The World's Worst Marketing Campaign

I don't claim to be an expert in the field of marketing, but I am pretty sure there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Actually, I KNOW there is a right way and wrong way to do it because every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I roll out of bed and sit in Principles of Marketing for an hour learning the difference.

There are four components that play a part in effective marketing-- product, price, placement, and promotion (I just typed that by memory, someone tell my prof I deserve an A). Product is what the consumer can expect to receive in exchange for a resource of equal value, usually currency; price is the monetary value placed on the product based on what a consumer is willing to hand over in exchange for that product; place has to do with where the product can be found, whether its on a specific shelf in a certain store, or on a specific page on a certain website; and promotion has to do with making the consumer aware of the product and creating a desire within the consumer to obtain it.

When getting ready to promote a product or service, companies spend thousands if not millions of dollars researching their consumers so that they know exactly what to say and how to say it in order to secure a sale. If their customers want fun, they're going to make their product sound fun. If their customers want prestige, they're going to make their product seem prestigious. If their customers want efficient, they're going to bend their campaign as much as possible to present their product as efficient.

If this is what defines a good marketing campaign, then it is safe to say that God is not interested in the business of marketing. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said this, "When Christ calls a man he bids him come and die." Literally the worst marketing campaign ever. Here's Jesus saying"Follow me! But first, give up everything you have, all your hopes, dreams, plans, and ambitions, and pick up your cross." I can only imagine what the disciples were thinking standing beside Jesus as these words escaped his mouth. Peter, always a bit quick to offer his advice, probably wanted to whisper something into his ear along the lines of, "Hey Jesus, I'm sure you know what you're doing but let me just throw something out there. Instead of saying 'come and die' maybe you could highlight some of the benefits of being your disciple. You're going to kill our head count in the weekly attendance report if you don't change your approach a bit."

Had Jesus been concerned about changing his approach, had he said anything less than "come and die," he would have been untrue to his own Gospel message. In the United States of America, we have done with the Gospel what we have done with everything else- made it about us… tailored it to fit our wants and needs. The Gospel has never been about being the best you that you can be. It has always been about the fact that at our very worst moment, when we were drowning in our humanity, God humbled himself, became a man, died a horrible death on the cross, and three days later rose from the grave conquering death once and for all. It has always been about believing in Jesus' finished work on the cross, dying to ourselves, and repositioning him on the throne of our hearts.

Sorry to burst some bubbles, but if you are living a comfortable life, never sacrificing yourself for the sake of the Kingdom of God, never exiting your comfort zone to introduce a stranger to Jesus, never speaking loudly enough of your faith to have someone reprimand you for it, you probably aren't carrying your cross like Jesus. I'm guilty of it, too. Not many of us reading this will ever experience literally losing our lives for the sake of following Christ. For our brothers and sisters around the world, however, this is what following Christ means. It means no more family gatherings because family has disowned them. It means no more education, because education in many areas is not offered to a professing believer in Christ. It means no freedom of worship, no job, no home, and often times no life.

Though we may not experience physical death here in the United States, though you reading this overseas may not experience physical death in your nation that is still open to the Gospel, let us embrace wholeheartedly a death to ourselves. Let us be willing to go when he says 'go.' Let us be willing to give up the things we cling to when he says 'open your hand.' Let us live our lives for the one who gave his life for us willing to follow his call to come and die. Amen.