The Age of Persuasion on "Selling God"

“This week Terry O’Reilly marches you boldly where the angels of marketing fear to tread: he looks at the delicate, always-controversial relationship between faith and advertising… And he’ll explain why not all people of faith embrace the marketing tactics popular in some of today’s churches.”

In this short little interview, Skye Jethani talks about a shift in church architecture from that of sacred space to that of theater space and asks whether or these buildings challenge or re-inforce the assumed values of the culture around us.

c/o Out of Ur

This one goes out to all you churchy designers out there striving to accentuate/communicate your congregation’s unique identity.

c/o Church Marketing Sucks

Designer: UnknownScreenshot taken from: AmazonIf you haven’t come across it yet, Christianity Today is running an interesting piece on consumerism within/of the Church by Tyler Wigg-Stevenson titled: Jesus is Not a Brand: Why it is dangerous to make evangelism another form of marketing.The article takes a classic McLuhan angle and cautions the Church to resist a “marketing” approach to communicating its message.Countering claims that the church should “cut through the noise” with the language of our times (advertising in all its glory), Wigg-Stevenson ultimately argues the individualistic underpinning of the medium compromises the sacrificial and submissive nature we’re called to as the Body of Christ.Of course the article has already begun to stir up a bit of a conversation about semantics, but in general we think it brings up a lot of great questions for any designer looking to “speak” in a manner that’s recognized - without being subverted by the medium itself.But enough of our ramblings. Have you read the article? What do you think?Brand Jesus: Christianity in a Consumerist AgeFurther Reading:• ChurchMarketingSucks Response(s): The Good, The Bad• Christianity Today Review of Brand Jesus• Wikipedia on “The Medium is the Message”• The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, The Gospel and Church by Shane Hipps

Designer: Unknown
Screenshot taken from: Amazon

If you haven’t come across it yet, Christianity Today is running an interesting piece on consumerism within/of the Church by Tyler Wigg-Stevenson titled: Jesus is Not a Brand: Why it is dangerous to make evangelism another form of marketing.

The article takes a classic McLuhan angle and cautions the Church to resist a “marketing” approach to communicating its message.

Countering claims that the church should “cut through the noise” with the language of our times (advertising in all its glory), Wigg-Stevenson ultimately argues the individualistic underpinning of the medium compromises the sacrificial and submissive nature we’re called to as the Body of Christ.

Of course the article has already begun to stir up a bit of a conversation about semantics, but in general we think it brings up a lot of great questions for any designer looking to “speak” in a manner that’s recognized - without being subverted by the medium itself.

But enough of our ramblings. Have you read the article? What do you think?

Brand Jesus: Christianity in a Consumerist Age

Further Reading:
• ChurchMarketingSucks Response(s): The Good, The Bad
• Christianity Today Review of Brand Jesus
• Wikipedia on “The Medium is the Message”
• The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, The Gospel and Church by Shane Hipps

NIGHTNIGHT by DEDDY