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Church signs to inspire the soul

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published September 16, 2005

One of the best things about living in a community rooted in faith is that pearls of wisdom dot the landscape.

I'm talking about all the churches that use their marquees for more than just service times. I know it's important to let people know when they are supposed to show up, but selfishly, I can never get enough doses of inspiration.

So as I wind my way on local roads, it's heartening to see thought-provoking sayings instead of "Sunday School - 9 a.m." Here's a recent sample:

Be the change you want to see in people.

- Brandon Christian Church

People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.

- Impact Ministries

No one is hopeless whose hope is in God.

- First Baptist of Seffner

Another popular choice is the 701 Sentence Sermons series by Dr. L. James Harvey. He recently released Volume 3, but one of his favorite one-sentence sermons is in the first book: God, make me as good as my dog thinks I am.

"It's been a growing phenomenon over the last 10 years," Harvey said. "I'm trying to convince churches they have an opportunity to reach people through a sign ministry that they haven't had before.

"A pastor and his committee may spend all week preparing a sermon they're going to present to 250 people. A message on a sign may speak to 1,000 people in a 24-hour period."

While the message can be cute pick-me-ups like The best vitamin for a Christian is B1 or The afterlife is an up or down proposition, the marquees actually can have significant impacts. Harvey said one family would base its Monday night dinner conversation on the latest sign in front of a nearby church.

He added that through his work he discovered a woman who actually credited a church sign for stopping her from committing suicide.

"She had gone through a messy divorce and her life was a wreck," Harvey explained. "She was going to pull in front of an 18-wheeler when she saw the message on a sign."

I can usually count on Brandon Assembly of God on Kings Avenue for providing marquee inspiration. A couple of months ago it offered this: The highest a man can reach is on his knees.

Now, however, the Brandon Assembly marquee is touting a new series of sermons called The Faith Pirates. I guess they actually want me to come inside and obtain their wisdom. The nerve.

(Of course, that reminds me of another marquee I once spotted: Sign broken, message inside.)

Brandon Assembly executive-associate pastor Jason Graffam explained that the four-week series of sermons borrows from the idea that governments in the 18th and 19th century authorized sailors to fight pirates with pirate techniques and take back what they had lost.

Similarly, he's asking his members to take back the gifts they have been given from God.

Nice message, but pretty hard to fit on a marquee.

Graffam said they may soon return to the inspiring words. He promises messages that are friendly and easy to understand for nonchurchgoers, and there is one other goal.

"We try to stay away from the stuff that's really corny," Graffam said.

The traditionally named churches, however, are getting into the act. First Baptist has a marquee that rivals the scoreboard at Raymond James Stadium (but no one-sentence sermons). Bell Shoals Baptist has assumed the secondary name of "The Fellowship of Encouragement."

And remember "got milk?" Well, First United Methodist Church of Brandon has borrowed from the dairy farmers with a multimedia campaign titled "got purpose?"

Churches are pulling out all the stops, and who can blame them? I guess marketing is a gift from God, and it's time religious leaders take it back from the "pirates" on Madison Avenue.

That's all I'm saying.

- Ernest Hooper can be reached at 813 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 15, 2005, 11:01:03]