When that early Christian first sketched a fish to represent his faith, he had no idea what he was starting. Today, along with that famous fish, coded messages capsulizing Christian faith have become the rage.
You need a decoder ring to decipher the Christian acronyms popping up on clothing, jewelry, Bible covers -- even shoe laces. Along with the ever-popular WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?), Christian kids now display PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens), COPS (Christians Obediently Preaching Salvation), ELF (Everyone Lives Forever) and the hit of the Christmas season, FROG, (Fully Rely on God) -- complete with the amphibian.At Christian camps and Bible classes, in fact, the number of frogs that show up would give Pharaoh the willies.
"After WWJD, FROG is our best seller," says Rick Hutton of Nashville, national gift buyer for LifeWay Christian Stores. In Salt Lake City, LifeWay has sold so many FROG items the store has precious few for display. And that pleases manager Ben Blasingame.
"They don't send us much that doesn't work with kids," he says. "And all of it gets them thinking about God. I like that."
The king of the acronym craze, of course, will always be WWJD. Like the CTR rings in the LDS culture that spawned a major trend, the letters WWJD have caught the fancy of Christian kids and created a marketing bonanza for Christian businesses.
"WWJD was a success from the git-go," says Hutton. "It sells well across the country -- maybe a little stronger in Texas and the South."
Do the kids use acronyms -- as early Christians used the fish -- to create a hidden bond in a secular society?
"There may be some of that," says Hutton, "but for the most part I think it's just a matter of being proud to be a Christian. It creates interest and gives kids an opportunity to share their faith."
In the New Testament, Jesus often spoke in cryptic phrases. He also used wheat, tares, vineyards, bread and buried treasure in his stories -- scholars claim -- so people would be reminded of God in their daily lives The same goes for much of the new Christian symbolism. Any kid who believes "frog" also means "Fully Rely on God" tends to look at Kermit in a new light.
Of course not every acronym has been a success. COPS-wear hasn't done especially well. And the letters meant to mimic professional wrestling organizations (NWJ for Nothing Without Jesus and NWC for Nothing Without Christ) never really caught on. "I guess not all Christian kids are wrestling fans," says Blasingame.
IBIG (I Believe in God) was also something of a bust. And the jury is still out on Y2K (Yield 2 the King). BIBLE shirts (Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth) have a clever turn of phrase, but haven't jumped off the shelves.
Marketing is always iffy. In fact, the only thing you can count on is more acronyms will be coming.
"Some companies make them up and hope they'll sell," says Hutton. "Others do 'mall intercepts' to test them out."
When asked if he's taken a shot at concocting acronyms, Hutton says he believes in leaving the developing to the developers. Betty Ryder, who works in sales at the Salt Lake LifeWay store, feels the same. "I'm too busy selling them," she says. "There's no time for concocting."
Still, she is tickled by the way kids have warmed up to the things. And with Christmas at hand, sales are sure to increase.
One reason?
Many items -- keychains, refrigerator magnets, pencils, mugs -- have "stocking stuffer" written all over them.
But another reason is Christian marketers are finally beginning to catch the eye of trendy kids. There's a feeling in the industry -- and among young believers, as well -- that you don't have to be un-cool to be Christian. One popular T-shirt, for instance, shows a boy in the rag-tag jeans kids prefer. But in this version, the rips in the denim are all at knee level. And in the popular "PLAY HARD" slogan, someone has replaced the "L" in "PLAY" with an "R."
The message is clear.
And the message spells CHRISTIAN -- "Christian Hip" Retail Is Starting To Influence A Nation.