What is ODG?

ODG stands for “Old Dead Gangsters.” You may be wondering what this is, because same when I first heard of it. ODG is a Christian apparel line – now don’t start thinking of all the cheesy Jesus saying/verse shirts. The clothing that ODG designs not only is high quality, it is designed with purpose; to give a chance of opening a door to discussion about the Gospel!  There is a blog and podcast episodes that accompany the apparel store, helping to describe the meaning of sayings/designs on the apparel. The market that ODG is reaching is one that could have been thought to be already reached, but the fact that the company is so trendy and not just trying to shove Jesus in faces draws in more Christian teens / young adults.

Bear Fruit

This is the “Bear Fruit” shirt that ODG designed and sells. The meaning of this shirt is not only a reminder for believers but a question for nonbelievers, “Am I bearing fruit? / How is the Lord using me to bear fruit right now?” and for unbelievers – “What is bearing fruit? / Why is this so important to your faith?” I have seen several people with this shirt or laptop stickers around.

Here is the link to Bear Fruit apparel.

Don’t Eat Yellow Paint

Don’t Eat Yellow Paint, is a shirt that may take more explaining – and more people may ask what it means! It originated from a story going around about Van Gogh – that he wanted to eat yellow paint because the thought that could make him happy. This parallels the human condition, how so often we try to fill a Jesus sized hole with things other than Jesus. ODG writes, “We all have this painful desire for things that kill us. We hope they will make us happy, but they never actually do.” This shirt encourages us to remember to not just seek things that are temporary fixes but to ultimately seek Jesus.

Here is the link to Don’t Eat Yellow Paint apparel.

Overall, ODG does a great job reaching Christian youth, while spreading the Gospel and encouraging conversations about our King. This brand knows that “Christian apparel is usually lame” and “we decided to change that” – as the featured image of this post says; which is a photo from the ODG’s Facebook page.