Christian Bookstore as the New Church (2001)
The next piece from the past decade is this is a rant I wrote in 2001. I wrote this for theooze.com.
As I re-read this post it seems interesting to me that I'm deconstructing consumerism and the church's fixation with it. A quote from this article made it into Skye Jethani's book last year. But today as I read this, I love the first two sentences. I wonder if I really understood then as a 28 yr old guy how connected meaning and consumption and the church are.
The Testa-mints line is old hat today. Everyone makes fun of those things.
Wow. If I could toot my own horn a bit, my line about the future of the bookstore misguiding the church, while very narrow minded seems to be true in significant ways.
I also personally find it interesting that I can't quite name why I have such a problem with Veggie Tales and the like. Today I'd suggest it has something to do with fundamentalism and art being mutually exclusive (a la Steven Pressfield) but I really didn't know that at the time. I was guessing. Most of my writing today is guessing to, if I'm honest. Here's a rant from 2001.
--------------------------------------
The Christian Bookstore is becoming the new church in which people who call themselves Christian worship. In far to many evangelical circles the bookstore has become a safe place for non-thinking congregational robots to go nuts buying meaningless things for meaning's sake.
Christian bookstores have found creative new ways to take the Lord's name in vain. Put Jesus' name on a moderately cute or stylish picture frame, figurine, bookmark, pen, pencil, magazine, painting, bumper-sticker, eraser, bracelet, greeting card, journal, software, video game, stationary, CD, stuffed animal, sticker, candle, briefcase, T-shirt, candy, jewelry, calendar, credit card, video, pet treats, or key-chain and you will sell it to some poor sap who thinks that buying Testamints is actually the best way to be faithful to God.
Actually you don't even have to put Jesus name on it. Jabez will do. (and you can keep the WWJD bracelet... what would Jabez do?) We've create modern indulgences for people. Conversion in the US seems to mean we've exchanged some of our shopping at Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, and Borders to the Christian Bookstore down the street. We've taken our lack of purchasing control to God's store, where we buy our office supplies in Jesus name.
The problem is that we have failed to understand the magnitude in which the Christian Bookstore will lead our people. The average member of our congregations views Christian Bookstores as safe and theologically correct simply because they have been purchased at a store called Lifeway. In the future, the biggest source of misguidance for the church of America may be the short drive to the Family Christian Store down the street. Do you think I'm exaggerating? Maybe I am crazy or going overboard? But try finding a CD in the music section at your local Christian Bookstore with an ugly person on the front? Where are all the ugly Christian musicians? Poor folks never had a chance.
I'm all for creativity and artistry.
Veggie Tales is amazingly brilliant and creative. But do we really need veggie tales flatware? Don't give me this "we're competing with the world manure" We are not competing with the world. So stop trying to win. Trying to replace Pokemon with a Bibleman action figure is asinine. If it was a competition Pokemon would kick Bibleman's ass all the way back to his Brady Bunch days.(or least Charles in Charge) On the other hand I am still looking for a Christian video game to hit the market. I'm ok with that as long as the first one is called "Circumcision: A Virtual Reality Game".
Listen!
The world does not need Precious Moments.
The world does not need a book named "What Would Jesus Eat?"
The world does not need a WWJD pencil eraser.
The world does not need Thomas Kincaid art.
The world does not need Christian Computing Magazine
The world needs Jesus. Be creative in reaching people, not making money off Jesus.
Am I being harsh?
Try this little experiment.
This Christmas buy a $50 Precious Moments statue, a $20 What Would Jesus Eat Cookbook and a $3,000 Thomas Kincaid painting and send it to a Missionary or refugee in Afghanistan.
Speaking of Precious Moments.
Here are some Biblical scenes you will never see on a Precious Moments figurine.
1. John the Baptist being beheaded.
2. Jesus on the cross
3. Kirk Cameron living through the end times. (that is in the Bible right?)
4. David Killing 200 philistines and cutting off their foreskins.
5. Sodom and Gomorrah
6. Elisha calling 2 grizzly's out of the woods to maul 42 adolescents.
7. Onan
8. Jesus kicking Jerry Falwell's ass... (oh wait that's just a dream I had)
Look, "This bloods for you shirts" were cute 10 years ago. But how creative do you have to be to come up with one? As I write this I'm sitting next to the dog food. I'll give those snappy advertising execs a free-be. IAMS Dog food. Change that to - "I Am's Lamb formula -It's good for life." I'll bet if you put IAMS dog food in a Christian Bookstore the stock would soar! Maybe a smart business move for IAMS. However, it’s not much for forwarding the gospel.
Did we really think that when Christ said "Thy kingdom come" he meant building a Christian subculture?? Most evangelical conservative churches are going the way of the Amish.... the only difference is that their U-haul is a hell of a lot bigger and it’s filled with less meaning.
As I re-read this post it seems interesting to me that I'm deconstructing consumerism and the church's fixation with it. A quote from this article made it into Skye Jethani's book last year. But today as I read this, I love the first two sentences. I wonder if I really understood then as a 28 yr old guy how connected meaning and consumption and the church are.
The Testa-mints line is old hat today. Everyone makes fun of those things.
Wow. If I could toot my own horn a bit, my line about the future of the bookstore misguiding the church, while very narrow minded seems to be true in significant ways.
I also personally find it interesting that I can't quite name why I have such a problem with Veggie Tales and the like. Today I'd suggest it has something to do with fundamentalism and art being mutually exclusive (a la Steven Pressfield) but I really didn't know that at the time. I was guessing. Most of my writing today is guessing to, if I'm honest. Here's a rant from 2001.
--------------------------------------
The Christian Bookstore is becoming the new church in which people who call themselves Christian worship. In far to many evangelical circles the bookstore has become a safe place for non-thinking congregational robots to go nuts buying meaningless things for meaning's sake.
Christian bookstores have found creative new ways to take the Lord's name in vain. Put Jesus' name on a moderately cute or stylish picture frame, figurine, bookmark, pen, pencil, magazine, painting, bumper-sticker, eraser, bracelet, greeting card, journal, software, video game, stationary, CD, stuffed animal, sticker, candle, briefcase, T-shirt, candy, jewelry, calendar, credit card, video, pet treats, or key-chain and you will sell it to some poor sap who thinks that buying Testamints is actually the best way to be faithful to God.
Actually you don't even have to put Jesus name on it. Jabez will do. (and you can keep the WWJD bracelet... what would Jabez do?) We've create modern indulgences for people. Conversion in the US seems to mean we've exchanged some of our shopping at Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, and Borders to the Christian Bookstore down the street. We've taken our lack of purchasing control to God's store, where we buy our office supplies in Jesus name.
The problem is that we have failed to understand the magnitude in which the Christian Bookstore will lead our people. The average member of our congregations views Christian Bookstores as safe and theologically correct simply because they have been purchased at a store called Lifeway. In the future, the biggest source of misguidance for the church of America may be the short drive to the Family Christian Store down the street. Do you think I'm exaggerating? Maybe I am crazy or going overboard? But try finding a CD in the music section at your local Christian Bookstore with an ugly person on the front? Where are all the ugly Christian musicians? Poor folks never had a chance.
I'm all for creativity and artistry.
Veggie Tales is amazingly brilliant and creative. But do we really need veggie tales flatware? Don't give me this "we're competing with the world manure" We are not competing with the world. So stop trying to win. Trying to replace Pokemon with a Bibleman action figure is asinine. If it was a competition Pokemon would kick Bibleman's ass all the way back to his Brady Bunch days.(or least Charles in Charge) On the other hand I am still looking for a Christian video game to hit the market. I'm ok with that as long as the first one is called "Circumcision: A Virtual Reality Game".
Listen!
The world does not need Precious Moments.
The world does not need a book named "What Would Jesus Eat?"
The world does not need a WWJD pencil eraser.
The world does not need Thomas Kincaid art.
The world does not need Christian Computing Magazine
The world needs Jesus. Be creative in reaching people, not making money off Jesus.
Am I being harsh?
Try this little experiment.
This Christmas buy a $50 Precious Moments statue, a $20 What Would Jesus Eat Cookbook and a $3,000 Thomas Kincaid painting and send it to a Missionary or refugee in Afghanistan.
Speaking of Precious Moments.
Here are some Biblical scenes you will never see on a Precious Moments figurine.
1. John the Baptist being beheaded.
2. Jesus on the cross
3. Kirk Cameron living through the end times. (that is in the Bible right?)
4. David Killing 200 philistines and cutting off their foreskins.
5. Sodom and Gomorrah
6. Elisha calling 2 grizzly's out of the woods to maul 42 adolescents.
7. Onan
8. Jesus kicking Jerry Falwell's ass... (oh wait that's just a dream I had)
Look, "This bloods for you shirts" were cute 10 years ago. But how creative do you have to be to come up with one? As I write this I'm sitting next to the dog food. I'll give those snappy advertising execs a free-be. IAMS Dog food. Change that to - "I Am's Lamb formula -It's good for life." I'll bet if you put IAMS dog food in a Christian Bookstore the stock would soar! Maybe a smart business move for IAMS. However, it’s not much for forwarding the gospel.
Did we really think that when Christ said "Thy kingdom come" he meant building a Christian subculture?? Most evangelical conservative churches are going the way of the Amish.... the only difference is that their U-haul is a hell of a lot bigger and it’s filled with less meaning.
Labels: decade
posted by mark at
6:01 AM
6 Comments:
I'm rather enjoying the trip down memory lane, even if...
Well, as long as I've been reading your material, I've thought that you often display a knack for seeing real and genuine problems. I've particularly enjoyed your posts when you deal with leadership issues in the church; there, if we are not on the same page, we seem at least to be in the same chapter.
If only you didn't so often end up training your guns on the wrong targets...!
classic...
While I can agree with much of what you stated, I noted you included "The world does not need Christian Computing Magazine". Since I am the founder and present Editor-in-Chief of Christian Computing Magazine, I thought I would comment. Christian Computing Magazine was never created for the world. Our mission is to help churches to a better job of using technology to enhance their ministry (such as encouraging pastors such as yourself to blog.) We have never included evangelistic or doctrinal materials, since that is neither our purpose or ministry. I understand the point you were making, but thought it was a stretch to include a publication such as ours, seeking to support the church and Christian ministry, with those items that simply seek to market the name of Jesus to the Christian community, such as "Christian" pencils and such.
Together We Serve Him,
Steve Hewitt
I find it difficult to see past your inappropriate language to your message...it was unnecessary and takes away from the weight of what you're putting out there.
Man of the West - Thanks. It's been a while since I've heard from you.
Spencer - thanks
Steve - thanks for the comment. To be honest in 2001 I'm not sure I was aware there was actually a Christian Computing magazine. You point is taken and I appreciate your heart. Today (9 years after writing this piece) I'm a bit schizophrenic on this point. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by.
Anonymous - I'm fairly certain you posted the exact same comment 9 years ago when I wrote it. Of course I don't know if it's you since you won't put your name, which holds a certain irony in a comment like yours. regardless thanks for believing in my post enough to make a comment.
Not me-this was my first time reading this. I'd like to put my name, but my profession puts me in an awkward spot when putting my name alongside my opinions online.
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