The new philosophy is straightforward: The church is in competition against the world. And the world is very good at capturing people’s attention and affections. The church, on the other hand, tends to be very poor at “selling” its product. Evangelism should therefore be viewed as a marketing challenge, and the church should market the gospel the way all modern businesses sell their products. That calls for some fundamental changes. The goal in all marketing is “to make both the producer and consumer satisfied,” so anything that tends to leave the “consumer” unsatisfied must be jettisoned. Preaching—particularly preaching about sin, righteousness, and judgment—is too confrontive to be truly satisfying. The church must learn to couch the truth in ways that amuse and entertain.
One best-selling author has written, “I believe that developing a marketing orientation is precisely what the Church needs to do if we are to make a difference in the spiritual health of this nation for the remainder of this century.” He adds, “My contention, based on careful study of data and the activities of American churches, is that the major problem plaguing the Church is its failure to embrace a marketing orientation in what has become a marketing-driven environment.”
That all may sound very modern, and very shrewd—but it is not biblical. And it has given the church a hard push onto the slippery slope. Marketing principles are becoming the arbiter of truth. Elements of the message that don’t fit the promotional plan are simply omitted. Marketing savvy demands that the offense of the cross must be downplayed. Salesmanship requires that negative subjects like divine wrath be avoided. Consumer satisfaction means that the standard of righteousness cannot be raised too high. The seeds of a watered-down gospel are thus sown in the very philosophy that drives many ministries today.
And make no mistake, the new philosophy is altering the message the church conveys to the world, although many who propound these ideas think of themselves as loyal to biblical doctrine.
Christianity is on the down-grade again.