Ministry Monday: Jesus has a Branding Problem

When you think of Jesus Christ what is the first symbol that comes to mind? If I had to guess I would say it's the cross. The second symbol could range anywhere from a lion, a fish/ichthus, flame, white robe, lamb, alpha/omega, and the list could go on and on. In fact here are some of the symbols that I have found across the great internet:







When I say resurrection what symbol comes to mind? For many of you it is a nice big blank that comes to mind. For others it could be a nice picture of a stone to the side of a cave but that is more of a picture than a symbol. For some it could be this, but very, very few I would suspect:



Yes the butterfly was a symbol of the resurrection for years because it goes into a cocoon and then comes back a new beautiful creation. It was adopted by the mass majority of Christ-followers though. I think that is because it isn't a great symbol.

When you brand something you like to find what makes it different than it's competitors. You want the brand to be easily identifiable. Great brands have a symbol/logo that evokes emotion, familiarity, and notoriety.

You see this is where I think Jesus has a branding problem. The cross is a great symbol of his death and I am glad that Jesus died for my sins. The problem is though that his death is not what made Jesus unique or different. Christ is different because of his resurrection. I get to go to heaven because he beat death. I get to have a relationship with God because of the resurrection. Jesus is ALIVE is the gospel. That's the good news. Why don't we have a great symbol for that? Why after 2000 years we don't have a logo of hope and of good news? Why don't we have a symbol that tells the world about a risen Lord, but instead have one that shows off his death?

Don't get me wrong, we should be grateful beyond belief about Jesus dieing on the cross, and I am grateful.

What should the symbol of resurrection look like? I can't say that the butterfly does it for me. What do you think? Do you have a symbol in mind?

I have a new mission. I want to find the symbol for the resurrection. A symbol of hope, future, grace, triumph, victory, reign, and of lordship. Let me know if you find it.