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Billboard morality at its best! Kudos to local ministry center!
The other day, Sister Julie and I were going to a meeting when we passed these two billboards. Please excuse the poor quality of the photo — it’s hard to take a good picture on a busy highway….
The first has the figure of a man standing at the edge of an ocean, his arms upraised, the sun sparkling all around. The words say: “All of the joy. None of the shame.” At the bottom is the name of a Christian ministry called Cornerstone. By itself, the billboard didn’t make much sense to us. But then we saw another billboard, just a few yards away.
It has the picture of a woman with a sexy look on her face. The words say: “All of the liquor. None of the clothes.” The big arrow on the sign points the way to the bar.
Both billboards are targeted to men, but the messages are very different! Why not choose joy and what’s life-giving! Why not respect women and the sacredness of the human body! To me, the heart of Cornerstone’s message is that respect is a two-way street: when we respect ourselves, we can respect others, and vice versa. Respect can free us and lead us to joy. Drinking too much and treating people as objects for our gratification cannot.
I was so impressed with Cornerstone’s billboard that I called the ministry center and talked with one of the pastors there. Pastor Esperanza said that the billboard was a decision of the entire congregation. She explained that it was a way for the church to have a voice in the world: “If we don’t say anything, nothing will be done.”
She also told me about another billboard intervention. In several places around Chicago, a radio station had billboards promoting its morning show. The billboards depicted two men in bed with a woman. The words said something like: “Who do you wake up to in the morning?” A member of the congregation went to executives at the station and explained that her child could not avoid seeing the signs, and she asked them to remove the billboards. The billboards came down.
Although I’m not familiar with Cornerstone’s stance on other areas of faith and life, on the topic of respect and how to take creative action, Cornerstone rocks!!
I’d love to hear stories about the creative things you’ve seen in regard to countering negative messages with positive ones. Please write your comments in the box below.
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{ 3 comments }
Love the “Respect is a two-way street” blog!
The blog instantly reminded me that, I “get by with a little help from my friends… “. While I don’t personally know anyone from Cornerstone who put up the billboard, this reminds me of a memorable software technical support event held at my church several years ago.
Prior to this event, we had a held a drop “it” off at the foot of the cross experience for anyone who would like to leave “anything” behind. The following Sunday our pastor reported that there was a significant desire expressed to have “limitations” (walls) put on our computers to essentially set us free. For the next couple of weeks, discussions continued about why we were not historically successful and how we could work together to achieve this goal and a few other commonly desired goals.
Now, if you have ever tried to load “limitation” software, you might be aware that it is often a requirement to enter a confirmation “passcode” more than once. This is pretty deflating for anyone who has ever taken the first step towards “limiting” by purchasing software and perhaps thought of bouncing a tennis ball over a shoulder to set a passcode that s/he never wants to know.
Understanding “when we respect ourselves, we can respect others, and vice versa”, the software technical support event was held and to me is an example of this two-way street of respect. Although many argued that one should not rely on such an obvious crutch (software), but rather, should let’s say only need to pass a billboard for a fleeting millisecond. Ultimately (from my perspective), regardless of whether this is an example of morality at its best; I believe it is ministry at its best – as I, too, “get by with a little help from my friends”.
PS – If deemed appropriate for AS, please consider discussing free will and crutches (10 ft., 1000 ft., and 10,000 ft. crutches). Does it “count” as “good” if one is using a crutch (of any length) or only “count” if one trusts and goes face to face with free will with no crutch? (In the meantime, I’ll recite the Serenity Prayer!)
Interesting analogy, Zeke. Walking with a crutch is better than not walking at all, and it has its own trials associated with it. When we use a crutch, we acknowledge that we’re not as strong, as healthy as we’d like to be. We can see it as a burden or as providing others an opportunity to be of service, if only we’ll graciously accept that service. Crutches can either be used to build community, or to trip people up. I firmly believe that God gives us the help we need, and sometimes that’s in the form of a crutch.
Great observations about crutches — do they help or do they hinder! This will be thought provoking question that we’ll bring to an upcoming Ask Sister podcast!