What the heck do you do if everyone thinks your pizza sucks? Domino's Pizza faced this grim question a few years ago after several costumer surveys came back with disparaging results. Rather than suppress the negative feedback or resort to ugly corporate backbiting, they devised a new marketing strategy--be brutally, unrepentantly honest. To be honest, I too thought Domino's sucked. But my faith in the crappiness of their pizza was rattled last year when Domino's made a series of ads and Youtube.com videos about why they sucked and what they were going to do about it. In essence, they said, "Our pizza is bad, we want to make it better, and we need your help." Throwing all their eggs in one basket, they banked on redefining the way the world saw the Domino's brand. If the public didn't like the pizza chain's new and improved offerings, they would likely be doomed to bankruptcy.
On Aug. 30, Yahoo! Finance reported that Domino's strategy paid off. Even though the economy is almost as bad as their former marinara sauce, Domino's is on the rebound. Of course, it's hard for me to trust this ad campaign fully -- Domino's is out to make a profit, after all -- but I think it gets to a kernel of truth in today's marketing. There is an overabundance of bull on the airwaves that sells a lifestyle, entertainment, or worse, a new kind of crust.
Domino's pizza of yesteryear was painfully bad. I certainly noticed. Living in Seattle a few years ago, Domino's was the last place I would have ordered pizza from. Only the least discerning customer would have willingly purchased their lackluster pies. Senior management had options: they could "reinvent themselves," try feebly to launch a magical new product, or tear down the house and redo their pizza from scratch. Instead, Domino's stated the obvious and apologized for making a race-to-the-bottom pizza.
For a long time the church has talked. We've saturated American culture through politics, the media, and protests. We preach at people, tell them how to live, and if David Kinnanman's statistics are any indication -- 87 percent of non-Christians believe that Christians are judgmental -- my generation is sick of it. Anglican Bishop Todd Hunter has often said, "We are not starting from a clean slate with this (millennial) generation, when preaching the gospel, we are starting from -1 or -2."
As a church, we try to sell people a religion: we put up billboards and have door greeters hand out Starbucks cards. As a church, we keep "reinventing ourselves" to be relevant to the culture. In a sense, we are pitching bad pizza. The bad news for us is that the hard sell is dead -- especially with the millennial generation.
It's time to start listening to our own focus groups. My friend Jim Henderson, author of The Outsider Interviews, is a major proponent of the practice of evangelizing with your ears. Henderson, along with Bishop Todd Hunter and Craig Spinks, traveled the country in 2008 to interview young people -- inside and outside of Christianity -- about how they feel about Christianity. These authors found a common theme throughout their research: stop talking at "us."
This hearkens back to an old adage of motherly wisdom: "You have two ears and one mouth for a reason." Henderson has built a lot of his work around sitting down in front of people and listening. Trust me, sit down in front of someone and actually listen. If they figure out you're a Christian, you will impress them.
Listening takes the humility not to speak. You have to sit across from someone, drop your agenda, and start caring. You have to remember names, hold back urges to be right, eat together, and understand the other. That's listening -- it's the secret sauce of Christianity.
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He first made it known we must "be instructed in the kingdom of heaven" and not just believing. Isaiah (28:9) suggests those instructions can only come when "god" teaches knowledge and understanding of doctrine to the weaned from the milk of religious teachings and drawn from the breasts or religious teachers.
Then he makes it known they will bring our of their treasures "things new and old." That suggest the things being taught will not all be traditional, many will have new twists to them. When that is done, the religious, atheist, agnostics and "I don't cares" will at least listen to concepts not before heard.
Remember the parable "the sower went forth to sow" his seeds on every soil and allowed the soil to determine the seed's fate (Matthew 13:3-8)? He's suggesting we have obeyed his instructions (Matthew 28:19 & John 3:8) to become wanderers seed sowers not staying to watch them grow.
That's the makeover church needs, practices which are biblically sound.
Truth presented within the cloak of compassion, is the example given by Jesus and the Apostles, towards those who are sincere and truly repentant.
Truth accompanied by the pronouncement of judgment, is the evidence given by Jesus and the Apostles, towards false teachers and those who are hardened to the Gospel's message of repentance.
The author of this blog, and readers who sympathize with his mindset, need to carefully consider the intended meaning of 2 Timothy 4:1-5.
Where in this exhortation can it be assumed that Christianity is to be the weak and morally compromised, all-inclusive emergent dialogue, that doesn't dare offend today's postmodern/anti-Christian culture? IT DOES'NT.
This world is fallen, and separated by GOD because of sin. Nor can fallen humanity approach GOD on their terms. What about this don't you understand?
The regeneration of humanity cost GOD His deity, and His sinless life, through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. And because of this, GOD has determined how what was created will come into His presence.
Salvation will cost you everything... But only the wise, will realize the need of, and cry out to GOD for the help that only GOD can give, in the regeneration of lost humanity.
Thank you for your post.
Ty
He insisted on bringing up Jesus in every discussion, and got nasty when it didn't inspire us.
I politely asked him time and again to NOT do this.
When it comes to spiritual matters, I do not discuss them casually...and find it rude to be proselytized at.
I knew one person who was an amazing Christian. She DID listen. I knew her for months before I found out that she was deeply religious...but she also regarded it as a personal matter. One day, she heard that I had passed out in the school registration line. To avoid being taken to the ER, I had to admit I had nor been eating...that month the choice was between rent and food. Rent won. When Judith Scotton heard, she showed up at my apartment with two bags of groceries---no lecture, no pitch about religion. A month later, I was back on my feet, and tried to pay her back. Her reply?
"Someday, someone will need help from you. Someone who has no reason to expect it...and might not even ask. Instead of "paying me", help them..."
THAT is a real Christian...I have honored her in that fashion many times since.
The xtian church is not.
This fact will not change, regardless of how many "Doctor Feelgood" conversations they have with young adults who have rejected xtianity and all of its intolerant, right wing, bigoted, ignorant, war-mongering baggage, while xtian apologists "listen," or perhaps more accurately, wait for their turn to talk while smiling and nodding their heads.
I do feel bad for xtians who subscribe to the dictum "First, do no harm" and are embarrassed by the scores of tea bagger far right hysteria. Frankly, they should leave "the church." More accurately put, "the church" has already left them.
The problem I seriously see is that some evangelicals and others stick religion into one brain compartment and don't let it overflow into other parts of their life. How can one be a christian being taught,
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity.
And then scream and throw tantrum about entitlements to the poor and health care for the sick. Did Jesus not feed the multitudes with a few fish and bread loaves? Did Jesus not heal the sick? And all the while they are crying about what happens to their tax money they are livid that there is separation of church and state. Can't have it both ways!
The hate some of these people manifest towards people who are different. Didn't Jesus say to love thy neighbor?
Image problem?
I'm an atheist and I think I "GET" Jesus on levels that these christians can't concept.
As an Alaskan, I have to deeply apologize for Sarah Palin- she embarrasses us daily. I also believe in "secular saints." I've met several of them in my life, so when you say you "GET" Jesus I believe you.
I call myself a "Christian Atheist" after the Virgin birth prophecy in Isaiah 7:14-22.
14 Therefore the Lord [I Am That I Am] himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [in man is god].
15 Butter [another animal's food processed by man for man, civilization is insects' natural way of life processed by man for us] and honey [a natural food made excessively so many animals can use it, man's natural way of life] shall he eat [learn the laws], that he may know to refuse the evil [civilization], and choose the good [nature].
16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land [death] that thou [man in general] abhorrest [dreads or is afraid of] shall be forsaken [by the child] of both [the 2] her [of death's] kings [god and devil].
Then verse 22, "And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land", suggests that everyone who will enter the millennium (Revelation 20:4), to give birth to the discarnated in the anointing (I Thessalonians 4:15-18) for them to be raptured, will have to follow the same and forsake the concept of god and devil.
Listening seems like a good start for Christian institutions, but ultimately they need to act on what they hear.
If Dominos was instead to take a page from xtianity and judgementally and self-righteously proclaim in their ads: "Gimme that olde tyme PIZZA...it was good enough for my father and it's good enough for me" and try to browbeat people into buying their olde lousy pizza, they'd be a national laughingstock and in months be out of the pizza business for good.
Would that the same be true for similar behaviors so common in the Jesus business too.
Salvation is not about Judgment (unless you are a Calvinist). Instead it is about restoring communion with God which is the choice of the individual and not even a Church can declare who is and who is not saved for that is up to God.
"Hey! Don't be so judgemental!"
Please don't get all hot and bothered when someone calls a duck a duck... or a spade a spade... or a xtian a xtian.
This can be very risky for xtians and their beliefs. After all, as the saying goes, "if you finish seminary school and you still believe in the divinity of Jesus, you weren't paying attention."
I must agree with you, I'm a Christian and I can barely talk to other Christians. There inability to diplomatically navigate cultural conversation is embarrassing. As a seminarian I'm often awestruck by how truly mean Christians can be. One of my life goals is to fix this phenomenon.
Ty