The Billboard

Yesterday around 11:00 I got a call from KNWA television station.  They had heard that this billboard had been put up right above our church's billboard on I-540:

The station wanted to come interview me and get a comment on what our reaction was to the billboard, both its message and its placement.  At first, I thought it was sad that it was placed right above ours (though the United Coalition of Reason representative said that was coincidental).  I also thought it was sad that they would be encouraging people to live life without God.  However, as I was thinking about what my on-camera response would be (I had about an hour to come up with something to say!), I began to think about it in terms of opportunity rather than conflict.

Seeing this billboard will not make any Christians re-think their position on Christianity.  But seeing this billboard may cause someone who is searching and exploring whether there is more to life than this to reflect.  Any opportunity to get people thinking about God and the possibility of a life where Jesus Christ is at the center is a good thing.  To get people to explore the message of the Gospel and take a closer look at all that a life with Christ offers - love, forgiveness, salvation, grace, peace, community - is good for Christianity and for us here at Central.  You can watch the news story here.

Because our message is right below theirs, we have a unique opportunity to respond.  Our response will be critical, as the culture is expecting condemnation from Christians toward those in this atheist group.  In my opinion, that is not helpful to the cause.  All you have to do is read the comments on KNWA's fan page on Facebook to see how a negative Christian response takes us down a road that is not God-honoring and ultimately can be destructive.  They simply reinforce negative stereotypes nonbelievers have about Christians that we are judgmental and close-minded.

So, what should our response be?  Well, I'm still thinking all this through, but here are my initial thoughts:

• God loves every person in this world, especially those who are spiritually lost (see Luke 15), so if God loves them, shouldn't we?
• It breaks God's heart when people choose to live without him, so it should break ours.
• The message of the Gospel is one worth sharing.  Gospel literally means "Good News," so why would we not want to spread that good news with everyone we know?
• A life with God brings peace in the midst of anxiety, comfort in the midst of grief, grace in the midst of sin, power in the midst of timidity, leadership presence in the midst of uncertainty, and life in the midst of death.  God is good, and we are good with God!

So, as you are in conversation with others about this topic, let's let Paul's words to the Colossians be our guide: 

"Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone."