Advertising and the Church

I haven’t complained about churches in quite awhile, mainly due to the fact that I attend a couple different churches that aren’t corporately retarded and understand that there is more to church than simply getting bigger. But I digress. I don’t intend to complain here, only to make some observations about how the church markets itself to the world in the attempt to make itself more appealing and desirable.

Marketing is an interesting phenomenon. My brother is fond of saying that the goal of advertising is to “polish a turd and convince you it’s a diamond.” But, as he says, “a turd is still a turd even if itwears a tuxedo.” The fact is that marketing works. What the product looks like, where it is placed in the store—in the aisle and on the shelf—and what you perceive the product can do for you is far more important than what the product actually does. The goal is to sell the product. This is what marketing is about.

And to be honest, it works on me sometimes. You, too, I’m willing to guess. I buy chips and mints all the time based on 1) packaging (what catches my eye) and 2) flavor. I just bought a Wii, somewhat impulsively (we’d thought about it for a couple weeks), based at least partly on the advertising I’ve seen on T.V. I started working part-time for a company recently that stocks trading cards at Wal-Marts, near the checkout lanes. The whole section of sports, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, etc. is arranged in a specific way to highlight popular products. Having spent 3 rather unsuccessful months as a car salesman I realized that much of marketing is about making the customer feel something towards the product, whether it be shampoo, food, or a $45000 Ram 3500. If a salesman or advertiser can make you feel a sense of need ad ownership then they have won 90% of the battle. Whether the shampoo might make your hair smell like a fragrant horse rectum or that car might lose a wheel 3 miles down the road is secondary to how it makes you feel to buy it. Call it form over function or substance.

What seems to be more and more the case (at least I’ve unscientifically discovered) is that the most effective products are often times the least advertised. This isn’t a general sweeping statement as some highly stylized products actually deliver. I recently purchased some lotion to keep in my locker at work. When you work with towel all day and are constantly wiping your hands with sanitizing wipes they get a little on the dry side. Most lotions smell horrid: to strong and fragrant, to womanly, to “lotiony.” This lotion, called simply “Corn Husker Lotion,” is the best, non-smelly lotion I’ve ever used. This is a product with zero advertising and a simply bottle, with a simply label, with a simple lotion that delivers.

Biblically speaking, you could probably make a case for Satan being the first advertising executive (not that all advertisers are Satanic). In the Garden the serpent convinces Eve that she “won’t surely die,” that her “eyes will be opened,” and she’ll “be like God, knowing good from evil.” Never mind the utter destruction that would be wrought by eating the fruit and the fact that God said, “Don’t freaking eat it,” Eve is convinced, seeing that the fruit was pleasing to the eye, she took and ate.

The Church, seeking relevance in an ever-changing, post-modern world, has replaced true discipleship with marketing and programming as the primary means of  “reaching” into the world. The goal, despite what may be stated, is not the ushering in of the kingdom, nor the transformation of lives, but convincing the world that “our” church has what you need to complete your life: self-help groups, child care, a “killer” youth ministry, a rocking worship band, and a “pastor who wears jeans” (I actually saw a church advertise this once). It isn’t that these things are bad in and of themselves (though I’m not sure your pastor’s wardrobe has much to do with anything); it’s that they aren’t the point. Churches that advertise the crap out themselves don’t always have the message to back up the boasting. Too often the church is a “turd in a tuxedo.” No substance. All style (bad style). Fancy buildings, slick advertising, expensive youth rooms, free coffee and the like can’t hide for long the “turdiness” of a church. Three of the most effective churches I know of can only be found by those who want to find them. They are found mainly through relationships, disciples reaching out to their neighbors and drawing them into the community of faith. Yes, they have websites telling you what they offer, but the focus is not on convincing you to come to them. Instead they are “going into the world,” bringing people into the community instead of simply waiting to be found, or convincing you that what you need is right through their doors.

I’m certainly not saying that churches shouldn’t let people know what they are doing and what help they offer, nor am I suggesting that churches that advertise are the demon spawn of Satan. What I’m advocating substance over form, depth over dimensions, relationships over billboards. Far to often what is offered varies wildly from what is “given.” Worse, there are times when the means contradict the end. The message of Jesus gets lost or watered down by world-like methods of bringing people into the church.

Here’s the point: the Church has to be more than slick advertising. It has to be about the kingdom come “on earth as it is in heaven.” It has to be about life-giving. It must be live out in its body the death and resurrection of Jesus.

shalom, matt