My Friday blogs are about Power. But not just any power… Kingdom POWER — the kind of Power it takes to advance the Lord’s Kingdom on earth.
Jesus taught what we have come to call The Golden Rule. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” (Matthew 7:12). In stark contrast to the world’s Golden Rule:
Whoever has the most gold, rules.
There is a kind of “gold” that consumers have. Particularly whenever we band together to make our buying motivations known. Because there is also power — i.e., leverage — in numbers.
How can such power be harnessed by Christians to help advance God’s Kingdom on earth? Faith Driven Consumer, founded by brand strategist Chris Stone, hopes to provide one answer to that question.
Stone contends that, although 70% of Americans self-identify as Christian, only about one-quarter of active Christians fall into the highly differentiated category known as Faith Driven Consumers. Which equates to 17% of the adult population, or 41 million Americans. http://www.faithdrivenconsumer.com/faq
A powerful market segment that certainly has the potential to make its voice heard and impact the culture in a positive (faith-honoring) way… if it will exercise that voice collectively.
Faith Driven Consumers are defined as “Christians who bring glory to God by proactively living out our faith in every aspect of our lives, including where we work, where we shop, what we buy, and the entertainment choices we make.” http://www.faithdrivenconsumer.com/about_us
Does this sound like you?
In November 2015, Faith Driven Consumer unveiled its first annual Faith Equality Index, scoring over 300 major brands on a variety of metrics important to its constituency. Metrics that will enable Faith Driven Consumers to buy from brands more closely aligned with their biblical worldview.
The top scorers for 2016 (on a scale of 0 to 100) were: Chick-fil-A (at 63), Hobby Lobby (at 63), Interstate Batteries (at 61), and Tyson Foods (at 60). Stone explained the scores were not higher due to an overall lack of effort — even among the top brands in the Index — to court the faith community. https://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/11/02/the-7-most-christian-friendly-brands-in-america
Chic-fil-A’s score has since improved to 76.
The Index scores companies in four categories: Public Commitment to Faith Driven Consumers, Faith-Compatible Corporate Actions, Equal Application of Equal Protections, and Corporate Competency in the Faith Driven Consumer Market Segment. Each category is further-defined.
For example, Faith-Compatible Corporate Actions rates on this metric (among others): Promotes or supports wholesome images in marketing and culture while refraining from the promotion or support of pornography, sexual immorality or the sexual exploitation of individuals, as viewed through a biblical lens.
Does the firestorm about various advertising campaigns at Abercrombie & Fitch come to mind?
Check out your favorite companies! Use this link to find them in the latest Index. Drill down to the subcategories. It’s quick, easy… and fascinating. http://www.faithdrivenconsumer.com/faith_equality_index_company_reviews
Did you discover any surprises?
How will you leverage this information…
… to better help your gold advance His Gold [i.e., Kingdom] on earth?
Please post your comments below.
Diana Furr, a.k.a. Abba’s Girl
This blog may have raised questions for you. If you’d like to connect, engage, or get further help from me, you can… EMAIL me at [email protected]; CALL me at 863-446-1660; or request a complimentary initial CONSULT with me at http://tinyurl.com/DianaFurr.