Church signs are a mixed bag. You never quite know what you’re going to read as you pass. Sometimes, the messaging is incredibly clever and inspires a good laugh. At others, it is utterly cringeworthy and elicits an uncomfortable eye roll. And, at others still, the signs simply provide information about the church. Here are a few examples I’ve personally seen in recent months.
“Ch_ _ch… What’s missing? U R!”
“Don’t let worries kill you. Let the church help.”
“Don’t believe in Hell? Come hear this Sunday’s sermon.”
I realize that different people receive these messages in different ways. I respect those charged with caring for church signs and appreciate the struggle to find interesting, inspiring, engaging, and appropriate messaging on a regular basis. It does make me wonder, though: Does what we advertise match what people experience when they walk through the doors of our churches?
Many years ago, I saw a church sign that read, “JAVA, JEANS, AND JESUS… COME AS YOU ARE!” The sign advertised an alternative service the church was running on Sunday evenings. I loved the idea. At the time, the American fixation with coffee was just beginning to take off, wearing jeans to a church service was still very unusual, and many churches were looking for innovative ways to connect people with Jesus. It seemed like a winning combination to me, and still does!
We must make every effort to make sure the outworking of our lives aligns with the good news we proclaim.
I mentioned the sign to some of the students in my youth ministry thinking we might be able to “borrow” pieces of the idea and messaging. One of my students pushed back against the idea. She noted that some friends of hers had wandered into that church on Sunday evening to check it out. They walked in as they were, wearing jeans, t-shirts, and baseball hats. As they made their way into the sanctuary, a man stopped them and told them they couldn’t come in with their hats on. So, they turned around and left. The failure of the church to meet the expectations they created through their advertisement on their sign resulted in disinterest in the message they were seeking to share.
When our actions and attitudes fail to align with the truth we proclaim it creates a cognitive dissonance that serves as a distraction to the truth we proclaim. It often does incredible damage to our ability to make a difference in the world. Whether it be on t-shirts we wear, bumper stickers we paste on our vehicles, messages we share, songs we sing, or even simple signs in front of our churches, we must practice what we preach. We must make every effort to make sure the outworking of our lives aligns with the good news we proclaim.
The life of the messenger will go a long way in establishing or invalidating the message.
We sing songs about the amazing grace of God, advertising that it has the power to forgive, to set free, and to make new. Do people see and experience that grace when they interact with us? Do we extend forgiveness to those who have wronged us? Do we help free others from heavy burdens that weigh them down? Do we work for the restoration of those who are broken? We preach a gospel that claims to seek and save the lost, to comfort the lonely, and welcome the outsider and unwanted. Are we willing to serve those who are hurting with compassion and kindness? Are we willing to let people come as they are, even when they aren’t like us? Are we attempting to align our actions and attitudes with those Christ demonstrates towards us?
In I John 3:18 we’re encouraged, “Dear children, let us not love with words of speech but with actions and in truth.” This is a reminder we need early and often. The message in our words is extremely important. As Paul notes in Romans 10, people can’t believe a truth they’ve never heard, and they can’t hear unless someone tells them. But, of equal importance is the lives lived by those doing the telling. The life of the messenger will go a long way in establishing or invalidating the message. The signs in front of our churches have some value. But, it’s the lives of those who gather inside that speak the loudest.
