Every day as I have the honor and privilege of driving past Liberty Baptist Church on my way to class. LBC is a small church located on the corner of Graves and Ivanhoe not to far from my house. Here is their website (and in case you were wondering...you need to look at the website to understand my point. Look closely...) :
Did you see it? Can you already tell why I'm upset? Do you understand why I want to take the long road to and from school sometimes? Well in case you missed it I will let you know. Liberty Baptist Church has the phrase "Come As You Are, Leave Better" attached to their website. To make it even better, they have a GIGANTIC sign on the outside of their church (right underneath the cross) with that phrase blaring across the front in huge letters. Oh and I forgot to mention...the background of the sign is an American flag. Thank you LBC for reminding us all that the Church is an American thing and should not be confused with some other "foreign" religion. After all, Jesus was born on the South Hill, right?
So that is why I am upset. I have to look at this sign everyday on my way to school. As we sat and talked about the implications of the incarnation, the theological truths of the Bible, and the actual Gospel message that needs to be shared with the world, I couldn't help but think about LBC. In all honesty, just makes me sad. True, it is fun to sit around and complain about how "they are wrong" or how "we should go steal that sign and burn it", but the truth is that they are trying their best to communicate the Gospel to outsiders. However, the way they are doing it is unhealthy and not missional.
I'm not sure I need to say much about the American flag background of the sign. That is a no no. God is everywhere, not just in the states, and His Church extends to all peoples and countries. "Come As You Are"? Sure, great, awesome. But what about that is missional? What about that statement makes it sound like the people in that congregation are leaving their building to try and share the message of Jesus Christ? To me it sounds as though they expect passers by to walk in, take a seat, and start giving 15% right off the bat. "Leave Better"? Don't get me started. This is Prosperity-Gospel at its finest. But hey, if it was my church I would probably have done the same. Who wants a huge sign that says, "Come As You Are, Leave with the really difficult, challenging, important, self-denying task of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ"? Not this guy (too much text to pay for...not enough money left for a new gym). I understand where the sign is coming from. Yes, we can come to church as we are. Yes, we will leave better people because of the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. But no, we should not expect people to simply walk in from the street without us making the effort to go to them and engage in their life and culture, not the other way around. And no, we should not set people up to think that life is going to be better as a result of going to church. Life is going to be hard. You will have to give up things that you do not want to give up. But eventually, the love and grace of Jesus Christ will allow us to live the life we are truly meant to have. That is the message that we should put on our signs.
Sean
