Signs and wonders....

No nothing apocalyptic just...well, signs. Church signs to be exact. Traditionally they were simply names: "St. Alban's Anglican Church" or "First Baptist Church" (and surprise...there are actually a few "Second Baptist Churches out there.) Perhaps the denominational affiliation is also there: "United Church of Canada" or "Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC)." Now some will go as far as adding the pastor and service times (if the pastors change too often they might leave it off or just have a secondary sign screwed on - maybe good to watch out for if you are a new potential pastor being interviewed by the church.)

Some church signs feature the "sentence sermons" as one writer called them; as simple as a Bible verse or maybe a provocative thought. Then there are the billboard types of signs that became popular in the sixties and seventies with evangelistic intent. You might remember driving down the highway and seeing those large signs with John 3:16 or Romans 6:23. They would have pictures of the cross, flames, or heavenly sunbeams to emphasize the scriptural point. In the nineties "Seeker sensitive" churches and then the Emerging Church movement began adopting more aggressive marketing tactics. It is not surprising that some billboards have generated considerable controvery.

I assume that the primary purpose of a sign was to communicate who we were and what you were doing to those outside. And provide an invitation. "Our Traditional worship service is at 10:30am. Our contemporary worship service is at 12:00pm." Good to know. The use of "sentence sermons' and Bible Verses seems to make an assumption that the majority of those reading them have enough of a Christian background to understand the context. That might have been the case in 1970; it is not the case in 2009. Here is one I saw: "Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark." This presupposes that you know who Noah is, what an ark is, and why he needed one. Think most people get it? Maybe not if recent surveys on Biblical Literacy are correct. It seems the most quoted justification for using Bible verses is the idea that God's Word is never read without being used by God for His purposes. I agree with the idea. But does this passage envision the flinging of verses randomly at passerbys (not unlike a drive-by shooting) in the hopes that God will use it on the un-expecting reader?

An article is Christianity Today offers some tips on effective Church signs. My own thought is that the best way to share your faith is in person. Use your sign to invite people in. Use it to tell them about your church. Who knows, they might just stop by.

I had lots to say about church signs, so here is your chance! Make your own church sign here with this church sign generator.

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Church as InfoOrg...

As part of my research, I will be gathering and analyzing church produced information. I would imagine that most people would not consider churches as information organizations. The activities of worship and social outreach would predominate in people's minds. Yet two of the key activities of churches are preaching and teaching; both information intense activities. As a former pastor I know that a significant time investment goes into sermon preparation and presentation. What about preservation? Is that sermon a "one shot deal" or is that information preserved, stored and indexed in a way that it can be accessed by the congregation for future reference. I have benefited from reading some collected sermons from preachers of by gone years (here is one of my favourites). What about our teaching; if we use purchased curriculum, do we have a library where past materials used are archived? Are original class materials preserved? Or do those classes simply disappear as if they were never taught? What about communication, another information intense activity? I travel from time to time and it is my practice to always attend church on Sunday morning. The phone book tells me who is in my neighbourhood and the web tells me who they are. I am amazed sometimes that many church websites are so uninformative (here are one or two I like from smaller churches.) When I do arrive, I spend time looking at bulletin boards and information tables. Sometimes these are a lot like their websites. :-(

Churches produce a lot of information. I wonder how much time congregations spend thinking about how they manage all that information. This is not a new idea. Preserving important information has had a long history in the church: "since I have investigated all the reports in close detail, starting from the story's beginning, I decided to write it all out for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the reliability of what you were taught." The Gospel of Luke chapter 1.

I guess someone thought that information was important. ;-)

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