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
I admire your humility in what you posted in this comment Sean. As someone invested in missional work for the past few years, I greatly share your misgivings about that sign, or really signs in general.
There is something good about it, which is to affirm that Christians don’t expect you to have everything together in order to come to Jesus. But what would be greater would be to call Christians to “go as you are,” live life with your neighbors, embody the message of Jesus and witness to that there is a different Kingdom at work than how we usually view the world.
I admire your humility, but don’t give up on thinking critically. It’s much needed!
I owe an apology to LBC. My earlier post was not intended to attack or diminish the ministry or heart of the people in that church. The last few days I have been deeply convicted that my words were not only rude, but most likely wrong. I do not know the mission and heart of LBC and should not speak without that knowledge. I should have been more clear that I simply do not think the wording of the sign gives the whole mission of LBC. I don’t have to go there without knowing that they simply do not expect people to come in and then leave feeling better about themselves. However, the sign may give some people (specifically non-Christians) that impression and I feel as though that can be dangerous.
Again, I apologize. I looked at the speck in the wording of the sign instead of the plank in my own missional-lacking life and for that I am wholly and sincerely sorry.
May this poor decision on my part help us all to think more clearly before we speak and to approach controversial topics within the body with more grace and love than I had the courage to do so.
I agree completely. They probably do have the right intentions. They probably are really great people. They probably love God and want others to experience that. However, the initial delivery of the message is all that most non-Christians are going to ever hear or see. Poor delivery can definitely mean poor outreach and mission.
So… we never come away from church better than when we entered? And you’re sure that their message is prosperity gospel? What if their intent with the sign is to say that we come away more in-tune with God’s will for our lives, and thus, better? Poor delivery doesn’t necessarily equal poor message. It might be better to listen to the message and participate in its ministries before you lambaste it.