Episode 49: Jesus is for Closers
Not Necessarily the Good News
“The unborn” are a convenient group of people to advocate for. They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or the chronically poor; they don’t resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct; unlike widows, they don’t ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don’t need money, education, or childcare; unlike aliens, they don’t bring all that racial, cultural, and religious baggage that you dislike; they allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them, because they cease to be unborn. You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone. They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus, but actually dislike people who breathe. Prisoners? Immigrants? The sick? The poor? Widows? Orphans? All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible? They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn.”
― Methodist Pastor David Barnhart
Your Own Personal Jesus
In 1968 Augustine “Og” Mandino wrote a short book on an alternative method to success in salesmanship. It quickly became a bestseller, being translated into 2o languages and selling over 50 million copies.
“The Greatest Salesman in the World,” is framed in an Orientalist fantasy. An old man, Hafid, is the most successful salesman the ancient world. He is, to his servant’s and employee’s surprise, looking to retire and pass on the secret of his success to someone, just as his mentor, Pathros, passed to him.
Pathros took Hafid in as a young camel tender. He recognized Hafid’s ambition, and tells him to sell an expensive coat in the poor community in Bethlehem. After a fruitless day, he hides in a stable for the cold night, and discovers he shares it Mary and Joseph, and the child Jesus. He gives Jesus the coat and returns to Pathros, prepared for harsh criticism from the old man. Instead of being angry, Pathros praises him and presents him with the secret to becoming a great salesman.
A chest with ten scrolls that teach a counter-intuitive method of salesmanship.
Each scroll must be read three times a day and meditated on.
Scroll I - I will Form Good Habits and Become their Slave
Scroll II - Greet Each Day With Love In Your Heart
Scroll III - I Will Persist Until I Succeed
Scroll IV - I am Nature's Greatest Miracle
Scroll V - Live Each Day as if it Were Your Last
Scroll VI - Master Your Emotions
Scroll VII - The Power of Laughter
Scroll VIII - Multiply Your Value Every Day
Scroll IX - All is Worthless Without Action
Scroll X - Pray to God for Guidance
At the end of the book, Hafid finds the salesman who will carry these ten scrolls foreward: The youthful Saint Paul, on his way to start his new mission, teaching the Gospels. The inference is that by using these salesmanship principles, Paul was able to spread Christianiiy to the ends of the earth.
Evangelism through marketing? It seemed that Og Mandino, raised in the Church, was using Chrisitian principles to promote a kind of secular ethical workplace. Commendable, perhaps, but as a pseudo-hisorical
You might have seen the ads, and they are just that: ads, in March. I noticed them around Easter. Black and white photographs interrupted by captions reassuring us that for all his divinity, Jesus understands us. The last caption directs us to a website, He Gets Us.
The Website presents more of the striking images and helpful captions. There is, for insurance a prompt: Read, and following it we can read stories of Jesus confronting things like anxiety, loneliness, broken relationships, and can hear audio on his dealing with these issues. There are links to photographs on Instagram, and video readings on YouTube. All of these features can be accessed through the Facebook page.
This is part of an estimated 100 Million dollar campaign of Marketing Agency, Haven. It is supplied by private donors who form the Christian Servant Foundation and that supported by organization called the Signatry, and boasts an eccumenical approach to evangelism. The idea, began with the Signatary approached Bill McKendry, founder of Haven, and he partnered with. Gloo, another faith based faith serving advertising agency, and began this well funded enterprise.
The outreach is to follow Jesus’ example. “[Jesus] crafted his language and his storytelling to resonate with people,” says McEndry. “He told agricultural stories to farmers. He told fish stories to fishermen. … This culture is immersed in media, and we’re using media to reach them for Christ.” The goal is to reach the unchurched, and the those who have come to think of christianiity in only negative terms. During the two month test launch of the, “He Gets Us,” site, restricted to 10 cities, 17,000 people engaged with chat, or start a Bible reading plan.
The question to ask is whether this is the right approach. Are Jesus and his message merely a commodity to be exchanged? Is this reducing God to a tangible object? In both cases is it a part of a need to convert people like numbers on a scoreboard?
hegetsus.com
Christianity Today
Sales Blink
Good Reads
The Signatry
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