Another good one from Church Marketing Sucks:

Marketing seeks to maximize a message’s impact; it serves the message, it definitely doesn’t serve the numbers. Numbers might suggest a change in method, showing what’s working and what isn’t, but it doesn’t change the message.

Justice is a message. Boycotts are a method.
Grace is a message. Events are a method.
Love is a message. Postcards are a method.

The methods can change, the message doesn’t.

Any marketing that attempts to undermine the message in order to boost the numbers is anemic and will eventually fail. Church marketing, and honestly any good marketing, must stay true to the message.

I guess you could say this is the message around which Church Marketing Sucks is organized.

It seems like it’s often my message, too. For Christians, this is an extension of the theology of the Incarnation: The immutable Word [Gk. logos, or "message"], divine that he is, was united with mutable humanity in the womb of the Virgin Mary for the sake of the salvation of the world. The ancient fathers affirmed that the Word did not change when united with humanity. Instead, the Word did all of the things the Word does in human form.

The message set the boundaries on the methods. In the end, we have discovered that in the case of Jesus Christ, the methods themselves have illuminated the message, rather than being mere “containers” for it.

It was only when “divinity” was packaged in “humanity” that either of them could be seen for what they really are.

Now, we must concern ourselves with discovering and utilizing methods that shed light on the message itself rather than merely acting as containers [a.k.a. packaging] for the message.

“Christ we proclaim, teaching and admonishing everyone with all wisdom so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” (Colossians 1:28)