The second thing that I'd like to have you make note of is that not all of these signs are going to be the worst things ever placed on a Church Sign. Some of the signs that I write about aren't going to be that bad. Most of the signs are going to be ones that I see personally (unless you send me some pictures... pleeeeeze) close to where I live or wherever I happen to be travelling. But all of them are going to have some issues with language and/or theology that imply bad practice or short-sightedness on the part of the respective congregations, and even on the part of the whole of American Christianity.
So, with that being said, I took this picture today as I was driving through Ft. Meade, FL (Actually... I stopped, and then took the picture). I'd actually taken a few more earlier in the day, but as soon as I saw it, I thought, "This is definitely going to be the worst sign I see all day." I mean, aside from a shortage of L's, it just stood out to me.
On the surface, the message doesn't seem so bad. Jesus is perfect, and he's exactly the example of God's grace and love that we all need. But I found myself almost immediately asking the question, "Who do I know that is looking for perfection?" I mean, most of the people I know are looking just to get by. Most of the people I know seem too exasperated from years of trying to impress their parents or their boss or even their friends, and they're just tired of thinking about that unattainable perfection. And it's not all that helpful to think about some guy who apparently had it all together. At least it's not all that helpful to me.
This makes me think of the Apostle Paul. One of the things that I really admire about Paul is that he seemed to put himself in the struggles of the people to whom he was writing. And in that way, the people to whom he wrote knew him, and knew him to be trustworthy (even if he had to defend himself initially). So it's no surprise that in 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul tells the people of Corinth to imitate him. In fact, Paul doesn't say, "Imitate Christ," because the people of Corinth didn't know Jesus. They did know Paul.
So, coming back to the fine people at Peaceful Believers' Baptist Church, there are loads of people in your town who are probably looking for peace, rather than perfection. And with a name like that, you should be able to deliver, right?
