For What it’s Worth…
Views on life, faith and bits of the web, from 2 guys and their friendsIf we are actually speaking truth … why isn’t anyone listening?
I’ve been reading Branding Faith by Phil Cooke. To some in the church, the idea of branding is anathema, but I suspect this is mostly due to misunderstanding the concept. Branding is part of the reality within the church exists. Cooke quotes a study which found that one in four babies, speaks a brand name as their first word! This study, by British Market Research Bureau is also quoted in a slightly alarming 2003 article in the SMH.
At the heart of the challenge laid out in the book is Cooke’s distillation of the definition of marketing: The art of surrounding a product, organisation or person with a powerful and compelling story. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a powerful and compelling story, we don’t need to find it, or create it, just tell it! The task seems to me to be local churches finding answers to the question, “how do we tell the powerful and compelling story of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our communities?”
If we replace the word “brand” in our thinking with “image” or “reputation” the application of branding for the church seems a lot closer to home. Branding Faith sets about answering the question, how does the church engage a media-driven world for the gospel?
There are some comments in the book that don’t seem quite right. Cooke states that “Religion is all about identity,” which I would want to nuance; what we call religion is about responding to what God has done for us in Christ. He also suggests that our communications should start with considering our audience and then preparing our message. While the story of the American evangelist in Africa with which he illustrates this point is exceptionally funny (you’ll have to read the book!), from a gospel point of view, he’s put the cart before the horse. The gospel message starts with God and speaks to all cultures and audiences. It is the packaging of the message that should be shaped by the audience, not the message.
However, Cooke raises some significant issues for the church;
How do we demonstrate that the church is “for something, not against everything” and yet still maintain the ability to identify sin and error in the world around us?
How do we communicate when the language of Christianity is losing its currency in the world?
How does the brand (think “image” or “reputation”) of the gospel permeate every aspect of our activity?
Ultimately, the challenge for the church in a brand-driven world is the challenge Cooke describes as the goal for his life – “how do we share a life-changing message with a culture that has lost interest?”
Cameron Munro | March 3rd, 2009 at 3:23 PM #
How do you stop Jesus becoming just one more product in the consumer milieu?
Jacob Riley | March 3rd, 2009 at 8:58 PM #
Thanks very much for your thoughts on the book.
Are you going to review Cooke’s latest book – “The Last TV Evangelist”? I haven’t seen it yet so I’ll be waiting for your perspective.
Simon Jackson | March 5th, 2009 at 10:19 PM #
I haven’t read the book (probably never will) but it seems like we all, that is Christians need to understand ‘what the Gospel is’ some more and then perhaps that will help us work out how best to speak the Truth in our culture. We are so busy studying culture without studying the Gospel. The depths of the Gospel cannot be plumbed. The Gospel critiques culture at every level.
Perhaps the culture has lost interest because the [evangelical] church has assumed the Gospel? Never assume the Gospel! ‘The main thing is that the main thing remain the main thing’ – Martin Marty. Jesus is no product. The Truth is not an idea, He is a person.
Clayton Fopp | March 8th, 2009 at 12:27 PM #
Thanks Simon,
As they say, “what is assumed in one generation is lost in the next.”
PS Looking forward to hearing you preach this week, on Simon Says Sunday!
Carol | March 8th, 2009 at 3:38 PM #
I think the problem is not with Jesus becoming “one more product” as if he’s just another thing competing with a variety of other products. He IS competing with a variety of other products. Jesus says, effectively, “its me, or all the consumer stuff – take your pick.”
The task is to communicate about jesus without sounding like all those other things are his EQUAL. He is over all those products, but if people don’t hear about him, or don’t hear how much better he is, that’s the problem!