Is Church Marketing A Sin? Part Two

In part one of “Is Church Marketing a Sin” I talked about if the problem of marketing a church is wrong or a sin. While I came to the conclusion that marketing in and of itself is not sinful and that the Bible verse I have heard used in arguments against this topic doesn’t address this issue, it makes me wonder why so many people reject or have spoken out about church marketing.

I think this may be for three main reasons: worldliness, jealousy, or because some church communication efforts are just plain cheesy. Here’s a quick breakdown on each reason:

Worldliness. I understand that some church members and Christians view using the tools of the world as evil or that we are supposed to be in the world but not of it but this does not apply to this situation because these methods or tools can be used for God’s glory. God gave us talented people whose purpose is to tell His Story through art, design, media, storytelling, etc. If the focus is Jesus than are we really being worldly? I believe Paul would have considered blogging or direct mail to build the Kingdom. Don’t you?

Jealousy. I think that there are Christians who are envious of other Christian’s work or success and they become bitter about it. I shamefully admit that I have acted this way in the past. A person I know became wildly successful with an idea we had discussed and I become so jealous that I bad mouthed their business and the person. I did seek forgiveness and the relationship has been restored but it did cause a lot of pain. Unfortunately we are susceptible to these types of temptations and we should be happy when God gets the glory even if it means a church has better media stuff than we do.

Cheesiness. I think this is the big issue. There is a lot of crap when it comes to secular marketing and there is an equal amount when it pertains to church communications as well. I have seen brochures, advertising, and websites that just reek like Lindberg cheese. They look like materials that a snake-oil salesman would use and definitely reflect no emphasis on giving their best to God. I understand that not all churches have the budget, talent, or knowledge to have nice stuff. And in no way am I saying a church that has 1960′s brochures cannot be effective at reaching people with God’s Word. I think some people are turned off by bad marketing…but this can also go to the other extreme.

There are churches who have placed all their trust and money into looking uber-hip or being so slick that theiR communication tools look like you are going on a carnival cruise or trip to Disney World. There are even a few innovative” churches who are really pushing the edge on what may be acceptable and not acceptable for Christian marketing – such as using sex to sell a message or draw people in. I am all for discussing all aspects of scripture including sex, but I don’t think we need to use sexy images or innuendos to preach the Gospel. That is a sin.

I propose a balance. I believe that we can glorify Jesus Christ and His Church through excellence in media. We can take it up a notch and do our best to tell His story in a way that resonates with our culture including marketing and design! However, I also believe that we need to understand and remember that it is Jesus that transforms lives and not our marketing, worship experience, or dazzling media display and if we start placing our trust in these tools as a savior, taking them to the extreme, or idolizing these methods in any way then we can be justified in saying that this is a sin.