I was thinking about how many churches try to distinguish themselves from other local churches. There is often a sense of pride in membership in a specific church, and a feeling among members that their church is somehow better than other local churches. This feeling, is more like a tribalism, a sense of community that forms within the local church, instead of the church universal.

In modern marketing, both branding and tribalism are tools that marketers use to increase or maintain one company's or product's share of the market. The market has a competition around a fixed resource (our money), and they try to measure a brand's "share" of that market. But the church isn't in the business of marketing, and it does not try to increase its share (at the expense of other churches), does it?

So why would a local church spend any energy on branding? Why would a local church spend time on distinguishing itself from other local churches. Let me say one thing first:

The only valid brand of the church is Jesus Christ.

If you are distinguishing yourself from someone else, you are talking about Jesus and something. Jesus and Theology. Jesus and Experience. Jesus and Seeker Sensitive. Jesus and Prosperity. Jesus and Righteousness. Jesus and Tolerance. Jesus and Social Justice. Jesus and a Great Show. Jesus and Come as You Are. Jesus and Sound Doctrine. Jesus and Great Teaching. I suppose if you are an apostate or heretical community, you could be taking things away from Jesus, like the LDS church (Jesus without Grace) or the Jehovah's Witnesses (Jesus without True Deity). You could be softening the message like some churches – Jesus without all the hang-ups.

The problem with branding as it applies to ministry is that in order to produce fruit, we should not be marketing ourselves, our programs, or our local religious flavor. We should be marketing Jesus Christ, period. The great commission is not "Go, therefore, and get market share among the religions of the world!"

Our goal is not to distinguish ourselves from other churches, but to penetrate hardened hearts with the gospel message. I have been to churches where the church brand is promoted, like a tribal badge. The We spoken of is the we of the local assembly, not the we of the church universal. Look what we did, look how well we are doing. I have seen what that tribalism does in the extreme, and it becomes a form of spiritual pride and the church can devolve into cliquishness and fail to receive new members, especially new leaders.

Our boasting should be in the work of Jesus Christ, and our humble gratitude expressed when He deems it appropriate to use us as tools to accomplish His purpose. Not in any aspect of our ministry or local assembly.

Does this go back to the reformation? Martin Luther and the other bishops, monks and priests who reacted to the doctrinal issues in the catholic church, or earlier? I think earlier… Paul vs. Apollos… I think that human nature creates parties, clans, divisions. It is all about pride. Pride is the enemy of unity. Unity requires humility. True unity requires all to be humble. So take a look at your branding strategy. Look at where your pride is evident. Look at what you are saying about yourselves. What are you adding to Jesus? What are you taking away? Really? So in the end, what you are distinguishing yourselves from is… Jesus Christ, the Brand.