Another one for the files
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
I couldn’t resist posting this one today. Not only do I not make this stuff up, I don’t even have to go far to find it. Both signs (yesterday’s and today’s) were sighted within two miles of my house. I’m happy to report that my home church’s marquee (a quarter of a mile away) still lists only the service times.
[In case you scrolled down for more commentary, I'm happy to report that I accomplished my once a month shopping trip to Wal-Mart Supercenter last night. Due to the extensive brain and brawn that feat requires, I bring to the table only this five minute post. Maybe I'll be out of recovery tomorrow. Or maybe not.]
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I can only IMAGINE what their “messages” are like.
Comment by Miss O'Hara (May 18, 2005 @ 12:22 pm )
Oh, yuck.
I’d give yourself at least a full day for recovery:) And I’d love some tips on how to accomplish a once-a-month walmart trip:)
Comment by Shannon Miller (May 18, 2005 @ 1:12 pm )
American Idol? I’d say that we aren’t to worship “idols”–what a bazaar thing for a church to say. We are to worship God alone…the real Jesus Christ of scripture. He is not an idol. Ugh!
Certainly the true Jesus Christ is not the one who America is worshipping.
I’m a once a monther Wal-marter as well.
Comment by Jul (May 18, 2005 @ 1:52 pm )
There is a church near ours that sometimes comes up with groaners like that one. The worst was some awful thing about Victoria’s Secret that I have mercifully forgotten.
I suppose people who put up these “messages” do so in the hopes of being hip and relevant and catchy, and thus intriguing passersby enough so they will visit the church. But I can’t help but thinking that if I was a nonchristian, such statements would only confirm my suspisions that most Christians were nut jobs.
Comment by Rebecca (May 18, 2005 @ 2:02 pm )
We see one every Sunday on our way to church. The words are not so bothersome to us, it’s the fact that a Reverend Nancy is the pastor. Ugh.
Comment by Janet (May 18, 2005 @ 3:01 pm )
What I really want to know is what the number if to phone in and vote to keep our favorite in the show.
Comment by Kim in ON (May 18, 2005 @ 5:26 pm )
The newest billboard to just spring up near our house says:
“As my apprentice, you’re never fired”
Signed . . . God
I’m not really sure how I feel about these large black messages. I think it’s pretty bold to make something up and sign it “God”.
My favorite church sign said, “Stop, drop and roll won’t work in hell.”
Comment by Tim (May 18, 2005 @ 7:32 pm )
Our old church–Do you want a cool treat? Try one of our Sundays! (It was next door to a dairy bar–ugh.)
Comment by Lyn (May 18, 2005 @ 8:22 pm )
Liquor store marquee - “Give us a SHOT!”
Church across the street - “Better yet, give us a SHOT!”
Comment by Heather L. Sanders (May 18, 2005 @ 11:26 pm )
I repent.
How could I mock church signs, after reading this, from “Why a Sign Ministry” at http://kregel.gospelcom.net/Sentence_Sermons/why.html
Comment by Rebecca (May 19, 2005 @ 12:00 am )
Wow, I mangled the comment above! I meant to quote this, but it mysteriously didn’t appear in my lame attempt at doing a blockquote:
The reasons are many and compelling. First and formost, is the fact that it helps the church reach out to the lost and hurting and helps them fulfill the “Great Commission.” Some churches have thousands of people passing their church each day many of whom are, as Thoreau said, “living lives of quiet desperation.” A church sign with a message of hope can make a big difference. A church sign ministry saved a man’s life in Michigan and it could make a difference in your area. Even if a person passing by never entered the church, if a bit of truth on the church sign helped them in their daily walk with God, it would be worth it.
A church sign will bring new people to the church where they can be fed the word and have their lives changed. It is an established fact that people are drawn to a church because of what they see on a church sign. The leading church sign company in the country says that a church sign will actually pay for itself over a period of time just in the contributions of new members who come to the church because o the sign.
We can also be assured by our Christian beliefs that if we are faithful to put the truth of God on our church sign the Holy Spirit will use that truth in the lives of people passing by. We may never know all the ways the truth is used but we know it will be used. We can assume that God is working in the lives of many, perhaps most if not all, of the thousands who pass by and the bits of truth we put on our church sign will be used.
So in summary every church should develop an effective church sign ministry for these reasons:
1. It’s a part of fulfilling your churches calling to carry out the “Great Commission.”
2. The bits of truth can help people in their daily walk of life.
3. The sign will bring new people to the church.
4. The sign will pay for itself and give the church a new outreach ministry.
5. The Holy Spirit will use God’s truth to touch the lives of people passing by.
Some more “sophisticated” churches might resisit church sign ministries and consider them “gimmicky,” but for the reasons above all churches with an opportunity to reach people passing by should reach out with an effective sign ministry.
Comment by Rebecca (May 19, 2005 @ 12:04 am )
Rebecca,
Thanks for finding that and sharing. Since this post is getting buried under the new post today, I hope you still see this!
When the author says, “…if we are faithful to put the truth of God on our church sign the Holy Spirit will use that truth in the lives of people passing by,” the problem is that churches are putting up fruitcake and/or borderline heretical sayings, not the Truth of God’s Word.
Anyway, thanks for contributing that. I know that there are churches out there who see this as a ministry, and I hope they continue on.
Comment by Amy's Humble Musings (May 19, 2005 @ 7:39 am )
I thought signs had passed away….
Comment by Greg (May 19, 2005 @ 8:24 am )
Godblog Funnies
There is funny stuff out there, really funny stuff.
Trackback by Blogotional (May 19, 2005 @ 9:07 am )
*choke* *sputter* *gag*
[speechless]
Comment by Valerie (Kyriosity) (May 19, 2005 @ 3:15 pm )
I would really love to know why this is causing such a up roar on this blog. As Rebecca shows in her post, this is a form of a ministry, and is at my church. Personally I think it is great that many people pass signs like these and for a brief momment think about things pertaining to God rather than whatever else maybe preoccupying their mind.
The sign says:
“Our ‘American idol’ is Jesus, who sings the song of salvation.”
idol - 4 : an object of extreme devotion.
Jesus - 1 : the Jewish religious teacher whose life, death, and resurrection as reported by the Evangelists are the basis of the Christian message of salvation — called also Jesus Christ.
Salvation - 1 a : deliverance from the power and effects of sin b : the agent or means that effects salvation.
Amy, what exactly is your problem with this?
{{{Candleman}}}
Comment by Candleman (May 19, 2005 @ 9:03 pm )
Candleman,
I don’t think most passers-by have the time to whip out their Webster’s and look up definition 4 for “idol”. But, while you’re over at dictionary.com take a look at the difference between “Connotation” and “Denotation”.
I can see Moses introducing Yahweh to the Israelites: “Yahweh – He’s our ‘Ra’”
Or, John the Baptist: “Behold our ‘Zeus’ who takes away the sins of the world.”
In the immortal words of Mamie, “It ain’t fittin’! It just ain’t fittin’
Comment by Norm (May 19, 2005 @ 9:42 pm )
[...] merican Idol” is Jesus, Who Sings the Song of Salvation That is an actual sign on a Lutheran church marquee. And I find that a humbling reminder of how apos [...]
Pingback by Rick’s Watchtower » Jesus: Your “American Idol”? (May 19, 2005 @ 10:21 pm )
Candleman,
THanks for writing and sharing your concerns. I can appreciate the fact that there are churches who use their signs in a God-honoring way. I don’t think the “outrage” is concerning church’s using their signs to reach people, but rather it’s the cheap theology, cheesy sayings, and yes, even sometimes heretical fluff talk that people are reacting to.
When God declared himself to be the “I Am”, He communicated that His Name is holy. Jesus called himself, “The Way”, “The Good Shephard”, “The Truth”, “The Vine”, etc. to reveal more of His nature to finite beings. Comparing the God who wrote Isaiah 6 to half-naked teenagers dancing for ratings just doesn’t seem right, no matter the motive.
Thanks for stopping by my site, Candleman, and the Lord’s blessing to you,
Amy Scott
Comment by Amy's Humble Musings (May 19, 2005 @ 10:28 pm )
There’s a church marquee in our area that says, “Long hair freaky people can apply. Everyone is welcome at Hilltop.” It drives me nuts everytime I pass it.
Comment by Amy Inge (May 20, 2005 @ 2:01 pm )
Once I read a marquee that said, “Raising teenagers is like nailing jello to a tree.” That one made me mad. Is that the kind of attitude Christian parents are suppose to have towards their children? (Answer: NO!)
Comment by Amy Inge (May 20, 2005 @ 2:15 pm )
Amy,
Well, guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree. I guess we must be coming from two entirely different perspectives. I see nothing “cheap” and certainly nothing “herectical”, in this sign. I don’t want to take up anymore of your comment space, so I blog about it a here.
{{{Candleman}}}
Comment by Candleman (May 23, 2005 @ 12:51 am )
Well, I can see by all your comments about church signs that the signs are doing their jobs and that is getting peoples’ attention. I am our church sign caretaker and believe me it is a big responsibility but, it is a responsibilty that I enjoy doing. Please keep this in mind, the people who do these signs may not always put up sayings that are perfect or pleasing to everyone but, they do show that someone cared enough to do the job. I see so many churches that have signs that no one cares enough to bother with and it is sad to see this. I would much rather see a church sign with a “not so perfect” message on it than a church sign that says absolutely nothing at all. I have asked friends, family, neighbors and anyone else that I know to look for things that I can use on our church sign and this has helped some of them, who by the way never go to church or read their Bibles, to become very involved and learn about our Lord. I have them involved from the youngest right on up to the oldest and each one has the biggest smile on their face when they bring me messages for the sign. I always thank each one and I never, never refuse anything they bring to me. As you can see, a church sign reaches far beyond what is put on the marquee in front of the church. Here is some food for thought, the next time you see a church sign that you feel is in bad taste or inappropriate, rather than talking bad about it to others or wanting to contact the pastor and tell him how offended you were by the sign, why not send the church a letter with some church sign messages that you think would be good to use it’s sign? You do not have to give your name or return address and you can just say you want to be of help with the sign ministry. I am sure the sign caretaker would be happy for the help. Love to all, Yvonne
Comment by Yvonne (November 9, 2005 @ 11:10 am )
I think church signs show some “LIFE” from the church to the passerbyers who don’t ever come in to see the life IN the church.
It shows them that their is life in the church when passerbyers see announcements of church activities and worship services.
AND- When someone takes the time to add a personal message, such as a church sign saying, it touches the human side and drawns people in the church
- where in turn, through God’s preached and taught word INSIDE, they can be touched spiritually.
For those whose job it is to post the sign sayings at each church - this is a very serious job. We will be held accountable to the Lord for what we have said and so with that in mind ….. we’d better not add to or take away from the word of God (as stated in Revelation 22:18-19) I am in charge of our sign and I ‘weed through’ many and keep with the ones which reflects God’s Words in the Bible. Some of the crazy ‘worldly’ attention getters that have been mentioned on this website are a BAD reflection on the church.
God is not going to bless the church or the passerbyer with such signs……….. AND ISN’T THAT THE REASON FOR CHURCH SIGNS?! - To praise the Lord - To reach out to the lost and draw them in to God’s house?!
Attention getters are great when they speak a pure godly message and don’t mingle with the world.
My rule of thumb - I ask myself: ‘How would a lost person
interpret this sign?’ ‘Could this sign in any way reflect badly on God or the church?’
When in doubt - leave it out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Above all - pray about a sign saying. God has his ways of letting you know if it’s an acceptable saying.
PRAY OVER A SIGN?!?!- you may be saying….. Yes, because we should pray over all works that we do for our Lord.
May God lead us all as we witness to the world !
Comment by Sheila (January 20, 2006 @ 3:26 pm )
Hmm . . . I wasn’t aware that Jesus was an American.
Comment by Rae Whitlock (February 18, 2006 @ 3:23 pm )
When I say :
May God lead us all as we witness to the world! ,
I mean - every Christian in every country around the world
and not just Americans.
No ones nationality matters.
Sheila
Comment by Sheila (February 20, 2006 @ 12:59 pm )
As a church secretary, I can see that what is put on our sign needs to be well thought out.
Comment by Anonymous (June 23, 2006 @ 1:15 pm )
I can’t believe most of you are dissing the church signs. These signs are real eye catchers. Every time I see a new saying up I think thats real clever. This is a ministry to try and get people into church.
Comment by amy (July 11, 2006 @ 12:02 pm )
i’d actually tune into that edpisode of american idol.
wow,
zena
Comment by zena (July 10, 2007 @ 1:11 pm )
i mean episode.
Comment by zena (July 10, 2007 @ 1:12 pm )