its funny how i need you when i'm broken, the rest of the time i think that i'm alright. the streetlights fade from view as i run away LATEST - PREVIOUS - NEXT - ARCHIVES February 8th, 2005 -Seriously... Are We Trying To Be Lame?          I'm going down one of the main streets here in Cambridge, and I go past a church that has the following on their sign: "If you jump to conclusions, you'll have a hard landing." Can somebody, anybody, please tell me what could possibly be going through somebody's head as they're putting this sign up? Because I can't figure it out. Not only is this super lame, but what does it even have to do with the Gospel? This sounds like something you'd find in a mass-produced fortune cookie. General, applying to nothing in specific, and dripping with cheese. Are we seriously trying to be lame? And of course this isn't the only bad church sign I've seen. Last summer during a heat wave, one church had this up: "At least it's not as hot as you-know-where." Seriously. That's what it said. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, or scream out in frustration. If the point of church signs is to try and get people to come in, we're doing a crappy job. In fact, I bet we push more people away by putting up cheesy catch phrases or 'Christianese' sayings. When non-Christians see these signs, do we seriously think they're going "Hey, that sounds neat. Oh boy, I want to go and find out more"? We probably either come across as some sort of cult that bathes in lamb's blood, or a sort of weird group of Ned Flanders's, depending on what our sign happens to say this week. Ok so here's a novel idea. Instead of just putting up a big huge sign that says "CH__CH: What's Missing?" and waiting to see what happens, why don't we actually get out there in our communities and talk to people. I know, it sounds crazy, but believe it or not this isn't a new idea. You see there was this guy that lived about 2000 years ago, and he did exactly that. He hung out with the destitute, the poor, the sick, the outcasts; these were the people that the religious leaders of the day would rather pretend didn't exist. He lived with them, encountered them on a daily basis, telling them about God, and showing them what it meant to be in relationship with Him by living it out. He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, and he definitely wasn't concerned about appearances. He didn't wait for people to come to Him, He went to them. Eventually people did start coming to him though, because his message was so infectious. His name was Jesus. Are cheesy sayings causing people to come seeking Him out? Is our message contagious, or confusing at best? I say forget about signs. Forget about church lingo all together. We need to be actively seeking people out and telling them about our relationship with God, so that they can see it. Become Infectious. C.W.