Ten years ago, hardly anyone had ever heard of the man Jabez. But thanks to the pen of Dr. Bruce Wilkinson, millions of people now immediately recognize the name. Only two verses in the Bible are devoted to this man, but it was enough for Dr. Wilkinson to begin a legacy. This is not to say that Jabez was inconsequential to the story of the Bible; but it becomes increasingly difficult to develop an entire devotional on 63 words. Of course, the devotional was small, and to be honest it wasn't as contrived as one might think although it was dangerously close to the precipice that is the "health and wealth gospel."
Where The Prayer of Jabez begins to spell doom for Christian popular culture is not in its premise, nor in the subsequent success of this little book. Instead, the Prayer of Jabez perfectly illustrates one of the darkest sides of Christian popular culture: niche marketing. A niche market is a narrowly defined group of consumers for which a particular product may be produced when it would otherwise not be for the general public. Men's Fitness magazine is marketing to a niche group: men who enjoy fitness. A woman is less likely to read a magazine about that particular topic.
Niche marketing can be profitable, even useful. But more often than not, it is taken to the extreme with popular culture hits. Movies are particularly vulnerable to niche marketing. If a movie is being marketed across broad audiences, you begin to see niche marketing tied in to the movie's release. Children's toys, speciality foods, etc. begin to surface and are all based upon the general public's interest in a product of popular culture.
Unfortunately, the evangelical community has proven exceptionally vulnerable to niche marketing. The Prayer of Jabez, for example, spawned countless additional products: The Prayer of Jabez Journal, The Prayer of Jabez Devotional (two versions: one for children, one for adults), The Prayer of Jabez for Women, and everything from mugs to Christmas ornaments. There were three editions of the book published for three different age groups of children. There was a musical companion: The Prayer of Jabez Music...A Worship Experience.
And what for? Could any of these additional products be justified from a book that was no more than 93 pages long? I will not answer my own question. Instead, I would propose that the Prayer of Jabez "phenomenon" illustrates a potential danger of Christian popular culture. That is, the pursuit of quantity over quality in order to capitalize on the success of a product of popular culture. Although I would concede it is harder to practice than to preach, I cannot help but believe it is more effective long term to create a quality product than to find financial success with countless niche products.
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