A Christian Book Cover?

What comprises a good Christian book cover?

So I'm currently writing a book myself. Therefore, I think about what makes a book pop off the shelf. People taking casual strolls in bookstores pick up books with eye-catching, interesting, or thought provoking covers. Find a good cover, and we hope we also find a good book inside. Immediately below are my thoughts on the most ironic and therefore probably most popular design of a pop Christian book cover as our contemporary American Christian evangelical audience would articulate it.

The front cover would be a businessman sitting on a wooden bench on a dock watching the sunrise over the morning's colorful waters. The man is pictured as being in a relaxed, reflective state as he gazes out over the waters and gets lost in the beautiful scenery. The man has on an expensive business suit, ready to go to work. He holds in his hand a cup of Starbucks or perhaps Caribou coffee, which of course costed him an ungodly amount of money. In his other hand he holds his gold trimmed Bible. Now of course his Bible is leather bound and has his full name written on the lower right hand corner of the front cover. This too obviously necessitated forking out an ungodly amount of money.

Doesn't the scene created start to paint the picture of a man, a successful businessman, moving places, but taking a little time to relax before God, prior to embarking on the rest of his hectic work day? Of course it does! And there is an attempt so that the average Joe Christian can connect with this peaceful image in some way, in hopes that he picks up the book thinking, "this man seems to be relaxed, peaceful, and have it together, I want some of that." So we pick up this book and other such books who inner pages match up to the ideals that this front cover depicts. These texts skyrocket to number one on Christian bookstores bestsellers lists.

But I ask you a scandalous question, "What's so Christian about, "this man seems to be relaxed, peaceful, and have it together, I want some of that."? This may be Christianity, but this could also be a whole lot of other philosophies as well!

Here is my version of a Jesus type of cover. Here is a man worn out. Here is a man with dirty feet. This man doesn't have gelled and slicked back hair, in fact, quite frankly, this man flat out smells and could use a shower. Here is a man who has bags underneath his eyes. Here is a man who has no place to lay his head. This is Jesus. And as if a cover could say this much....but I'll continue anyways. Jesus walks past the finely dressed businessman sitting on the dock. Jesus gestures back to you, the businessman and woman who has picked up this book and says, "I want you to walk on these waters today. I want you to stop just looking at them. I didn't create you so that you could sit on a dock and peer out across the waters. I created you to walk on the waters with me. No sitting on the bench with a silly reflective hazy gaze out across the morning waters. Come walk on them with me. Put down the $4 coffee, come after me. If you're truly crazy about me you'll follow me on these waters."