A few weeks ago, in the mail, I got a slick brochure (addressed to "resident") inviting me to a sermon series at an area church. It was entitled "C.S.I.: Christ's Scene Investigators." The pastor was wearing a sweater vest and sneakers.

Later, at the movies before the start time (we're "get-good-seats" kind of people), there was a slide advertising a church that was obviously targeting families. Yet another slide showed a person engaged in a worship experience, touting their church as a place to "connect, grow, and experience God."

Today, in the paper, there was a local church that mailed out to their community a "jury summons" that looked precisely like one from the government inviting people to be the "jury" at a sermon series that would play out like a courtroom debate. This one made the newspaper because several people called the local authorities to request new dates for their service and an official said the church was "irresponsible."

I'm not against churches advertising by any stretch. More power to 'em, if that's how they want to spend their money. I simply don't believe that any of these are very effective.

And I think the reason it's ineffective is because no matter how nice the intent of the ad, or how professional it looks, or how clever the churches try to be with their pop culture tie-ins, Christians have marginalized themselves and made themselves irrelevant. I know...marginalized OURselves and made OURselves irrelevant.

And I firmly believe this is because we've poorly prioritized what the apostle Paul said the "goal of our instruction is LOVE." Christ said that "this is how they will know you are My disciples, that you LOVE one another." Let's face it. The most effective advertising of the truth of Christ is by how well we love each other and those that are "lost." Genuine love, concern and compassion. Love is a choice (of which feelings follow), so let's all choose to go out there and LOVE.

We don't even have to have brainstorming meetings or call the printer or buy stamps...