In the third year of Jesus' ministry the disciples saw events approaching a tipping point. Crowds were increasing. The opposition of the religious leaders was becoming more vehement. If this were the 21st century, #KingJesus would have been a trending hashtag.
The disciples responded by jockeying for position in the pecking order of #The12. More than once, Jesus had to deal with the bickering (Luke 9:46-50; Matthew 20:20-28; Luke 22:24-30).
And then, when they arrived in the upper room for what they knew would be a very special Passover feast, they discovered that Judas, of all people, had claimed the seat next to Jesus (see this detailed analysis of the likely seating chart).
Amid the undercurrent of grumbling and whispering that no doubt charged the atmosphere of this intimate gathering, Jesus did something remarkable.
Marketing guru Seth Godin presented a TED talk titled "How to Get Your Ideas to Spread." It has become one of the most popular of the TED videos (watch it below, or click here).
He makes a good point, one that any marketer or writer or artist knows to be true.
You're driving down the road and you see a cow, and you keep driving, because you've seen cows before. Cows are invisible. Cows are boring. Who's going to stop and pull over and say, "Oh, look, a cow"? Nobody.If you don't immediately understand the importance of remarkable words or actions, go ahead and watch the entire video. I'll wait.
But if the cow was purple, you'd notice it, for awhile. I mean, if all cows were people, then you'd get bored with those, too.
The thing that's going to decide what gets talked about, what gets done, what gets changed, what gets purchased, what gets built, is 'Is it remarkable?'.
And 'remarkable' is a really cool word, because we think it just means 'neat'. But it also means 'worth making a remark about'. And that is the essence of where idea diffusion is going.
Many Christian leaders watch this video and they read Godin's books and they immediately start thinking about how they can market their church or book or organization through social media and otaku targeting (putting your remarkable message in front of people who are most likely to remark about it).
Jesus, though, wasn't great at marketing himself. Several times in the gospel stories, we see him healing someone and then actually telling that person to not tell everyone about it. When news of Jesus' miracles and teachings began to go viral, he repeatedly hides from the crowds.
Jesus knew that by saying or doing remarkable things for an audience of his Twelve Otakus, the word would be spread in a way that would best accomplish his mission.
He didn't need a Powerpoint presentation or a three-point catchy outline. Instead he did something that turned their whole concept of seating charts and pecking orders upside down. He stripped down to the clothing of a servant and washed their feet.
If we want to make the message of Jesus go viral in our churches and in the world today, we need to focus less on marketing strategies and more on doing things that will turn common perceptions of Christ and his Church upside down and inside out.
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