Recently, I was traveling into a city I am in quite often. After making my way through a crowded airport to get onto my final connecting flight, I quickly realized the only seats available were window seats. Now as a rule, I am not a "window person". The thought of being locked into a 12-inch space for a number of hours is not the least bit appealing to me. But in this case I was glad to take my seat, in hopes that the flight would be quick and there would be no need to get up.

As I was gazing out of the window upon our entry into the city, I began looking at the landscape and was literally struck sideways by what I saw next. It was the largest building for miles around and on the top of this building in letters that could most likely be seen from space was the name of a church. It was in fact, the church's branding on top of the building for the entire world to see.

I am not a member of this church and I do not really know any intimate details regarding this church, so it's probably good to preface my thoughts by saying that none of this is personal. This church may be the most intimate place on earth where the Gospel is preached in all it’s glory and people's lives are transformed. In fact, I pray that this is the case. But the garish marks on the top of this church building led me to begin thinking deeply about the church experience today, particularly in our western context.

This vision of letters on buildings raised a question for me, ”When did logos of churches replace the cross on church buildings?” This question led me to another question, ”What do people experience more readily in our churches today - our brands or the cross?” Essentially what I was asking is, “Who is getting attention from the church today, human beings or Jesus?
These are not easy questions, but I think they matter and matter deeply. As I thought long and hard about this tension, it occurred to me that one of the shifts taking place in our culture over the past number of years is that churches have become increasingly convinced that we must engage in the business practice of communications and brand management.

Brands here are not simply logos…they are the primary message of the church. More specifically, they are your primary niche in the marketplace of other churches out there. I am sure that there a number of things that are good about this, like helping people to know what to expect when they walk into the doors of the church, or helping to overcome their fear of the church and simply come closer to experiencing Jesus.

But I also beg to challenge this sentiment. Is this what is really happening as we elevate our brands into this marketplace of churches in the world today? Who is really getting attention when we glorify our brands before we glorify the cross? What would happen if people did not know the name of your church or even your tagline? What if people simply recognized the building in their neighborhood that was filled with people who lived differently, who loved when they were supposed to hate and gave when they were supposed to protect? What if our brand was non-existent and instead, the cross of Jesus was lifted high?

I suggest that a self-assessment is in order. When people think of your church what do you think they more readily think of, the cross or your brand? Which is more powerful; which is more lasting?

I say let's trash our brands and get to littering the landscape of our country with the message of the cross. Perhaps they should not go back up on our buildings, but they certainly belong on the landscape of our lives.

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