In my last post, the first commenter bristled at the idea of the LDS Church using marketing. The response is natural and common, but based on misunderstanding, IMHO.

Nothing personal, but I instinctively dislike the idea of a church, any church, engaging in marketing. Jesus is not a brand.

Marketing has negative connotations for some people because of its monetary associations, but marketing is much broader than commercials to make a buck. Marketing is about sharing information, influencing others, changing behavior, changing the way people think, and getting the word out. When it comes to the Gospel, marketing, like gravity, isn't just a good idea: it's the law. In other words, Christians are commanded to share the Gospel and influence others to get the word out. Christianity is a brand in a broad sense, we are a brand, and it's our duty to represent the brand well and share it with others. Not for filthy lucre, but to glorify God and bless the lives of others.

Here's some Marketing 101 guidance from the New Testament:

Matthew 4:19:

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Matthew 5:16:

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

1 Thess. 1:

7 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.

8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

Matthew 28:19:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Mark 16:15:

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

1 Timothy 4:12:

Be thou an example of the believers.

1 Peter 2:

11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

So actually, we're supposed to be marketers, or rather, fishers of men, using our examples, our preaching, and other means to spread the Gospel to the whole world. In this era, that means not just mass production of literature, but mass media, social media, and other tools. The tools are there, the means are there to reach much of the world where it can be shared. We'd be more than merely foolish not to use such tools: we'd be negligent and perhaps even disobedient. Human life is all about marketing, one way or another.
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