wrote, the gospel is often presented as reactionary or dumbfounding by decidedly secular people (1. Corinthians 1,18-23) and certainly not seen as an attractive, highly sought-after consumer item. As followers of Jesus we are not fleshly minded, but spiritually minded (Romans 8,4-5). We are certainly not perfect at this, but through the Holy Spirit we are aligned with God's will (and consequently His work). Understood in this way, it is not surprising that Paul rejected certain “human” (worldly) techniques for spreading the gospel:

Since God has entrusted this task to us in his grace, we do not lose heart. We reject all unscrupulous methods of preaching. We are not trying to outsmart anyone and we are not falsifying God's Word, but rather we are speaking the truth before God. All who have sincere hearts know this (2. Corinthians 4,1-2; New life). Paul rejected the use of methods that lead to short-term success but are at the expense of the gospel. The only kind of success he desires in life and ministry is said to result from union with Christ and the gospel.

Some church claims that promote the gospel as a recipe for success sound like this: “Come to our church and your problems will be solved. You will attain health and prosperity. You will be richly blessed." The promised blessings typically have to do with power, success, and wish-fulfillment. The sugar-and-stick effect begins when those interested are introduced to the necessary requirements—things like having a high level of faith, participating in a small group, paying tithing, being actively involved in church service , or observance of specific times for prayer and Bible study. While these are helpful for growth in the discipleship of Jesus, none of them can move God to graciously fulfill our desires in exchange for things that He claims to expect of us.

Unfair advertising and fraudulent marketing

Luring people to say they can come to God to give their wishes is dishonest advertising and fraudulent marketing. It is nothing more than paganism in a modern guise. Christ did not die to fulfill our selfish consumption desires. He did not come to guarantee us health and prosperity. Instead, He came to welcome us into kind relationships with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to give us peace, joy, and hope, which are the fruits of that relationship. This empowers us with God's dear and transforming love to love and help other people. This type of love may be perceived by some (and perhaps many) as intrusive or offensive, but it always points to the source of this saving, reconciling and transforming love.

Should we market the gospel as an object of exchange of adequate value between two mutually agreed parties? Definitely not! The gospel is a gift for all by the grace of God. And all we can do is accept the gift with empty, broken hands - full of grateful acceptance of the blessings as belonging to God. The communion of grace and love expresses itself through a life of grateful worship - a response empowered by the Holy Spirit, who has opened our eyes and taken our proud and rebellious drive for independence to live for the glory of God.

A wonderful exchange

With these thoughts in mind, I would like to point out that in our lives in and with Christ and through the Holy Spirit, an exchange of a special kind, a truly wonderful exchange has taken place. Please read what Paul wrote:

I am crucified with Christ. I live, but now not I, but Christ lives in me. For what I now live in the flesh, I live in faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me (Galatians 2,19b-20).

We give our sinful life to Jesus and He gives us His life of righteousness. When we give up our lives, we find his life working in us. When we place our lives under the dominion of Christ, we find the true purpose of our lives, no longer to live our aspirations, but to increase the glory of God, our Creator and Redeemer. This exchange is not a marketing method - it happens by grace. We receive full communion with God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and God receives us wholeheartedly. We receive the just character of Christ and he removes all our sins and gives us complete forgiveness. This is certainly not an exchange of goods of adequate value!

Every believer in Christ, man or woman, is a new creature - a child of God. The Holy Spirit gives us new life - the life of God in us. As a new creature, the Holy Spirit changes us to become more and more involved in Christ's perfect love for God and man. When our life is in Christ, then we have a part in his life, both in joy and in compassionate love. We are partners in his sufferings, his death, his righteousness, as well as his resurrection, his ascension, and finally his glorification. As God's children, we are co-heirs with Christ, absorbed into his perfect relationship with his Father. In this regard, we are blessed by all that Christ has done for us to become God's beloved children, united with him - in glory forever!

Full of joy over the wonderful exchange,

Joseph Tkach

President
GRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL


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