We see it everyday. In line at the grocery store, in our email in-box or on our Facebook page. It's all around us in this capitalistic society. Advertisements. You are invited to buy, join, try, attend, you name it, they have tried it, to get you to fork out your money or time for their product, services or causes. We get commercial hellos at our Walmarts and McDonalds, plastic smiles from complete strangers wishing us a good day, thanking us, making us feel "special". I often joke with my wife after receiving such a commercial well-wish; "they didn't really mean that". It's tempting to take these shallow, common and inexpensive salutations to heart when one is lonely or recovering from some emotionally stressful event or vulnerable in some way. But, in the end we realize, "they didn't really mean that". Only coming from our loved ones do these social niceties take on any real meaning.
The church, I believe, can become like a Walmart. In order to increase our numbers, we fall prey to these secular marketing principles at times. We could say, even with insincere motives, 'the Gospel is being preached so it doesn't really matter'. But, we have to ask ourselves, did we come to belief and trust in Jesus through a public invitation tacked to a bulletin board? Or did we reach out to a Person? Did we receive a personal invitation? Is the Gospel a personal invitation from God to join Him? If it isn't, then it would be too easy to tell yourself- "He didn't really mean that for me".
Today, make sure you don't greet or wish someone well without sincerity. Especially at church. Be a real Christian from now on.
What if the idea of advertising or even inviting people to church is what is completely backwards? Jesus didn't send out the 72 to invite people back to church, he sent them out to teach the Good News. Maybe if we spent more time in the community touching lives, we wouldn't need to "advertise" in a formal manner.
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