Church Marketing

I read a great post on one of my favourite blogs (Stuff Christians Like) this morning. Jon, the author of the blog works in advertising, so his post today was clearly a personal pet peeve. But he gives the following quote:

But it’s hard to shrug it off when I read things like this from the Harley Davidson brand handbook: “There are three essential elements to the Harley-Davidson experience, which riders feel for the first time they ride: the joy of individualism, the chance to be free, to make choices; the commitment to adventure, the opportunity to change, to discover new experiences and emotions; the reward of fulfillment, an intense, personal and consuming bond with the bike that means a richer fuller life.”

Want a fun game? Switch out Harley Davidson with the word “God” and it reads like a church mission statement. “A consuming bond with God that means a richer fuller life.”

I think he makes a powerful point. Christ followers have the greatest message to offer a world looking for hope, love, fulfillment, purpose and passion. And yet, our primary marketing tool: Christianity has done such a poor job of it, that we have turned off more people than we’ve connected with. 

Perhaps it’s time to rethink our marketing strategy. To show our society that you truly can be a follower of Jesus Christ AND actually be somewhat normal – at least as normal as the rest of culture!

What are you doing to market your faith? And before you flame me over using that term, read Jon’s post on the subject.

Biker Geek

Okay, I admit it, I’m a geek. I’m sitting in my home office right now, and I have to laugh. I have a 20 inch iMac with a secondary 22 inch screen beside it. I have two external hard drives connected to it. I also have an Airport Extreme Base Station with another drive connected to it. My 30 GB iPod is currently syncing with my iTunes library. Beside the iPod are two smaller external hard drives that I’m not using. At my feet, in a laptop bag, is my MacBook. Downstairs, connected to my television is my AppleTV (which is also currently syncing with iTunes). I just finished configuring an Airport Express with my network so that I can play my iTunes library wirelessly into my bedroom. My Blackberry buzzes whenever I get a new message. On top of all that, Heather has a MacBook Pro, Brittany has a MacMini, and Christina has an old PC desktop (that I would love to get rid of and replace with another Mini). 

Yup, I’m a geek.

I’m also a biker. I have a beautiful 94 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide sitting in the garage. When I fire it up, something leaps within my heart. There  are very few things that I enjoy more than jumping on my ride and hitting the open highway. It sits beside Heather’s Yamaha Road Star which is in pieces right now while she paints the bike. 

Many would have a hard time connecting the two: Biker & Geek. 

And yet, the more I get to know people, the more I realize how unique each person is. It’s very difficult to put labels on people. To categorize them. To define them by a specific type of person. Well, let me correct myself. SOME people are easy to categorize. They lock themselves into a pre-defined image of what they are supposed to be like, and rule out any other experiences.

The people I find interesting – the one’s I like to hang with – love a wide variety of experiences.

I remember reading an article about Indian Larry a few months after he passed away. For those who don’t know who that is, Indian Larry was one of the premiere bike builders the world. His work was respected by everyone. He died doing a stunt on one of his motorcycles.

According to the article, Indian Larry – this “biker’s biker” loved classical music. He would drive others nuts because he would turn it up really loud while working on a bike. 

Bikers and classical music. Another thing you wouldn’t think to put in the same sentence. 

How are you unique?

UPDATE: Now I’m also the proud owner of a iPhone … it just gets worse!!