The Christian Industrial Machine
by: Matthew Hundley
As someone who worked in advertising and marketing for nearly 15 years, I have often tottered between the value of using standard marketing and advertising practices to spread our faith.
Say Warner Brothers (who now parents a big chunk of the Christian publishing and music realm) wants a hit Christian record.
First, they will have the an "ad writer" create the next Christian hit song; hire focus groups affirm that it will be a hit; select a powerhouse artist to record the song guaranteeing it multi-platinum sales and raking in tons of money for Warner Bros. out of the pockets of the Christian masses.
Yes, this is how American capitalist culture works. But would Christ, his Apostles or Paul choose to have us present Christian themes and messages this way? (For that matter, Would Christ embrace a capitalist/materialist culture such as our own? How would Christ and His apostles react to the current wave of evangelism in America?).
I know, referring to the case above, that Christians will buy the album because it will be heavily marketed at them. I will also take into consideration that the CD may, just possibly, end up in the hands of a non-Christian. Lastly I will consider that there is the chance, assuming there is someone to foster a relationship with Christ to that non-Christian, that a pop Christian CD could inspire a person to accept Christ. That being the case I should have no gripes - but I do.
Christian music, trinkets & self help books, though they offer a glimpse at the truth, are not the source of the truth. They are NOT infallible and though they may be inspired (in a loose sense of the term) by God, they are NOT the word of God. Any Christian writings (including this article) that we digest are merely the reflections and creations of men.
The problem with these products is that they can dramatically impact people's opinions and take the focus away from the actual Gospel (the TRUTH) and beguile people into thinking they can find salvation in a commodity (CDs, self help books, trinkets, videos, Christian cruises and such).
Not only does the Christian Industrial Machine turn peoples focus away from the TRUTH, but it creates idols to be worshipped along with Christ. Whether these are teen idols whose posters adorn millions of bedroom walls; or adult idols, you know, the latest Christian "must read" from the best selling author, pastor and motivational speaker.
Where I see a correlation with the selling of indulgences, is when the implied message of the Christian Industrial Machine is that "you need Rick Warren books and Sandy Patti CDs and Veggie Tales videos and the Prayer of Jabez books and the WWJD bracelets and everything else in order to guarantee salvation."
And your saying, "Do you think people are stupid enough to buy that?" And my answer is YES.
It gets real tricky these days to distinguish between honest Christianity and manufactured Christianity. I believe that many Christians who are creating products to be consumed by the Christian masses harvest a mix of both.
Our culture itself affects our ability to be true to our faith. You've got this Christian Industrial Machine which is moving out of the hands of Christians and into the hands of huge conglomerates (Time Warner, Sony, Virgin Records and so on).
As this happens the question we need to ask is, "Who is creating the message that is coming out of the Christian industrial machine?"
Paul asks this same question in Galations 3:1, "After you have had a clear picture of Jesus Christ crucified right in front of your eyes, who has put a spell on you?" I believe anyone who readily accepts the message and propaganda of the Christian Industrial Machine without questioning and without challenging the material and weighing it against the TRUTH of scripture is under a spell.
Brothers, I urge you to be critical of what you read and take in about our faith (including this site). Paul's gets right to the point in Galatians 1:12 where he says, "I want to make it quite clear to you, brothers, about the gospel that was preached to me, that it was no human message." This coming after 1:6 where he warns the Galatians about "trouble-makers among you who are seeking to pervert the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
By attempting to carve a Christian culture that mirror a Capitalist culture that we live in we may find ourselves, inadvertantly, perverting the Gospel by which we profess faith.
Posted: January 04, 2004  
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