Marketing God

Many of the large religious places of yesterday are standing as empty shells today, while others have far less activity than in days gone by. Most are using the same tools that worked well for them years ago, but many of those tools have become obsolete today.
With the coming of TV, the cel-phone or Smart phone, and most of all, the computer, many find their congregations falling by the way side. With most religions based on teachings based on hundreds to thousands of years of successful teaching, suddenly many find that today’s world requires that God has to be marketed in new ways!
The key words are “the people of today.” Today we face a more educated people! Those unafraid to ask questions and many refusing to accept; it is true because I say it’s true! One person’s interpretation means far less when people, with just a few clicks of the mouse, can go to that computer, in their own house, and find many different interpretations of that same statement! I believe that having the ability to contact the world is better than sitting week after week listening to someone preaching to the choir.
I believe religion, in general, has been handed the greatest tool to market God our world has ever seen! To give you an example; just before my eighty-fifth birthday I was told to start a blog. Me, one who had no idea what a blog was! I had never heard the word before! Now, less than two years later my blog has been read by someone on every continent in the world! This same world that at the time most of our sacred works were written, the people that wrote those words had no idea that the continent I’m writing this from today even existed!
I have a point I need to make before I go farther: it makes no difference to me what you call your religion! I know there is but one God, your God and my God. Doesn’t that make each one of us either a brother or a sister? Aren’t we each a part of all religions under that God? Isn’t that God, our God, the creator and started of all things?
A ways back I mentioned my blog, I had to learn many new things in a very short time to get it on line! I found that I had to learn Word (that I had never used before), next I found that I needed Face Book, then I heard about Skype! I’m working on that too. Can you imagine both of us sitting at home and talking face to face?
Lastly, in my spare time I’m starting to learn YouTube! When I become a “Tuber” you will be able to pull me up at your convenience and both watch and listen to my essays. I promise, each message will be three minutes or less. And, I look forward to your feedback on those. Today, I’m only on page 53 of that 440 page manual, but I’ll get there!
I have been very surprised by how far my blog has come with little financing, no formal writing training, and just my computer in my home! To the many people that have read my essays, I say thank you. If you see something you like please pass it on. I, like I’m sure you have wondered why I was chosen to do this, Then one day I realized that many times our God uses the least among us to do His work.
With the tools that have been provided for us today, many of the old world religious ideas have a lot to learn. Many of today’s young people learn from their cel phones, Smart phones, I pads or lap tops. Most messages are watched or listened to for a minute or two at the most and then deleted! If you can’t get your message out in that time it’s lost forever! There is no reason to expect those kids, in this new digital age to listen and watch the old long orations! There are too many more exciting things for them to do!
Many of today’s leaders are lazy! They love to address the sure things! They address their messages to the ones they know are already there! Many allow themselves to become computer illiterate. Many refuse to use those tools that God has laid at their feet! If they were salespersons for another product they would have been fired! We must realize that our God hands us new miracles every day, but we must learn to recognize those miracles to be able to use them!
A few minutes ago a man and an older lady came to my door trying to interest me in their interpretation of God. While we talked I told them about my blog. The lady was shocked; she told me that my computer was a tool of the Devil! Then she told me that her Bible told her the only way to reach people has to knock on doors! And, then she turned and walked away! See what I’ve been talking about?
For each door she knocks on, I’m able to knock on thousands! I want them to keep all of those easy ones, please give me the hard ones, because they are the important ones to me!