Many would define 'Church Marketing' as an attempt to express the Gospel in a way that is attractive to a target culture. This brings up an interesting question: is this an attempt to redeem a specific culture or simply the individuals who belong to it? A few weeks back, I surfed my way to this interview which addressed this very question:

Right, well see, culture isn't nearly so mysterious a topic as some would have you believe. It's not anything noble or grand. It's not something that moves and breathes. It's not anything like that. Essentially, culture is nothing greater than the natural byproduct of society, or community. When people gather together, the natural reflection of who they are and what they believe is that pile of stuff we call "culture."

The interview also contains these profound thoughts:

Culture is a symptom (supposing here we're talking about a culture we don't like). Pretend that the ideology of a community is cancerous. Culture is the first evidence that something is awry. And as tempting as it can be to do so, we all know that merely treating the symptoms - the visible evidence of the cancer - is often more harmful than good because it camouflages the problem.

In the end, this is the problem when Christians seek to redeem culture - they (of the community of God) are trying to take something created by the community of the world and pass it off as something that will resemble the evidence of the community of God. And really, where is the reward in that? As with the temporary relieving of the beginnings of cancer pain with Vicodin or whatever, affecting the product of a community's ideology (i.e., the symptom, the culture) the temporary relief gained is only enough to make life momentarily more comfortable - yet not enough to make any change that will matter in the long run.

I happened upon that post via Jollyblogger, who also added his two cents worth:

We often equate the progress of Christianity with the "Christianization" of society. In other words, one of the ways you can know that Christianity is thriving is that the culture, whatever it is, is looking more and more Christian. A long time ago in a galaxy far away I read something I can't quite footnote right now where an author talked about reports of massive revivals in Africa. They were unimpressed because they didn't see much societal change as a result. I think that's a fair example of what I am talking about. I'll leave aside the arguments about what a Christian culture would look like for now and simply say that I don't think you can support this notion either biblically or historically.

Good points all around. Culture doesn't have a soul and thus cannot be redeemed; however, the souls within every culture do need Jesus. I think this is the first key reason why many Christians reject the concept of Church Marketing. They fear that it represents an attempt to minister to a culture instead of to individuals. Indeed, this is a valid concern; although I believe that the Gospel transcends culture. When it fails to penetrate, it is not a problem with the message but with the messenger and/or the presentation.

Case in point: I'm not going to have much success reaching the biker crowd. I have absolutely nothing in common with them (no bike, muscles or tatoos). The person best equipped to reach out to that particular group is someone already within that culture. However, it is also possible for an outsider to meet and earn the respect of a small subset of that culture by way of overlapping interests.

Once someone within a 'pagan' culture meets Jesus, there is always the temptation to encourage them to sever all ties with their former life. In a sense we are not redeeming a culture but redeeming individuals out of a culture. Unfortunately, it is a natural human tendency to attempt to remake them in the mold of our own culture.

I completely understand the need for fellowship with believers and it is always a good idea to avoid environments rife with old temptations. Yet on the flipside, that kind of reaction severely limits the 'circle of friends' that Christians maintain. I've read that it is new Christians who lead the most people to the Lord…because the number of non-Christian friends held by most believers is inversely proportional to the length of time they have been saved. Once someone within a predominantly lost culture finds Jesus, that person becomes a very natural missionary to that culture, unless they cut and run.

From most Christian viewpoints, the example cited above (the motorcycle culture) has many aspects that could truly use a little redemption. The biker lifestyle appears rife with alcohol abuse and extramarital sex. Moving people from such a troubling culture to a safer one seems like a good idea, but I would offer that today's 'christian' culture presents just as many opportunities to sin as any other. Sin is not a cultural issue; it is a human one.

All of the above convinces me that our focus can never be directed toward bringing people out of their current culture nor introducing them to a new one. Our goal must be to present Jesus (and Him crucified) to a needy world – in terms they comprehend. A solid and compelling homily presented in church is of zero benefit to those not present.

We have to get the Gospel out into the marketplace in a manner that garners attention without compromising the message.