Earlier this week I shared with you the latest poster by Outreach Media:
I’ve now put together a list of 6 ideas for using this poster to engage with the local community. Whilst most of the ideas are inspired from the poster, the principles could be applied to many different church situations.
The December poster from Outreach Media. Read more about the poster and download the explanatory notes at the Outreach Media website. You can also follow @outreachmedia on Twitter.
I’ve been kept busy this month monitoring two Christian awareness campaigns that have been generating some discussion – both inside and outside the Christian community.
Whilst I’ve written several posts on the Jesus: All About Life campaign, the latest poster by Outreach Media (below) has received some attention by atheist bloggers (click to enlarge the image):
For links to some of the articles that have discussed the poster, check out – ‘Two media campaigns reveal Australia’s perceptions about Christianity‘
The poster outside a church in Dubbo has been graffitied to say “they’re too brainwashed to read the Bible”. A poster outside another church was graffitied with “religous [sic] propaganda is no better than this graffiti”, and another says “you are the brainwashed”.
A group or individual have targeted several of these posters in Sydney, covering them in black plastic and adding their own message, with a link to the Zeitgeist Movement website. Check out some photos below.
I have been contacted by someone from the Sydney Chapter of Zeigeist Australia who says that Zeitgeist Australia “does not encourage it’s members to post anti-religious or atheist messages in any form of medium and we are sure that no member of the Zeitgeist Movement Australia had anything to do with the alleged Sydney posters.”
Looks like the posters have struck a nerve – and this isn’t a bad thing, nor is it reason to shy away from doing this kind of outreach and community engagement. Being confrontational like this isn’t the approach to use in every situation, but for some audiences and for some messages it is an effective way of communicating truth. And let’s face it, communicating truth, in any form in the Australia of today, doesn’t usually receive a standing ovation.
I was reminded tonight as I was reading Luke that what Jesus said regularly rubbed people up the wrong way. In fact, Jesus’ words caused people to want to kill him! Take for example Luke 4:28-30:
All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
And no servant is greater than their master, and if they persecuted Jesus, they will persecute his followers also (John 15:18-25). We need to be willing to speak the truth – in different ways, to different people – and be prepared a negative, even hostile response. For example, even talking about death and what happens when you die is a pretty unpopular discussion topic, but this is something that Australians should think about and be uncomfortable when they realise that their future is uncertain, and then rejoice as the come to know that in Jesus is the hope of eternal life. The glory of the gospel and our love for our neighbour should keep us communicating truth, even when the reception isn’t as positive as what we might like.
You might be interested in reading the notes that explain in more detail what the poster is communicating, and checking out a list of resources that respond to critical claims made about Jesus and Christianity.
September has been an interesting month for Christianity in the Australian media, and particularly Sydney.
Jesus has hit the headlines in two media campaigns launched this month – one, a poster campaign by Outreach Media, challenging who is forming our opinions about Jesus (see the poster, and read the responses to critical claims about Jesus). The other is a mass-media campaign launched by the Bible Society and supported by churches across Sydney – ‘Jesus: All About Life‘.
Both campaigns have received media attention through mainstream media (tv, newspapers), and also in the blogosphere. I have been particularly interested to see the comments that these media mentions have received (i.e. where the articles have been opened up for comments so that the general public can respond with their opinions).
Below is a list of media references and links to discussion forums I’ve collated that discuss these campaigns. I’ve found the comments made against many of these articles to be particularly enlightening about how Australians perceive Christianity.
The responses (in general) remind me of 2 Corinthians 2:16 -
“To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.”
Have a read for yourself…
‘Too brainwashed to read the Bible’ campaign
‘Jesus: All About Life’ campaign
Previous campaigns
The Jesus: All About Life campaign has also run in Adelaide and Canberra. Where there are links of interest back to the earlier campaigns, I’ll post the details here.
I’ll keep adding to this list as new mentions appear.
This month, Outreach Media has released a poster that is sure to raise a few eyebrows and cause a bit of a stir. The poster questions who has and is forming your opinion about Jesus and Christianity, and challenges the viewer to read the Bible – the reliable, authoritative, God-inspired best-seller – that’s all about Jesus. The poster will be displayed outside 100 churches across Australia.
Here’s the poster (click on the image below for a larger view):
A couple of additional resources accompany the poster:
Everyone is wondering what comes after the melt-down of the world’s economies. But how many people spend time considering what happens after they die?
This is the latest poster from Outreach Media, displayed outside over 100 churches across Australia.
This month’s poster also features a campaign-specific website (postyouranswer.org), encouraging people to share what they think happens after the flat-line.
Learn more about Outreach Posters, or sign-up.
