The Good Shepherd Brand

As Christians, we need to renew our focus on what makes our brand unique: saying what Jesus said and doing what Jesus did.

A number of movies have focused not on people or events, but on brand-name products. The blockbuster Barbie was the most popular in the summer of 2023, followed by The Super Mario Bros. Movie, another film based on a product.

After just two months, Barbie had sold $575 million in tickets across the country.

It was “a children’s film made for adults,” said one reviewer, “done in a thoughtful and loving way.” Watching the film was like finding an old doll in your parents’ house and discovering that it had a message for you.

But Barbie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie were not alone. Theaters and streaming services have also been featuring Air, Tetris, BlackBerry, and Flamin’ Hot. According to The New York Times Magazine, the movie Air told the story of Nike’s game-changing sponsorship deal with Michael Jordan “and the world-conquering shoes that emerged from it.”

The film Tetris did the same for a video game, while...