I thought that this was a great article written by the Real Live Preacher (Gordon Atkinson). I've always struggled with church sign marketing - heck, church marketing as a whole. I've always liked the churches that say on their signs "All are welcome". Well, for one - I would certainly hope so. Secondly - if you have to announce that all are welcome, is it really true? Is it something like a mantra that your church has to chant over and over again to make sure that everyone knows that they need to be welcoming, or is a welcoming attitude ingrained in the life of the church, as it should be?
Anyway, my favorite quote from this article (and where I get the title of this post) is this:
Old Testament prophets lost their lives railing against such religion. Now their messages—as painful and relevant as ever—lie safely tucked behind the Song of Songs in a Bible section of odd lists and unread names: Micah, Amos, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, to name a few. Yet the Lord hates our unlived orthodoxy just as He hated their rote sacrifices. Ten thousand gallons of oil did not appease the Lord then. What can ten thousand words do for us now?
3 comments:
In response to the "All are welcome" sign:
The last church I was at, I watched this very thing happen...where an unfamiliar man walked to the entrance of the auditorium. One of our 'older' elders at the time saw him but did not acknowledge him right away. (I was in a glass room watching all this happen and the door was open enough for me to hear the conversation.) The man stood there long enough that I guess the elder felt guilty to ask him if he needed anything. The man told him he was looking for so and so. The elder told him that there was no one here by that name and that was all he said. Never invited him to come on in or anything. The man turned and left.
I sat in shame during the rest of the day b/c I didn't have the guts to deal with damage control myself. The more I thought the more I wondered if that was a test of God through invitation. An angel? I can still remember that so vividly. So who really is welcome in churches today? Those that 'Look' the part or is anyone?
I love the prophets because they are so relevant to religion today.
I just finished a study on Jonah,Amos and Joel I always think of the Old Testament as not being relevant but those books totally opened my eyes..it was like I was reading about today
I'm not a fan of the "church signs" either I like the emails that make fun of the signs :)
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