CHURCH SIGNS: EVANGELINGO
Aug 3rd, 2009 by John
Julie and I intentionally pay attention to church signs that have sayings on them. On Saturday last we saw a church sign:
BE AN ORGAN DONOR
GIVE YOUR HEART TO JESUS
After we rolled our eyes and got over the mental jolt, we asked ourselves what purpose do these signs and sayings serve? What goes through the minds of unsuspecting people who are far from and miss God? Did Jesus suffer a heart attack with residual damage? Maybe I am too literal, I don’t know, but it seems real bloody to me. If I give my heart to Jesus, then I die. Is that it? What if everybody gives their heart to Jesus? What will he do with all those donated hearts?
We would like to think the saying is cute, but it’s not. It’s pathetic. It is gibberish to those unskilled in evangelingo—my word for insider-speak that requires the secret dictionary.
One of the most aggravating signs is this:
C H _ _ C H
WHAT’S MISSING?
U R
When we see this one we have an overwhelming feeling to turn into the parking lot, rush into the church crying, “We just don’t want to be missing anymore! God help us!” Do people really think that sign is doing anything at all redemptive? Or, are people who drive by suppose to think, “Why, aren’t they clever? Did you see that? U R. How so very clever.”
Why not some honest church signs:
GOSSIP SPOKEN HERE, or
WE WELCOME EVERYONE,
ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE JUST LIKE US.
I think the words “Jesus Saves” painted on a rock by the highway is still one of the best signs.
Popularity: 3% [?]
A lot of churches could have a sign that reads,
CHURCH
WHAT’S MISSING?
JESUS
[...] John Frye: Julie and I intentionally pay attention to church signs that have sayings on them. On Saturday [...]
Kim & I do the same thing. There some that we roll our eyes at, sigh, and move on. There are some that are down right offensive and almost inspire our inner arsonist.
Funny enough, facing the coldest summer we’ve had in years, we’ve seen several “This Church is Prayer Conditioned”.
Of course, THIS is a great use of church signs:
http://jdgreear.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/10/church-sign-war.html
I definitely agree with this writing. I often roll my eyes at church signs and wonder who the signs are really for. I wonder if these “cute” sayings actually attract anyone?
Better to be real than to be “cute” or “witty”, I say.
One time in college some friends of mine lived across the street from a church that had one of these signs. One night my friends and I decided it would be funny to rearrange the letters. What we got from the letters available was “We tie up old people behind the church.”
Now this may not have been the wisest thing to do, but it was funny! And maybe it made a statement to them. And it was 10+ Christian males doing this as well.
Funny, John, I just saw that exact same “Organ Donor” sign on a church down here in Ohio. Do these churches all receive the same “Corny and Probably Offensive Church Signs Newsletter”? On the flip side of this church’s sign was something that was, believe it or not, even worse: “Stop, Drop, and Roll Won’t Work in Hell.” All that says to me is that yes, we believe you are headed for eternal conscious torment — and it’s funny!
Can you tell that you’ve just hit on one of my pet peeves?
I guess I will be the lone voice of dissent here. Let me begin by making it clear that I don’t have strong feelings one way or another about such signs. To each his or her own. What bothers me is the ungracious attitude that I see expressed here to fellow co-workers in Christ. Those of you that might have real concerns about the signs, have you actually approached these churches and let them know? Or is it a lot easier to yuk it up at a fellow Christ followers expense? By the way, some might suggest that the title and subtitle of this blog could be guilty of “evangelingo.”
I’m responsible for the content on a digital sign at my church. I put the church’s name, service times, other events as needed and a short verse – a different one for each day of the month. I get favorable comments about those from folks in church and the community. I pick encouraging and reassuring ones, mostly; sometimes intriguing ones. I don’t try to be cute.
Although on the clock “slide” I have been known to put (where 00:00 represents the correct time) “It’s 00:00 – a good time to pray.”
Charles is no longer the lone voice of dissent. Sniping at “cute” church signs seems to be a pretty common sport. At the age of 42, I’ve only been a believer for about 3 years . . . but I did notice “cute” church signs during my non-believing years. I guess it never made me rush into a church and repent, but it did at least make me feel like the people at that church tried to have some fun. Actually, one of the first churches I decided to go into was one with such a sign. I figured they could be kind of fun to talk to. I suppose that makes me some sort of backwoods rube.
And I bet whomever is putting the words out on those signs has no idea they have offended so many people.
I’m not personally responsible for any signage, so I don’t know what goes into the decision making. I do get a creepy feeling when I read posts with a bunch of comments taking shots at the person for trying to be ‘cute’ though. I’m willing to bet that a fair bit of thought goes into the task each week. I’d also give the benefit of the doubt that the intentions are good.
Not sure why I decided to get in on this one – I guess I just felt the need to stand up for whoever put up the sign that is on trial here. Probably didn’t do a great job, but that’s my best attempt.
And now, coming back the next night and re-reading my comment, that sounds a bit harsh too. I don’t doubt good intentions of the posters here either. I’m sure there are valid points all around, and I think I’m heading back over to the sidelines until I can better learn to speak my feelings in love. Take care all.