In 9th grade I unwrapped a Christian branded t-shirt for Christmas that had eagerly been picked out of a catalog months before. In 2004, Fear Factor was the show everyone was talking about. Contestants would have to carry out these scary, gross acts until a winner was decided for overcoming their fears. So when Christmas rolled around I got a t-shirt that said "Faith Factor". Kind of ironic since we don't overcome faith. Rather, faith in Christ helps us overcome. It had the Fear Factor type logo on the front, and a generic Bible verse on the back. I loved the shirt and anticipated wearing it to school after break.
School came back and I wore my new shirt the first day. While in the lunch line though I heard some snickering, and then people started taking jabs. Soon the whole line in the cafeteria was chiming in about how lame my shirt was. I thought "They are attacking me for wearing this Jesus shirt. They are persecuting me." I went home that day feeling righteous, but I now know there was nothing righteous that transpired that day. In a way my piety had caused more harm than good.
The problem with t-shirt evangelism is Christians think they are being attacked, but the attack is really on the branding. Shirts can not, will not save people. Our shirts/articles can't do what relational ministry is prepared to do for the kingdom. Articles of clothing, crosses, fish signs, and other objects are only beneficial to the wearer. While some of them really do make a difference for the wearer (check out spiritual pathways), they aren't beneficial to the lost that see them. Objects of the faith and sacraments remind us of Christ and his mission. They propel or are launch pads for the mission, but they aren't the tools for the mission. If we're not careful, these very objects that remind us of Jesus will separate us from the cause Christ has laid out before us. Let that sink in.
I have to be honest with you. You'll never see me with a Christian t-shirt on (aside for the one's I get from conventions with my youth ministry), or with a Jesus bumper sticker on my car. It's not that these things are bad, but they are about as anti-evangelism as social media is anti-social. It won't engage people like The Word, even if The Word is stamped on it. Facebook arguments can't be won no matter how many comments are posted, but an in-person chat can defuse conflict. Things aren't the best advocates for the good news, because the good news was fleshed out in community.
It's why The Word had to become flesh, and it's why The Word in the flesh, being Jesus, came to be with sinners. He didn't come to stand out in a crowd of them. Evangelism only serves its function when it's personal-relational. We can't take it as a religious attack when people jeer at us when we're not getting personal with the people The Son of Man would have reclined with. That takes owning up to the religion.
While I love representing my student ministry and the C.I.Y. t-shirts we get, I must carry out the function of the kingdom. While we may love Christian things, we must still shine the light of the King of Kings. If the sign above Jesus' head read "Hail The King of The Jews" while he was on a cross, can we expect persecution for a t-shirt that says "Got Jesus"? The difference is Jesus didn't brand himself. The Roman Government branded him, and that type of label was the reason for his persecution.
If you want people to see Jesus, be branded by The Son of Man. Let people know the brand of Jesus by how they see you, and not for what you wear. Mark 8:34 "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'" This cross only has one form. Can they see your cross yet?
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