"Branded: Sharing Jesus with a Consumer Culture" By Tim Sinclair

Pithy t-shirt sayings, bumper stickers, and theological re-tweets sadly define much of Christianity today, but what would happen if we forced ourselves to share Jesus instead of hiding behind our useless self-expression and symbols? These shallow reservoirs of faith not only repel secular society, they also water down our message.

Why are Christians so inept at attracting others to our faith?

• We are lazy. If our facebook status says we are Christian, we don't have to work so hard to prove it.
• We create unfavorable perceptions of Jesus (a.k.a. hypocrisy).
• We are known more for what we are against rather than Who or what we are for (think abortion clinic protests, etc).

Jesus could certainly use a better marketing team. Maybe if we displayed a little bit of vulnerability and shared our hearts with our fellow friends, co-workers, and neighbors, we would radically change the current perception of Christianity.

Branded was a quick, easy read, and I really enjoyed Tim Sinclair's insight into the world of "Christian marketing". The author doesn't cover every angle of the issues he presents, but I think the book does a great job at pointing out specific problems, giving a few solutions, and prodding further study and thought if one so desires.

There were a few things I didn't like, and they are perhaps more of a personal preference than doctrinally wrong. I felt uncomfortable defining Christianity and Jesus in purely marketing terms. Technically speaking, Jesus becomes the product we sell and promote to the world. Semantics? Maybe. But I really detest thinking of Jesus as our product.

Disclosure: Although I received this book for free from Litfuse Publicity, the opinions are completely my own. Also, product links are affiliate links.