This book examines the complex relationship between religion and business in twentieth-century America. It is the story of how Christianity's most basic institution, the local church, wrestled with the challenges and compromises of competing in the modern marketplace through adopting the advertising, public relations, and marketing methods of business. It follows these sacred promoters, and their critics, as they navigated between divinely inspired and consumer demanded. Amid an animated and contentious battleground for principles, practices and parishioners, John C. Hardin explores the landscape of selling religion in America and its evolution over the twentieth century. John C. Hardin holds a PhD in U.S. History from the University of Maryland, USA. He works at the intersection of culture and social change, drawing on his experience as a scholar, philanthropic leader, musician, and former pastor. .

This book examines the complex relationship between religion and business in twentieth-century America. It is the story of how Christianity’s most basic institution, the local church, wrestled with the challenges and compromises of competing in the modern marketplace through adopting the advertising, public relations, and marketing methods of business. It follows these sacred promoters, and their critics, as they navigated between divinely inspired and consumer demanded. Amid an animated and contentious battleground for principles, practices and parishioners, John C. Hardin explores the landscape of selling religion in America and its evolution over the twentieth century.

Excerpt from Handbook of Church Advertising The science of advertising, applied to the problems of church publicity, is not only a legitimate and fasci nating subject; it has come to be a practical necessity. The task of bringing the work of the church to the attention of all the people of the community is an essential factor in the success of the church. Other and competing institutions have been quick to take advantage of the technique of advertising as perfected by experts. Such institutions are getting the crowds. Their increased patronage is due not to superior service always, but to shrewd adoptions of the principles and methods of advertising. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Bringing people to Christ is the underlying purpose of this book. This is why we constantly search for techniques and ideas to win souls for the Lord. Let us look to the Bible; Romans 10:14 gives the following guidance. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (NIV) This book was written for the primary purpose of assisting those small-to-moderate size churches "get the word out" telling the story about the good works they are doing within their congregations and their communities to bring people closer to God. I choose the tools of marketing and public relations - my chosen profession - and applied the principles of evangelism. I believe this to be my personal ministry. If your church budget will not accommodate a staff member dedicated to the tasks of marketing and public relations, this book will show the Public Relations Committee Chairperson how to handle just about every marketing task needed. If your church has assigned the task of marketing and/or public relations to an associate minister who has no hands-on experience in this field, this book is the answer. If you are a seasoned public relations or media specialist working within your church, this book will provide you with a strategy for directing your skills to work with a church and its ministries. Of course, it does not hurt the pastor to learn more about how marketing and public relations tools and tactics can assist in the growth of the church and simultaneously help people to create a relationship with God. Ambassador Michael Battle, U. S. Representative to the African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; former President of The Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, GA) Ms. Jackson-Ransom is to be commended for developing this exceptional public relations and marketing resource for the Church. Her years of success, representing clients and managing the reputations and activities of individuals and organizations in the public and private sector, have produced a savvy handbook that appropriates that same professional media and marketing know-how to pastors and lay leaders. Clear and concise, the instruction should empower readers to better understand the requisite approach, timing and professional response that today's competitiveness requires to effectively represent ministry through media. It is truly "First Class!" Reverend Dr. William A. Flippin, Senior Pastor, Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church (DeKalb Co, GA) - This book is a must read for every pastor and church leader. The whole idea of "marketing our church and ministry" is relatively new in our culture. Bunnie Jackson-Ransom has this matter of fact style when she speaks and writes. Her advice and experience are sound. The world is changing at a rapid pace. Yet, the church continues to lag behind with outdated methods that will not reach future generations. Her passion is evident when she spoke to our church staff and leaders. Her work and guidance with our public relations team, church trustees, and ministry staff has already yielded positive results. Not only read this book, but allow Bunnie to speak personally and coach your team on these principles. We are proud she came our way.

A discussion of modern methods for promoting and advancing religious, educational, and social causes. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Confessional Crises and Cultural Politics in Twentieth-Century America revolutionizes how we think about confession and its ubiquitous place in American culture. It argues that the sheer act of labeling a text a confession has become one of the most powerful, and most overlooked, forms of intervening in American cultural politics. In the twentieth century alone, the genre of confession has profoundly shaped (and been shaped by) six of America’s most intractable cultural issues: sexuality, class, race, violence, religion, and democracy.