I'm reading a book that's sort of a "how to" on sharing the Gospel in a postmodern cultural setting. Something was bugging me about it, but I couldn't put my finger on it till I talked with my dad about it over some ice cream. (He had chocolate, I had rainbow sherbet.)Now, my dad has been a salesman for most of his life. He sees everything through the lens of sales. And, as we were talking, he pointed out that the book was describing sales techniques for selling Jesus.
"That's it! You nailed it!" I said. See, people are not objects of sales. Relationships are not commodities that can be exchanged. So, the attitude of sales is just plain wrong for drawing people to a deeper relationship with God.
But then, what exactly is evangelization about? What does Christ mean when he commands his followers to "make disciples of all nations"?
My current thought, well open to revision, is that a "matchmaker" analogy is much more appropriate than a "salesman" analogy. Our task as Christians is to bear witness to Jesus Christ, both who he was historically and who he is now in our individual lives, and to introduce people to him.
This analogy fits very well with our individual-freedom-oriented culture today, but it seems passive compared to the command to "make disciples." Unless it is like saying that a matchmaker has a mandate to "make spouses of all peoples." Still thinking thoughts about it.
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Hmmm...you do realize that Jesus had arguably the world's best PR man in Paul, right? That guy traveled the Middle East extensively, wrote letters, kept congregations in check, and was largely responsible for making Jesus famous after his death.
I have to do "sales" for my business. I usually feel that what I'm do is letting people know who I am to figure out if we're a good match and with luck, we'll we do business together. But that means getting out, relaying a message, and following up. Which is sales. Which is what Paul did.
I guess I'm saying it's all in how you look at it. Sales has a negative connotation because it's possible to use the same techniques to be a jerk and sell stuff to people they don't want. All you have to do is be sensitive to looking for a good match instead of trying to "convert" everyone and sales loses much of it's "evil" overtones.
Ah, but the relationship-building techniques that apply to "looking for a good match" are not really the heart of sales; they're techniques that help people sell things more effectively, but they're also techniques that help a marriage work more smoothly or help friends work through rough patches.
I guess I object to Jesus, or the people being introduced to him, or the relationship between them, being treated as an object, a commodity, as something that can be exchanged in an economic context.
BTW: Thanks, Amy, for being about the only person who regularly posts on my blog. I haven't talked to you in way too long, but it's good to keep in touch this way.
I know your reference to "selling" is more general than just money, but it made me think of the importance of money in particular.
In Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, the main character is trying to promote the new religion he has created. Then he has an epiphany and realizes that he has to charge money for initiation, because human beings will not consider something to be valuable if it doesn't cost money.
I can't endorse this message, but at the same time it's worth looking at the various ways that it is partially true. On a job interview, if the interviewee wears expensive clothes or the interviewer pays for an expensive lunch, it sends a "signal" that they are taking this seriously. If I say to a woman in one of my classes, "Can I buy you a coffee?", it might be a date or it might just be a nice gesture, but if I say "Can I buy you an expensive sushi dinner?", then it's certainly a date.
And if you have a Christian bookstore and someone comes in and you hand them a free book, are they much less likely to read it than if you sell it to them?
Rob - Hi! No problem. Always happy to harass you in the digital world. ;)
I see why you'd object to turning Jesus or religion in general into a salable commodity.
On the other hand, the practical part of me whispers we are all only human. Even the most important information has to be turned into human digestible packets. Maybe *especially* important information.
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