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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
Who Does The Advertising For God?
November 29, 2007
I was standing at the counter ready to pay for my sub when I saw the
poster. It depicted the chubby fellow from “The Family Guy” eating the
goodies at the Subway Restaurant. I took a step back partly because I look
a little bit like that guy. It was one of those “aha” moments when the light
goes on in your head. Over the last two years I have had a steady diet of
turkey subs. I was inspired by the story of Jared who lost an incredible
amount of weight eating their sandwiches every day. I know I haven’t lost
a lot of weight but at least I felt good about it.
Now I saw the truth. By indulging in my favorite takeout food, I was
morphing into a middle age portly gentleman. As I looked back at those
people in line on this particular day, I realized that I wasn’t the only one.
Ooops! Maybe this was a “truth in advertising” campaign put on by the
chain as they did their market research. I thought about the homely guy
with the red ponytail that has become the face of Wendys Restaurants. I
guess the days of Mr. Whipple, Madge and Dave Thomas are long gone.
They are too cute, too nice, too friendly.
Advertising is a tricky business. Companies spend a fortune researching
demographics and coming up with a campaign that will scratch the
imagination of the public and get them to buy into a product. I used to love
the old “Bewitched” television series where Darren Stevens and his wife,
Samantha, used to stumble into great advertising campaigns each week
through their misadventures. Sometimes when I see a company unveil a
new “icon” for their product, I wonder if someone wiggled their nose to
get it.
The truth is that a good campaign will move a person to act. It will
motivate them to do something. It might even cause them to change their
behavior. Advertisers know it. The successful ones capitalize on it. As I
was sitting at Subway eating my chocolate chip cookie it struck me that I
really could be a stand in for “the Family Guy” and represent the
restaurant. I was a lot more like him than Jared.
Then a sobering thought hit me. I was already an icon for a major
institution. God had chosen me to represent him to the world. When I say
I am a Christian, people look at me and think of God. The same is true for
you. Every one of us, whether we are Christian or Jewish, is an icon
representing the presence of God in the world.
We are God’s advertising campaign. We have been called to go out into
the world to be a light to the nations. We are called to share the good news
of God’s love and forgiveness. We are sent out to bring healing and
reconciliation to a fallen world. The only problem is that we are like "the
Family Guy." We are not pretty. We are far from perfect. Some people
will see us and say “Why should I believe you when you don’t have it all
together?”
The reason is simple. We are a great example of what God can do. He sees
the hidden beauty in us and draws it out with his love. He takes that which
is broken, scarred, tainted by the world and makes it beautiful again. None
of us are perfect, but with God’s gracious leading we show the world that
new life is possible again.
So forget about “the Family Guy,” Jared, the man with the red pony tail
and all the rest of them. Just be yourself and let people see how God’s
love changed you. No magic will be needed. For you reflect God's love
just the way you are.
God bless! See you in church. Cal
November 29, 2007
I was standing at the counter ready to pay for my sub when I saw the
poster. It depicted the chubby fellow from “The Family Guy” eating the
goodies at the Subway Restaurant. I took a step back partly because I look
a little bit like that guy. It was one of those “aha” moments when the light
goes on in your head. Over the last two years I have had a steady diet of
turkey subs. I was inspired by the story of Jared who lost an incredible
amount of weight eating their sandwiches every day. I know I haven’t lost
a lot of weight but at least I felt good about it.
Now I saw the truth. By indulging in my favorite takeout food, I was
morphing into a middle age portly gentleman. As I looked back at those
people in line on this particular day, I realized that I wasn’t the only one.
Ooops! Maybe this was a “truth in advertising” campaign put on by the
chain as they did their market research. I thought about the homely guy
with the red ponytail that has become the face of Wendys Restaurants. I
guess the days of Mr. Whipple, Madge and Dave Thomas are long gone.
They are too cute, too nice, too friendly.
Advertising is a tricky business. Companies spend a fortune researching
demographics and coming up with a campaign that will scratch the
imagination of the public and get them to buy into a product. I used to love
the old “Bewitched” television series where Darren Stevens and his wife,
Samantha, used to stumble into great advertising campaigns each week
through their misadventures. Sometimes when I see a company unveil a
new “icon” for their product, I wonder if someone wiggled their nose to
get it.
The truth is that a good campaign will move a person to act. It will
motivate them to do something. It might even cause them to change their
behavior. Advertisers know it. The successful ones capitalize on it. As I
was sitting at Subway eating my chocolate chip cookie it struck me that I
really could be a stand in for “the Family Guy” and represent the
restaurant. I was a lot more like him than Jared.
Then a sobering thought hit me. I was already an icon for a major
institution. God had chosen me to represent him to the world. When I say
I am a Christian, people look at me and think of God. The same is true for
you. Every one of us, whether we are Christian or Jewish, is an icon
representing the presence of God in the world.
We are God’s advertising campaign. We have been called to go out into
the world to be a light to the nations. We are called to share the good news
of God’s love and forgiveness. We are sent out to bring healing and
reconciliation to a fallen world. The only problem is that we are like "the
Family Guy." We are not pretty. We are far from perfect. Some people
will see us and say “Why should I believe you when you don’t have it all
together?”
The reason is simple. We are a great example of what God can do. He sees
the hidden beauty in us and draws it out with his love. He takes that which
is broken, scarred, tainted by the world and makes it beautiful again. None
of us are perfect, but with God’s gracious leading we show the world that
new life is possible again.
So forget about “the Family Guy,” Jared, the man with the red pony tail
and all the rest of them. Just be yourself and let people see how God’s
love changed you. No magic will be needed. For you reflect God's love
just the way you are.
God bless! See you in church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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