From here:
It shines out in the night like a beacon of light, attracting the attention of all passers by.
Of course, if you are going to put a gigantic sign screaming ‘Scumbags Welcome!’ on the road side you probably didn’t intend it to do much else.
The pastor of Lake County church, Florida, hopes that the controversial billboard will help bring people closer to God.
Moses Robbins, of the Saturday Night Live (SNL) church, put the billboard up along Highway 441 between Tavares and Leesburg.
In less than a week, he said the phone has been ringing off the hook – not from Scumbags wanting to be welcomed – but from people criticising it and its message.
But Robbins said there is nothing vulgar about the sign and he doesn’t care if it offends people, assuring this was not his goal.
He said that for people to understand they must read the Bible verse Mark 2:13-17, in which Jesus eats with sinners and tax collectors, to realise what inspired the billboard.
The SNL church’s novel approach to advertising makes a refreshing contrast to that of the typical inclusive church; let’s hope that, unlike liberal churches who love to include everyone except committed Christians, those who attend are encouraged to become less scummy.
In a sense the sign nails it. Given that our righteousness is nothing but filthy rags, we are all scumbags without the blood of Jesus. Encouraging people to become “less scummy” is okay – but can easily cross over into legalism and efforts to manage one’s sin on one’s own; forgetting that, without the grace of God, all efforts at becoming “less scummy” are a total waste of time.
True, but a church that preaches only justification and ignores sanctification is antinomian.
Antinomianism is about the last thing I’d worry about in relation to American evangelicalism. Between the legacy of the Puritans, Wesley and Finney (to name just a few), the current step children of the Moral Majority, and good old American individualism, the pendulum generally swings pretty hard in the opposite direction. Have you read anything about the SNL Church to suggest that they’re bucking the trend?
We’ve had some excellent teaching on grace in our community group at church over the last six months. The teacher is a senior director with Navigators, and he has been able to draw upon his relationship with Christian leaders across the US in giving examples. It has been interesting to observe the almost knee-jerk reaction of many in the class to some of the things he’s said.
No, I was responding to the appearance that you might be advocating it, an appearance I subsequently ascribed to your compulsive contrariness.
Compulsive contrariness. I think my wife will get a chuckle from that.
My wife thinks you nailed it. Since most of your original posts are contrary to something, does that mean we need to go to therapy together? (Note that this comments is subsequent to the one immediately below – but I didn’t have the option of replying to the one below.)
Ignore the above note – the comment did appear in the right place.
Possibly, but I imagine we should see therapists with opposing psychological methodologies.
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