In fact that does say "ETERNITY - SMOKING OR NONSMOKING"
For some time I have been annoyed by the signs that pop up all across our area on the property of our local churches. The message they often send is very negative and a turn off to people who don't attend church. About 15 years ago I read a study (that I can no longer find) related to church signs. The study generally concluded that churches that only listed church activities were the most well received by the un-churched community. The second group of signs always had the Pastor's message for the upcoming Sunday. If the titles asked a question the rest of the world was interested in, the signs were also received well. The category that was consistently offensive was the signs that the "church" finds funny or cute.
The "That will show those unbelieving losers" kind of signs defeat the very stated purpose of the church. If you really think winning those far from God will be achieved with an offensive sign, you haven't polled your congregation to see how many came to Christ when confronted with a sign that read "Turn or Burn."
I asked a first time attender to church what drew him to our church and in the process of the conversation he revealed that he takes pictures of our local signs and shows them to his un-believing friends for a good laugh. He said "At first they offended me, then I started to look for the new ones so I could get a good laugh and eventually I started taking pictures ... they have no clue how stupid those signs are." So on a day when I had to look at two new ones in one day, I thought I would keep a photo log here. I hope I soon run out of material and the signs go away.
See a sign in Boiling Springs - Submit it to thresholdchurch@live.com. I'll be glad to add it to the list.
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