I take a ten-minute glide through a few of my favorite blogs and I hit a theme. ... That idea was simple: If we make any outside indication of our Christian faith to the world, then our walk had better not run the name of Jesus Christ through the mud.It is a good piece and he makes a good case for buying Christian merchandise to create ministry opportunities. I'm going to play a little devil's advocate. Hopefully not too literally.
The problem I have with a lot of Christian merchandise is that in the end I think it is really poor advertising. If you do a bad job of walking the walk, then the t-shirt reflects badly on Christ. If you do a good job, then you don't need a t-shirt to tell people what you are. They will know. If they don't know yet, then they will see the difference and ask. T-shirt that says "Ask Me Why I'm Different" would be a far better choice than a giant cross. It starts you talking and relationships are where ministry and witnessing really begin.
This is why I will never have a Jesus fish on my car. If you see the back of my car it will be after I pass you while speeding, you pass me while speeding, or maybe if I'm stopped at a red light or pulled over by a cop. It might say "Christian" on the car, but under no circumstances will we ever get out of our cars so we can actually talk about who my savior is.
I also think in the end a lot of Christian merchandise just serves to marginalize Christians. Oh it's a Jesus Freaky girl in a Jesus Freaky shirt. I'll just put them in a nice little box labeled Jesus Freak where I can deal with her and keep her at a distance. Which is fine, because a lot of Christians wear the merch to keep the non-Christians at arms length. They may not actually realize this themselves. But if someone asks you about your witness and your answer is "I wear godly t-shirts" not "I actively befriend ungodly people" then we know the real deal.
But really my problem is just the quantity of Christian merchandise and the pervasiveness of it in American Christian culture. Oh so much of it is unnecessary. There is a lot stuff out there that is just junk with a cross stamped on it. It's like people think "well I want to buy these extravagances, but if I buy these Christian brand ones then that doesn't count as materialism." Well I'm sorry, but it does count. I've gone into quite few Christian homes and been appalled by all the Christian baubles and tchotchkes. Enough with the Christian kitsch! When Jesus sent out his Apostles it was with the clothes on their back and a good walking stick. Why are you spending hundreds or even tens of dollars on this stuff if the homeless man on your doorstep is still hungry? Is this storing up treasures in heaven? Is it?
I used to wear a lot of Christian merchandise. I had a Reebok-esque "Life is Short, Pray Hard" shirt. I had some other shirts that looked heavy metal, but were actually scripture. I wore them to school and hung out with some metalheads at the time. They did make for good conversation starters. If you use something similar for that purpose, then do so with my blessing. Now the only piece of Christian merchandise I carry on a daily basis is a small metal cross. It is in my wallet and it is there to remind me of whose money I am spending.
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