Much of what I do in ministry is influenced by my interests in magic and marketing. In one classic sleight-of-hand book, "Strong Magic," the author makes the point that in advertising, marketers exaggerate the feature(s) of their product that they want consumers to notice. Think of the recent pizza ad where one of the men has a huge nose and comments on the smell, another has huge eyes and says "look at the cheese," and the last guy with big ears says, "that sounds good!" The new Subway commercial shows two people ordering at a fast food drive-thru, and the items they order are such things as a double chin, thunder thighs, and a bedonk-a-donk butt. The caption is, "What are you really ordering?" Good marketers help the consumer to focus on the real features of the product, and they use various methods, such as exaggeration, to highlight those features. (What feature of the glue is being emphasized in the picture?) I use magical routines in order to point people to different Biblical truths and teachings, and I'm sure that different people have different ways of getting people's attention and leading them to truth (Keith puts Led Zeppelin lyrics on his marquis - great idea!). My question for everyone is this: If you were putting together an ad to accentuate the features of your church that you want people to notice, what features would you highlight? What characterizes your church and your ministry? What real needs does your ministry meet in the lives of people, and how can you show that to them? Can you come up with 3 features that are unique to your ministry?
