I have to admit to a weakness for “Jesus junk” stories.
Since I worked in Denver for nearly a decade, I was pretty familiar with the style and substance of the CBA and its member stores. That’s the trade group formerly known as the Christian Booksellers Association.
Rare is the year that the CBA holds one of its blowout trade shows without seeing the publication of a “Jesus junk” story in a major newspaper or magazine. One of the classics, back in the late 1970s, focused on a company that was marketing Christian T-shirts for dogs. One year when I covered the convention, the hot story was the rise of Christian cappucino. Christian candy is another big favorite.
Well, Stephanie Simon of the Los Angeles Times has done the “Jesus junk” deed and done it quite well.
The reason these stories fly, year after year, is quite simple — we are talking about a $4-something-billion industry that is growing. But it is an industry that, on first glance, has a style of its own, a style built on Christian photocopies of whatever trend existed in the real world about five years earlier. Thus, Simon shows us:
More than 400 vendors packed the Colorado Convention Center last week to showcase the latest accessories for the Christian lifestyle. There were acres of the predictable: books, CDs, greeting cards, inspirational artwork, stuffed animals wearing “Jesus Loves You” T-shirts. Many of the newest items, however, put a religious twist on unexpected products — marketed as a means to reach the unsuspecting and unsaved.
Christian Outdoorsman was taking orders for a camouflage baseball cap with a red cross. In Booth 235, Revelation Products of St. Louis was pitching golf balls and flip-flops. Follow the Son flip-flops have patterned soles that leave the message “Follow Jesus” in the sand.
Gospel Golf Balls are touted as “a great golf ball with a greater purpose.” Manufactured by Top-Flite, the golf balls are printed with well-known verses from the Bible, such as John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son …”). Dave Kruse, president of Revelation, said they were meant as “conversation starters,” to help men share their faith while teeing up.
An added bonus: Duffers need no longer feel bad about losing a ball in the rough. “If you’re playing great, good,” Kruse said. “If you’re spraying the ball, well … lose a golf ball, share the gospel.”
The difference between this story and most of the other stories produced in the “Jesus junk” genre is that Simon actually stops and asks if these products are what they claim to be — a means of outreach.
This is a claim that is a bit hard to swallow, since the junk side of this marketplace is built on selling Christian stuff to people who are already Christians through Christian outlets that advertise in Christian media. Is this outreach?
So who is the obvious person to call up for an interview on this topic?
You got it.
The effect of such products, according to political scientist Alan Wolfe, is to create almost a parallel universe, one that allows Christians to withdraw from the world instead of engaging it as Christ commanded.
“It’s as if they’re saying the task of bringing people to Jesus is too hard, so let’s retreat into a fortress,” said Wolfe, who directs the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College.
“Evangelism is about reaching out and converting the unsaved,” Wolfe said. “This is about putting a fence around people who are already saved. It strikes me as if they’re giving up.”
That’s part of the story. However, there are some products in this world that have — for reasons both mysterious and obvious — had an impact with ordinary people in ordinary shopping malls.
Simon is a fine, fine reporter. I hope that, having done the junk story, she will now chase the more serious side of the CBA. There is some substance hiding in there. Honest.
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Comments (12) |
July 25, 2006, at 12:49 pm
I recall a “Jesus junk” story that ran in Time magazine some years ago. They sent one of their reporters to cover the annual CBA convention, and he filed a story poking fun at the bumper stickers, board games, etc. He went into some detail about Bibleopoly, noting that, as with Monopoly, players move counters around the board, occasionally drawing cards from one of two stacks. He described these cards as carrying what he called “pseudo-biblical messages like ‘If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.’” I thought, and still think, the fact that he didn’t realize this really _is_ a biblical message (Matt 15:14) is quite a commentary on the widespread ignorance of religion in the mainstream press. And note that his mistake got past all of Time’s fact-checkers and editors as well.
July 25, 2006, at 1:16 pm
I like the “Abreadcrumb & Fish” shirt; if I were a Christian I’d probably get one of those. And definitely one of these.
July 25, 2006, at 1:59 pm
My biggest beef with “Jesus junk” is the same beef I have with all junk. Americans are awash in too much stuff. That said, as a Christian, I should be thinking about my faith whenever I make a purchase — such as what it says about my priorities. Indeed, if I am going to advertise someone’s name on my shirt, I would prefer to advertise Christ’s than a multimillion-dollar corporation. Even better is to wear a plain shirt acquired years ago and not a new contribution to the sea of “stuff” we are drowning in.
July 25, 2006, at 2:38 pm
Gaggg….
July 25, 2006, at 2:54 pm
Avram,
Your second choice is classic!
July 25, 2006, at 9:16 pm
I have mixed feelings about Christians trying to find a Christian version of everything to insulate themselves or to reach out. In the 80’s there were a couple of aerobics instructors with names like “Heavenly Bodies”, or my personal favorite, “Firm Believers”. I understand the desire to hold out our faith to the ever present unbelieving element of our society, but by associating Jesus with the trivial, we trivialize Him.
July 26, 2006, at 9:24 am
Can religion reporters maybe retire Alan Wolfe’s jersey or something? Surely there has to be someone else who can comment on these stories.
July 26, 2006, at 12:58 pm
I agree with Avram on the Abreadcrumb & Fish shirt, but I think I’d follow it up with this instead. Of course, I’m probably gonna get in trouble for that one.
July 27, 2006, at 9:22 pm
Eric, I prefer this one.
July 27, 2006, at 10:34 pm
The “Mocking Christ” tees that a couple of posters have alerted us to kind of proves a point. It’s a short walk from respectful immitation of the Culture to full-blown disrespectful snark, and it’s hard to see where that line is drawn.
The other aspect of this story I want to see more of is the interviews with parents who disapprove of ALL the “junk,” even if it’s “christian” themed.
Junk is, well, junk. But Christians (of all ages) loading up on Christian-themed junk - justifying it by saying “well, if we’re going to buy it anyway, it might as well have a message,” - are still loading up on “stuff.” There are plenty of parents and adults out there - regardless of their doctrinal stance on other issues - who feel this way. I’d like to hear stories about them, too, when we see these “Xn-themed junk” stories in the press.
Though perhaps we could hear from MORE than just this one political scientists on this issue, if that will make Terry feel better!
July 28, 2006, at 11:44 am
The Politically Correct Ann Coulter
I was probably too quick to dismiss Ann Coulter’s interview with Beliefnet.com because I think she says something important about religious conservatives and conservatives in general: they’ve become very politically correct. Now, this isn’t use term…
July 30, 2006, at 2:19 pm
I read the article with interest.
I did notice one place where the writer’s knowledge of various forms of Christianity is perhaps wanting. At the beginning of the article, she mentions the camouflage baseball cap festooned with a cross; later on she says: “When a hunter sees the crucifix on his buddy’s cap, perhaps he’ll feel comfortable asking about Jesus.” I haven’t seen these caps, but I am pretty sure the hunter’s cap has a cross on it, not a crucifix. It’s been a long time since I worshipped in Bible belt churches; have they become more accepting of crucifixes than they used to be?
I wonder if the writer knows the difference between a cross and a crucifix.