"Image Is Everything"

Back in the 80's tennis legend Andre Agassi was the poster boy for Canon's EOS Rebel camera. Agassi's "rocker" look (hot pink spandex, big glam-rocker hair, and Oakley Blades) was the perfect illustration for the camera's tag line: "Image Is Everything".

This tag line has not only been useful in building a camera brand but it has also been useful for churches seeking to develop a "brand" leading them into a market of successful church growth. Many churches (like any organization) focus on their "target audience" and then work to find ways in which to package their product in such a way that it is relatable and sell-able to their target audience.

In some respects I agree with the "Image Is Everything" mantra (I would perhaps articulate it another way: "Perception is reality") however I wonder in what way this phrase best serves the call of the Church.

For large companies, as well as for followers of Jesus and the Church, it is important to know how they are being understood, viewed, and preceived in their community/world. If the perception of a particular church is that they are judgemental, mean-spirited, and self-focused the leaders of that particular church may want to find out why and make the necessary adjustments so that the true nature of the church is put on display.

Yet large companies also function by selling people an image of how they want to be perceived in order to sell more of their product(s). When companies are driven by the sales numbers of their product (and what the "consumers are saying") they often re-tool their particular product so it becomes more user friendly, more accessible, and more consumer oriented. This leads to many great products that serve my lifestyle, however when this serves as the mode of operation for churches it shifts our focus from being Christ centered to self-focused. In short, when practiced by the church, this business practice leads to idolatry.

Jesus called his disciples to follow after him by "picking up their cross", as Bonhoeffer would put it: "a bid to come and die". I wonder what the branding experts would have to say about that marketing slogan.