Thoughts on Christian Evangelizing through Merchandise

I see a mixture of both good and bad things stemming from current and possible future examples of Christian advertising and merchandising.  This is because as Stephen Bates wrote in a December 12, 2002 issue of the Weekly Standard, “The new godly merchandise, I figured, represented the quarantine at work. Instead of protesting obscene gangsta rap, Christians were listening to Gospel Gangstaz and Lil' Raskull. Instead of trying to transfigure the mass culture, they were building a cloistered subculture, a gated community of faith. Jesus' Great Commission--"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations"--was giving way to the Great Escape.” (http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/988ovwyu.asp) I could not agree more with Bates’ opinion.  There is far too much attention by evangelicals to things, which are trivial, and ineffective towards the commission of Jesus that they cannot afford to continue fooling themselves into thinking they are doing a great service.  Erasmus’ used Folly to write an entire essay explaining how foolish Christians were by playing into the hands of the modern world around them, and he could easily do the same thing today.  Christians print a t-shirt that says Jesus is my homeboy and another that has the “John Deer” logo switched to say Jesus Saves, then go home at the end of the day, and say to themselves, well done.  This is horrific! How can the honestly say that they are producing anything other than an elementary level witticism that serves only to heighten the level of jokes aimed at the only religion bringing the light of truth into a dark and deceptive world?  Christian merchandise does the same thing that Christian Music, Entertainment, and periodicals do; they are doing a pathetic and lazy job of merely reflecting an uninteresting and unnecessary product that can be found produced better and more intelligently with originality in secular culture.  If the purpose of Christianity is to spread across the lands and become fishers of men who, in a unified church seek to love one another and lift each other up towards the great end of an eternal communion with God, should not Christians produce things that cater to that end?  If that is indeed the biggest problem or at least the base problem facing Christian merchandising and media at large, the answer is then simple, if only in theory.  Christian merchandise needs to aim to be more original and produce high quality products that do two possible things at least.  The first and more basic goal should be that Christian merchandise seeks to be a creation that enables Christians and non-Christians alike to use them for simple purposes.  Whether it is a calendar or a note pad, creating simple every-day object seems to bridge the gap between customers.  The second goal should be for Christian merchandise to target specific consumer groups.  If they want to reach Christians for evangelical purpose, create original products for that end.  If they want to reach non-Christians with a positive loving message, do so originally and with intention.