Our Church Invitation

T-shirt worn at our Roundtable for Global Emerging Church last August. Apparently the shirt has sold very well.

Comments

[Sivin Kit]

I really liked this! and I like T-shirts

[Mark]

Except for the "We s__k" statement (I just have an allergy to that phrase), I love the T-shirt. I feel that we in the church have become enamored of the language of marketing and hype. (I fall prey to it myself as the pastor of a congregation.) The shirt is great anti-marketing and just maybe, good evangelism.

The fact is that followers of Jesus are best when they are weak. ("When I am weak, then I am strong..." "God's power is perfected in weakness..." "Without Me, you can do nothing.")

It seems that the form of evangelism that comes up repeatedly in the Gospel of John, anyway, is simply, "Come and see." The best we can do is ask people to come and experience our fellowship with Christ. No promises on our part, just the promises of Jesus.

[Eddy Dueck]

Hmmmm, I'm not sure about this T-Shirt. True, "we the church" are phony and hypocritical, and need to repent of that. True, we don't have all the answers and are confused.

But is that really all the time?

Or does God speak to us, too: words of absolution, action, acknowledgement. If that is the case, I think the church has more to offer than just being a club of confused people who are trying to figure things out.

I find this T-shirt confuses people. Why exactly should I respond to the invitation? To become more confused than I already am? Thanks, I decline.

[george]

The t-shirt was made as a response to all of the hype that churches put out about their GREAT this and that programs and people find out that the hype is just that all smoke and not relationship. I have gotten nothing but positive feedback and great conversation when I wear mine.

Peace

Peace

[hamo]

The shirt go a reaction from me, but it certainly wasn't a 'gimme one'. More of a 'whatever...'

Sure we get it wrong, we need to clarify stuff etc, but i think this shirt paints us as a bunch of lame brained dickheads who wouldn't know our arse from a hole in the ground.

I hear the sentiment - that we need to accept that we don't know all the answers etc - but there's no way I think 'we suck... we don't know anything etc'

Duck!...

Pendulum swinging.

[Kevin Rector]

That T-Shirt is just unfortunate.

First of all, we don't suck if we are being transformed by the power of God into the image of Christ. That would mean that the power of the Holy Spirit is ineffective and I just can't buy that. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Secondly, we do have something to offer, and introduction to a God who can save us from ourselves. Jude 1:24-25

Thirdly, we do know something, "Jesus Christ and him crucified". 1 Corinthians 2:2

Finally, the shirt contradicts itself because it apparently does offer something, a community of confusion. Why would anyone want to join a community like that?

[Mike]

I love the shirt and would wear one in a heartbeat. Lighten up folks. Frankly, I'm not in the least bit interested in what we "Christians/Church People" think of it.

It's the attention of everyone else who might be captured by it.

[redbaerd]

its one of the only times i've recently seen blatant advertising & a mention of the church that i *haven't* been offended.

finally community that focuses on the WITH regardless of the perfection or the quality of the with-ness...

and I have to make a quick plug for the goodness of the "suck" -- i mean -- isn't that the whole point of evangelicalism?

[george]

Hey just buy the shirt here
http://www.cafepress.com/oxegen.12099678

Peace

[Robert]

I dig the humility (Christ like) but the message?

It is something of a post-modern notion that certainty is arrogant. Faith, love and humility should combine like they did in Stephen whose face shone like an angel's.

[stephanie]

i like it. i want a bumper sticker that says "i suck, but Christ is cool."

[Russell]

I guess I just don't get it. My reaction... Humility - good. Conversation starter - great. Message - wrong, wrong, wrong.

Is that what we would tell our children about our faith? Not me.

That's the church taking postmodernism far too seriously. Typical church, emerging/emergent/other, overdosing on the latest fad.

We have a message, or we have nothing. We don't know everything - true. We don't know very much actually - also true. We don't know anything - not true. We are learning - true. We have nothing to offer - not true.

Bad for business ;)

[Dan]

i certainly hope we don't suck - as we are created in the image of God and considered of great value to Him. if we (the church) have nothing to offer, and don't know anything - then how sad a statement that is and how contradictory to the teachings of jesus. sometimes i think all this talk can get so horribly depressing, image-driven and tall it does it complain, it just makes me sad... and what a sad statement to those not in the church. of course, you can go too far the other way and become knowledge seeking puffed up arrogant people, but seriously.... enough is enough. let's quit ripping apart the bride of christ and how terrible she is. she doesn't suck. we just need to clean our muck we have stained her dress with.

[Toni]

All I'll say is that it's 'sold a birthright for a mess of pottage' but it's certainly hip from a PoMO viewpoint.

Credibility is one of the most volatile substances known to religious man.

[Paul Johnston]

Did someone say anti marketing? Marketing is the only honest statement this unfortunate rag makes. If irreverence and insult to God and his churches are your objective, mission accomplished.

[Clinton]

It's a parody of "too slick for their own good" Church ads. The only problem is that if you don't have a grasp of the original material, there is no point to the parody. Let's face it, the only people who may "get it" are already Christians and even some of them are perturbed. There's a lot of conversation starting phrases you could put on a shirt like, "You're all going to hell", but I think the Apostle Paul said not all of them are beneficial.

[robbymac]

I get the parody, so I find this shirt really funny -- in a tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek kinda way.

Would I wear it in public? Not a chance. I don't wear Christian t-shirts of any kind in the pubs where I play (in a band where I am the only Christian). I decided years ago to let my life speak louder than my clothing -- it's a personal decision that I wouldn't make normative for everyone else, of course!

It's kinda like the "Legalism Rules" t-shirt from Relevant -- I konw a guy locally who proudly wears it to church, because to him it's a positive statement about how legalism helps people to be holy (yeah, probably not what Relevant meant...).

T-shirts that require being part of the "in the know" crowd of pomergents in order to "get the joke", are probably just contributing to making the EC just another marketing sub-subcategory of Christianity. That would be a tragedy.

[robbymac]

I get the parody, so I find this shirt really funny -- in a tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek kinda way.

Would I wear it in public? Not a chance. I don't wear Christian t-shirts of any kind in the pubs where I play (in a band where I am the only Christian). I decided years ago to let my life speak louder than my clothing -- it's a personal decision that I wouldn't make normative for everyone else, of course!

It's kinda like the "Legalism Rules" t-shirt from Relevant -- I konw a guy locally who proudly wears it to church, because to him it's a positive statement about how legalism helps people to be holy (yeah, probably not what Relevant meant...).

T-shirts that require being part of the "in the know" crowd of pomergents in order to "get the joke", are probably just contributing to making the EC just another marketing sub-subcategory of Christianity. That would be a tragedy.

[Larry]

This is just a parody shirt, but a cool way to evangelise...why u guys takin it so seriously... Well, I strongly support this shirt, if it can win the souls, rather than sittin there doin the old invitation " COME AND JOIN US "...ISN'T THAT SUCK!

[Goat]

I think if we take everything too seriously, we would all drive our cars into oncoming traffic. Lighten up. It's not a church mission statement, it's a shirt.

[Owen]

Answers the question, "What would Jesus wear?"

[matthew mwendia ndungu]

AM matthew from kenya and am born again.AM a pianist an i also lead praise and worship in chirch.I wil be glad if you send me a church invitation to visit your church and have more experience.