The cover art and branding of this book cry out against the "Christian" merchandize culture with a faceless man wearing the ichthus ( the "Christian" fish, where we often times see "ΙΧΘΥΣ" written out) on a tie, wearing a hat with a cross on it and the ubiquitous WWJD? bracelet. But the message of this book isn't so much against merchandizing per-se than about how Christians market Christ.
Branded
by Tim Sinclair
Kregel Publications
June 2011
Sinclair's identification of the issue is right on: we Christians struggle with effectively communicating Christ and his message. And, importantly, the book insists that there isn't an issue with the message itself. The hesitation by non-believers in joining the Church is the church, not Jesus or the Gospel. The answer is suprisingly simple: build relationships.
At 121 pages, Sinclair struggles with providing depth to his recommended responses to our church's issue. The suggested "What If?" chapter seems undeveloped as well. In all, the book seems like a long form sermon or the first meeting in a small group; it's more a thesis than a conclusion.
There are about 15 pages of study questions included and I think a small group is how this book would work best. It would be apropos, in fact, for the book to be studied relationally.
This is an important message and for that reason I do recommend this book. However, due to the limited answers and lack of depth, this book must be seen as a conversation starter to be successful. If you are working through a small group on effectively communicating Christ and the Gospel this is a great starting place.
