CBA 2007: Emerging Doesn’t Exist
- Posted by scott on February 4th, 2007 filed in emergent, conversatio, cba 2007
“American Church Lists” is a division of infoUSA. The company maintains a 375,000-entry database of churches, ministries, and schools that can be searched according to geography, denominational affiliation, size, ethnicity, programs, facilities, and sponsorships. Their target customers are retailers, church supply companies, and publishers who wish to build direct mail lists and generate sales leads.
I spoke with an ACL representative yesterday afternoon. I was hoping for a freebie – “How many ‘Emergent’ congregations are listed in your database?” I asked. Her answer surprised me a bit: “Excuse me?” she said.
I rattled off several words beginning with “emerg—” as she shook her head, then asked, “So you don’t index them?” She cocked her head a bit and said “No,” then smiled and gaily added “But we probably should!”
I’m completely aware of the problems with using “Emerging” as a category in the same manner that one would speak of a formal denomination. It is in the very nature of emerging is to resist such categories and emphasize instead the local particularity of one’s congregation. But database vendors just have a field, perhaps called “denom” or “affil,” and they’ve got to fill it with something. To lump emerging into “non-denominational” would obliterate a number of critical distinctions.
That leaves us with two options:
1) Emerging congregations are no different from other “non-denominational” congregations.
2) “Emerging” doesn’t exist [as a target market for the Christian retail industry].
Taking everything else I saw at the convention (or better, everything I didn’t see), I’m inclined to conclude that either Christian retail stores do not recognize that “emerging” exists, or more likely, that emerging Christians have little potential as a viable market segment.
I would suggest that many emerging Christians have an ambivalent relationship with the Christian publishing industry, while most are terribly suspicious of the Christian retail industry. There are more “emerging-ish” books on the market than I can count, but there are a lot of anti-emerging books, too. But I have not seen one “emerging” gift item - no Shofar horns endorsed by Brian McLaren, no Don Miller special edition VW Buses, and no personal grooming kits.
[ One need not reach far in the emerging blogosphere to find critiques of consumerist expressions of the Christian faith; consider Adele’s treatment of the issue on Jason Clark’s blog. Here’s some more ambivalence; humor/disdain here and here. ]
What then shall we say? You can sell millions of emerging-ish books, but the cards and wrapping paper will be tough to move.
One Response to “CBA 2007: Emerging Doesn’t Exist”
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CBA 2007: Emerging Doesn’t Exist
- Posted by scott on February 4th, 2007 filed in emergent, conversatio, cba 2007
“American Church Lists” is a division of infoUSA. The company maintains a 375,000-entry database of churches, ministries, and schools that can be searched according to geography, denominational affiliation, size, ethnicity, programs, facilities, and sponsorships. Their target customers are retailers, church supply companies, and publishers who wish to build direct mail lists and generate sales leads.
I spoke with an ACL representative yesterday afternoon. I was hoping for a freebie – “How many ‘Emergent’ congregations are listed in your database?” I asked. Her answer surprised me a bit: “Excuse me?” she said.
I rattled off several words beginning with “emerg—” as she shook her head, then asked, “So you don’t index them?” She cocked her head a bit and said “No,” then smiled and gaily added “But we probably should!”
I’m completely aware of the problems with using “Emerging” as a category in the same manner that one would speak of a formal denomination. It is in the very nature of emerging is to resist such categories and emphasize instead the local particularity of one’s congregation. But database vendors just have a field, perhaps called “denom” or “affil,” and they’ve got to fill it with something. To lump emerging into “non-denominational” would obliterate a number of critical distinctions.
That leaves us with two options:
1) Emerging congregations are no different from other “non-denominational” congregations.
2) “Emerging” doesn’t exist [as a target market for the Christian retail industry].
Taking everything else I saw at the convention (or better, everything I didn’t see), I’m inclined to conclude that either Christian retail stores do not recognize that “emerging” exists, or more likely, that emerging Christians have little potential as a viable market segment.
I would suggest that many emerging Christians have an ambivalent relationship with the Christian publishing industry, while most are terribly suspicious of the Christian retail industry. There are more “emerging-ish” books on the market than I can count, but there are a lot of anti-emerging books, too. But I have not seen one “emerging” gift item - no Shofar horns endorsed by Brian McLaren, no Don Miller special edition VW Buses, and no personal grooming kits.
[ One need not reach far in the emerging blogosphere to find critiques of consumerist expressions of the Christian faith; consider Adele’s treatment of the issue on Jason Clark’s blog. Here’s some more ambivalence; humor/disdain here and here. ]
What then shall we say? You can sell millions of emerging-ish books, but the cards and wrapping paper will be tough to move.
One Response to “CBA 2007: Emerging Doesn’t Exist”
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Kim Pettit Says:
May 8th, 2007 at 12:22 pmRe your conclusion that “emerging Christians have little potential as a viable market segment,” I disagree—and so do some Christian publishers. Check out the efforts increasing numbers of them are making to reach this public, for example with joint ventures as Baker Books’ emersion titles. Yes, there’s no Shofar horn or personal grooming kits at CBA yet, but those are not the kinds of products that appeal to emergents anyway! But I can envision coffee, journals, candles, incense and music reaching this market (perhaps the resurgence of modern hymns is fueled by this demographic). The March/April issue of CCMI Partners, an online magazine on Christian publishing, tackled publishing and postmodernism. Check it out in the archives at ccmipartners.org.
May 8th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Re your conclusion that “emerging Christians have little potential as a viable market segment,” I disagree—and so do some Christian publishers. Check out the efforts increasing numbers of them are making to reach this public, for example with joint ventures as Baker Books’ emersion titles. Yes, there’s no Shofar horn or personal grooming kits at CBA yet, but those are not the kinds of products that appeal to emergents anyway! But I can envision coffee, journals, candles, incense and music reaching this market (perhaps the resurgence of modern hymns is fueled by this demographic). The March/April issue of CCMI Partners, an online magazine on Christian publishing, tackled publishing and postmodernism. Check it out in the archives at ccmipartners.org.