Our senior pastor, Jeff Jones, and a branding expert, Mike Hogan, recently wrote and published the most simple and beautiful book, Rebranding Christianity.
Amazon description:
***#1 AMAZON BESTSELLER IN CHRISTIAN SOCIAL STUDIES***
Christianity is known for a lot of things these days. Labeled as intolerant or hateful, the true heart of the Christian faith has been buried underneath an onslaught of bad attention and bad press. We’ve failed our brand.
In John 13, Jesus gave us the brand―radical love. Christians are known for many things today, but love is not one of them. In Rebranding Christianity, Pastor Jeff Jones and professional marketer Mike Hogan combine their experience to provide a fresh new perspective on the Christian faith, how it has strayed from its true intention, and how to reclaim it. Interwoven with case studies of the most trusted and hated brands, Jones and Hogan break down how brands lose the trust of their audience and, once lost, how that trust can be regained.
It’s time for Christianity to return to its true intention. It’s time for a rebrand.
Several years ago, as I was growing my ministry, Grateful Gratitude, I sat in church and listened to Jeff speak of a new mission our church would lead called “DO GOOD,” and reminding others that Christianity is about love. We would be starting from scratch to rebuild the view of Christianity. We would simply love without judgment. We will be humble and gentle. You can click the link below and watch that sermon.
https://www.chaseoaks.org/series-archive/vision-weekend/vision-weekend
I walked out of church that morning changed. I knew my ministry had to be based on this. I would serve our community in need without thinking. What I mean by this is I would listen to God’s urging and opportunities without hesitation. Little did I know the world would be uprooted and a pandemic would hit the United States a few weeks later. This sermon was stored in the back of my mind as I faced this new unknown. I faced lockdown, limited supplies needed for daily living, daily broadcasts of the rising numbers of deaths, and new cases of Covid 19. It seemed to me Satan was stirring up his earthy chaos as fear, hatred, and division grew exponentially.
It took me several weeks of staring at screens for updates and praying for cases to drop instead of increasing. Weeks of buying masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper when I could find them in grocery stores. I am constantly praying my family will be safe from this insipid virus.
Then it hit me. I was recently tasked with a beautiful sermon to love another, be humble, and proclaim Jesus gently. How in this strange thing called a pandemic was I going to serve God in isolation? I wasn’t; I was going to be bold and not afraid. I would take safe measures but not quit serving in a scary time.
The first act of boldness was to participate in an all-county food drive, sharing food with those called food insecure. This was a new concept for me as I always had food. Grateful Gratitude was asked to come to a local church where Minnie’s Food Pantry would give 100 pounds of food to needy families. This would be a drive-thru set up for cars to show proof of county residency, and they would be able to drive away with food. I was told there were 600 families signed up to receive food. I was asked to gift gratitude hearts to each car and share the message of HOPE. I immediately counted the number of hearts I had on hand, which was 1004.
I felt this commitment was too huge for just one person, and that person was me, but I knew a few good friends would grow their faith by participating with me. Those three friends met me at the church that Saturday at 6:45 a.m. We were unsure what this day would be like, yet we knew we had only 3 hours as cars lined up to be able to share hearts and HOPE with those waiting. We would have to be done when the line opened and began to move.
We quickly realized this would be a huge job as each car had many family members inside the cars, and I was planning on handing each person a gratitude heart and visiting with them. I felt God urge me to use my few words quickly and effectively. I changed my explanation of what the gratitude heart meant and how they were hand carved in Kenya to, “Hi, I’m LoLo with Grateful Gratitude. I’d like to gift you this heart for HOPE in this difficult time and to remind you God is with you. Turn to Him in your need.” This picture shows examples of the hearts I gifted that day.
My friends and I moved from car to car, sharing simple words of HOPE and praying with those who asked. I quickly realized this was a time that didn’t matter if you were driving a 2020 Mercedes or 1988 Toyota; at that moment, everyone was in need. I saw people overextended with no financial reserves waiting for food, some only receiving social security and teachers who couldn’t adapt to online teaching and quit their jobs, not to mention many people whom I couldn’t communicate with because of language barriers.
I knew confidently that God was working through me, handing hearts. I was offering something tangible for them to hold onto, something they would take home knowing I cared about them and that God is faithful. This was so powerful for my faith growth and reassured me no matter how difficult life becomes, I remember the message and mission that Jeff preached about. Move forward always humbly, gently, and loving like Jesus does. Be a Christian with your actions, and the chaos falls away. Satan doesn’t win; God does. I shared 964 hearts that day and only was able to get to half of the cars in line.
The sermon Jeff preached on Sunday, February 23, 2020, was purposefully delivered and heard. God is amazing at providing the words we need to do His work and providing a church that allows me to do what God has called me to do.
Please consider buying and reading this book. It is as impactful as The Purpose Driven Life, written by Rick Warren in 1997. Rick’s book is about finding your purpose, and Rebranding Christianity is about serving God best in your purpose through love.
gratefulgratitude.net 