Michelle Greer has a great post up about “transparency in marketing.” (warning, a mild expletive)
Her point is that the latest marketing buzzword means nothing to a person/company that is bored with or dislikes their own product. Here is some of what she says but go read all of it:
People are not stupid and they know when you care about them and when you are just trying to make a buck. Take care of them and they will take care of you.
Being transparent is worthless if you have no passion about what you do. You can come across as transparently greedy, or transparently bored, or transparently stupid. Having passion and feeling that the service you are providing will generally enrich someone’s life will make you transparent by default.
How many churches seem to have begun with the proposition that people are stupid? Well Michelle is correct that they aren’t.
I sometimes wonder if the reason most of us Christians don’t share our faith with our friends and family is that deep down we don’t really believe it. We believe it enough to go through the motions ourselves, plus the people at church aren’t too bad for hanging with once in a while on a Sunday morning. But we don’t believe it enough that we are consumed with passion for the gospel and consumed with the belief that we must share the gospel because people need to be reconciled to God.
This lack of faith and passion is easily recognizable by those we live among and they are not stupid. If we don’t act like we really believe it, then why should they?
Here are a couple of things that Paul said that showed his transparent passion for the gospel.
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
We must be that transparently passionate about the Gospel of Jesus or we will be ineffective in sharing it.
hat tip Chris Marlow and Austin Cast.
UPDATE: fixed a busted link for Michelle Greer. Sorry about that. Too quick on the cut and paste draw.
Wow, amazing. Thanks so much for reading my blog.
My favorite passage about transparency is this:
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
If you have something beautiful, you should show it to everyone. It is not a matter of showing or not showing. It is a matter of sharing a gift God gives you.
If anyone wants to discuss this, please email me at michelle(at)michellesblog.net. I would love to help people share their gifts online.