Church: Jesus does not care

Posted on October 20, 2010
Viewed 1479 times
(52) comments

Another day, another church marketing campaign. This one, by a church in Mansfield, includes a sign that simply says JesusDoesntCare.com. It seems that even if Jesus doesn't care... some people in the community do; and they're not taking too kindly to the churches newest sign campaign.

According to the pastor: “We created something quite compelling, didn't we?”

Here's the video from the local NBC affiliate:

I'm thinking of starting a new business... ordering domain names that would be great for this kind of marketing campaigns, then selling them to churches. Whatdaya think?

Any suggestions for domain names I should snatch up?

Maybe something like:

JesusThinksYoureUgly.com

BoycottHell.com

IfYoureHappyAndYouKnowItComeToChurch.com

Todd

SOURCE: NBCActionNews.com

Comments

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Peter Hamm on Sat, October 23, 2010

Yeah, Leonard, better uses for pearls…

Amos, I’m glad if I offended you.
A. Amos Love on Sat, October 23, 2010

Peter

No, you haven’t offended me. Just being a servant.
Have known many, very passionate for the things of God,
like yourself, who have believed the lie…

When you believe the lie - you start to die…

The only folks Jesus gave a hard time to were the religious leaders.
Jesus hung out with the sinners and tax collectors.

Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from **the error of his way** shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Jas 5:20

Just remember…

It’s the things you learn after - you know it all - that really counts.

Jesus loves me this I know…
jud on Sat, October 23, 2010

As a general rule of thumb when I here of ANY fellowship being called “_____’s Church I avoid it like the plague. I also avoid Pastors who are beholden to men.

Both of these attributes are common.
Christopher Fontenot on Sun, October 24, 2010

Peter,
For someone who chose days ago to quit engaging me, you seem a little amped up. My comments were about the original post. I agreed with CS’s example of what I believe to be typical of most “Christian” mega-churches or mega-church wannabes in America. My contention with all these “great ideas for ministry” or “ways to increase growth” is instead of pastors and elders standing on the sovereignty of God in salvation, His promise to build and grow His church, and the truth of Scripture to strengthen and edify the elect as well as convert the hard heart, they resort to secular marketing techniques in order to make Jesus look cool or hip.
The billboard is a bad idea. It is a lie…and a lie about my God and King.
I understand your prayers for me to go away. It hurts when the truth of Scripture convicts us of worldliness. I will continue, however, to point out error and worldliness when I see it as I earnestly contend for the faith. Why would anyone who loves God and completely trusts in Him for His perfect provision ever attempt to “improve” His plan of salvation. Unfortunately, if you are a pastor of a church, of say 200 believers, and your congregation never grows larger than that, there isn’t a conference in America that will invite you as keynote speaker. You may be pastor of the most evangelistic “small” church in your state but if you’ve not written a best seller or presided over the construction of a multi-million dollar sanctuary then you are not considered a success by the hierarchy of Christinity in America.
I refuse to sacrifice God’s plan of salvation at the altar of unity or non-judgmentalism or the ideas of secular marketing. Your “harshness” is not offensive to me, just ironic and hypocritical. You often tale my sarcasm personally when it usually isn’t about you. You often do what you accuse me of, which is to make comments made in general to be about you. I find it funny.
I would love for Christian churches to get back to the Biblical mandates of Scripture. Teaching the whole counsel of God to the congregation, telling the world how they can have their sins washed away and given the gift of eternal life, taking care of the poor and the orphans and the widows, and being salt and light. God will grow His church with broken and converted sinners at the rate He decides instead of men boasting of numbers of cards signed or “sinner’s prayer” prayed because “plants” lured them to the front while we played 2 more stanzas of emotionally stirring music.

Scripture
Leonard on Sun, October 24, 2010

I do not want you to go away because your words convict me but because you are a one trick pony that does not enter into discussion here. You come in, blast people, condemn people, judge pastors and leaders, of which you are neither. You remind me of those believers who hide behind their view of the sovereignty of God so they can be a bully.

You know nothing of being a pastor but really want to judge them. You lack the maturity of person to engage and learn. You lack the humility to consider that your offensiveness is just that, YOUR offensiveness.

You treat people here who disagree with you as godless compromising pagans who do not get it. What is sad is that very often you are not even clued into what we are talking about, you assume and fire away.

The only page you want to take from Jesus’ book is how he turned over some tables and scolded the Pharisees. You CF ARE THE Pharisee.

In the time you have been here at MMI, I cannot remember you actually entering into an intelligent and healthy dialog with someone on a mature and respectful plane.

Sadly, you will hear these words and tell yourself, like with Peter’s words, it must be because I am right and they are convicted. You lack the wisdom and self awareness to consider the possibility that Peter and myself speak these words are because YOU are abrasive, bullying and rude and speak from that which you do not know.

It is time CF to GROW UP or GO AWAY.
Peter Hamm on Sun, October 24, 2010

Leonard,

Amen!
A. Amos Love on Sun, October 24, 2010

Christopher

Whether you�re in sympathy with my conclusions or not.
Your comments are much appreciated. And your heart, your Spirit.
Thanks for standing up, and speaking against �Christian Marketing.�

Seems Jesus didn�t have the ability to use �Worldly Marketing Techniques.�
Jesus had to resort to doing nothing of Himself. But what the Father showed Him to do.

John 5:19
...The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do:
for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

All Jesus could do was…
Preach the Kingdom of God, heal the sick, and cast out demons.
And taught �His Disciples� to �Go� and do the same.
Then tell them - �The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.�

John 20:21
....as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Luke 10:9
And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them,
The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

Mat 10:7-8
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils:
freely ye have received, freely give.

Much agreement with…

�The more I read of the posts by the defenders of �marketing Christianity,� the more I am convinced that **the Church** in America has forgotten its first love.�

�they resort to secular marketing techniques in order to make Jesus look cool or hip.�

�The billboard is a bad idea. It is a lie�and a lie about my God and King.�

�It hurts when the truth of Scripture convicts us of worldliness.�

�**God will grow His church** with broken and converted sinners **at the rate He decides** instead of men boasting of numbers of cards signed or �sinner�s prayer� prayed because �plants� lured them to the front while we played 2 more stanzas of emotionally stirring music.�

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold:
them also I must bring, and they shall �hear My voice;�
and there shall be �ONE� fold, and �ONE� shepherd.
John 10:16

One Fold � One Shepherd � One Voice.

{{{{{{ Jesus
A. Amos Love on Sun, October 24, 2010

jud

Much agreement with..
�ANY fellowship being called �_____�s Church I avoid it like the plague.�

Yes, you hear that all the time. �John Pipers Church� �Ed Young’s Church�

Or, who ever the local popular guy is. �Are you going to Peters church?�

Or, who started a fellowship. Went to the IRS for approval and asked if they
could be called �A Church.� And became a Gov�t approved, Gov�t inspected,
501 (c) 3, non-profit, Tax $ Exempt, Religious $ Corporation. (church of man)

I don�t remember Jesus shedding �His Blood� for a building, an institution,
a denomination, an organization, or a $ Corporation.

Should we call a Gov�t approved $ Corporation �The Church of God?�
AAAARRRGGHHH!!!

Also hear mere human pastors say, �MY church.� �My flock.� �MY people.�

No. Jesus shed �His Blood� for �His Church,� �His People.� �His Flock.�

Acts 20:28
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock,
over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers,
to feed **the church of God,** which he hath *purchased with his own blood.*

The ekklesia, the called out one�s, belong to God. Never to a mere human.
Jesus…. the head of the body, (the ekklesia, the called out one�s) �The church.�

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold:
them also I must bring, and they shall �hear My voice;�
and there shall be �ONE� fold, and �ONE� shepherd.
John 10:16

One Fold � One Shepherd � One Voice.

{{{{{{ Jesus }}}}}}
Christopher Fontenot on Sun, October 24, 2010

So now I am a one trick pony. Where in this forum has there ever been the lauding of church discipline done correctly or a pastor refusing to deny the truth of Scripture even to his own hurt? This forum is full of the promotion of Christianity Marketing 101.

Sept 22…a story of how to get young people back into a dying church. The answer was to cooperate with the tastes of the youth….Entertainment trumps the Gospel.

Oct 18…Homer Simpson is a catholic….very edifying! Then we get to vote on the denomination of cartoon characters…

Sept 21…Church Shopping Network…good to see posts that rightly criticized the idea of being able to shop the church you want to attend based on preaching and worship style. Style IS key. Noticed not too many posts by Leonard or Peter criticizing the critics…hmm

March 11…15 Minute Quickie Church Service is Increasing Attendance….Todd thinks that you can deliver a well tailored message in 6 minutes. I wonder how much work has to be put into the proper Biblical study for a six minute message? How about actually teaching the Bible to the believers in your church? Those hungry for God’s Word will stay and the pretenders will leave. This will free up the pastor’s time he must devote to coddling the unbelievers with all their problems so that he can focus on the real job of the Church.

These are just a few examples of the silliness of so-called issues so consuming the American Church that Todd must post them on his blog. If the Church in America were to really be the Church, Todd’s blog posts would be about the relentless persecutions of pastors, leaders, and laity similar to Voice of the Martyrs…yes even in America.

I am usually wrong, more often than not. But I want every man to be a liar and God be true. I am not arguing with creativity or ingenuity but the stupidity of modern Church outreaches and ministry at the expense of abandoning sound Biblical instruction. Cut people’s grass and clean up their yards? Fantastic idea….just use the opportunity to share the Gospel. Wash cars, give away water, offer free food…all these are great but fail if we never tell them the truth. I say this because of my experience in Baton Rouge with two huge churches who do incredible outreaches but fail to tell anyone about the Gospel.

All these tricks to “draw the curious” as though they are really curious. How can anyone come to Christ UNLESS the Father draws them? This sign will do nothing evangelistic. The reason I say this is because if the church leaders at this church thinks this will be effective in getting the lost to come to church, they will have to compromise the message of the cross in order to not offend any of them. Thus, they will not be preaching the Gospel. Thus, it will be ineffective to save a single soul. All that effort and controversy for nothing.
Leonard on Sun, October 24, 2010

CF… thanks for proving my point. sigh
Peter Hamm on Mon, October 25, 2010

Christopher,

Amos,

http://www.gapingvoid.com/youre missing the point.jpg

(wish I could image-tag that)
Peter Hamm on Mon, October 25, 2010

Christopher,

may I add…

It’s clear that you don’t like this site… So… may I recommend that you see if you can find some that you do like? Ken Silva? Ingrid Schlueter?

More importantly, Leonard, I gotta know, what exactly are you kissing in the photo that appears here. I can’t quite make it out.

Peter
Steve Long on Wed, November 03, 2010

I think I fully agree with the comments Amos has made even if an argument has been posed that he has drifted from the centerline of the original subject. Visible church in North America is fairly gimmick driven and it makes sense to me to ask why things have come to this. One of them may well be that we have wandered from the scriptural example and teaching on church governance and the unconscious onus of church growth has been placed on the shoulders of a single, key man with a title that is unscriptural and responsibilities that were meant to be shared by a group of old in the faith guys..elders. My ideal picture of healthy, vital church governance in action is in Acts 15. There we find leaders in the Jerusalem church in a discussion about Jewish observances and Christian life. After a consensus had been reached a letter was drafted for the church in Antioch that included this line, ” 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us..”. Who is us, the ‘Pastor’ of the Jerusalem church? NO! The vision of the Holy Spirit was worked in the midst of all of the leaders present. Putting a single man into a role that God did not give to a single man (but to an eldership) with a title that usurps one of the functions of the local Eldership has made Church in North America weak. Pastors are given credit for possessing an extra measure of the Spirit and there is nothing in scripture that supports that notion. As the ‘voice’ of the congregation they acquire leverage that is hard to keep on the rails when they begin to have secret problems. And as the voice of the congregation they become hard to replace when they misbehave. We are surrounded by a celebrity (idol) worshipping culture (consider the program ‘American Idol’) and new converts bring that misguided idea into the local church and focus it on the guy up front. Of course they lose their balance after a while! Persistant worship in the form of people gushing that Pastor ‘so-and-so is so amazing leaves it’s mark if allowed unchecked.
Elders should be visible and active in preaching and teaching and those that preach/teach should also be compensated for it. And the Pastor…well he shold accept a title that is more scriptural like say…minister, or preacher (ecclesiastes). Minister works because it is a synonym for servant//a picture of one who serves the body of Christ. I must work one little scriptural kink out of these comments. Didn’t Jesus say that the greatest among us would be the Pastor of all? I could have that wrong but if it is it is the only thing I have wrong here.
I think Amos is on to something and it is possible that because others who are posting here are part of the Pastor system that they are feeling a bit pinched by his comments. Amos, there may only be two of us here but I think I see what you see. The Emperor has no clothes.
Peter Hamm on Wed, November 03, 2010

Steve,

Maybe you and Amos should go off and start a blog about how awful all the pastors are and how they should quit their jobs.

But not here, please…

Thanks,
Peter
Steve Long on Wed, November 03, 2010

So you run this site Peter? I thought that this zone allowed open comment. I didn’t realize that there was a site policeman here regulating content. I know this sounds sassy and I admit it is. I think that you are a bit bossy here though and although you do mind hearing an opinion that does not echo yours I don’t, and I can see by the gentleness of Amos’s remarks that he is disposed like I am. If people do not see things my way (like you do not) that is just fine with me. I am not about to send you packing but I would urge you instead to think about the comments and make a rebuttal. The reason I comment here is because I am teachable. Perhaps the reason that you comment here is because you see yourself as teacher. Teach on!