Church Recruiting New Members With TV Ad

Associated Press ^ | Dec. 2, 2004

[Unam Sanctam]

The liberal-leaning UCC began the $1.7 million, 3 1/2-week advertising campaign on Wednesday. The 30-second ad shows a muscular bouncer working a rope line outside a handsome but nameless church, deciding who may enter.

``No, step aside, please,'' he says to two men holding hands.

Across the screen comes the message, ``Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we.'' The final scene shows two women embracing.

[Unam Sanctam]

Jesus did NOT say that there was no such thing as sin. He called all to Himself, but he called for repentance and for sinners to sin no more.

[AppyPappy]

The UCC is headed for the final swirl in the bowl.

[Unam Sanctam]

Related post:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1292639/posts

[Pondman88]

Unfortunaly the wife grew up UCC...and now I go (sometimes)....The UCC is, well, horrible. Liberal and inclusive and actually intolerable. UCC is going down.

[VRWCTexan]

We are called to hate the "sin" but love the "sinner" - in this instance the UCC seems to be saying "it's OK, come on in" and just keep sinning!

[Unam Sanctam]

Ping

[Popman]

Because of the UCC's liberal reputation, its money might be best spent on ads during ``Dharma & Greg,'' which portrays less traditional relationships, than a reality-show audience that might not be open to the UCC message, Garbarino said.

The last sentence in the article says it all

[N. Theknow]

And Christ said to the woman, "Go and sin no more Go and be a good whore."

[Jay777]

Well, I couldn't read the whole article since I'm not a subscriber, but I don't know of any church that would not accept a gay member. Most churches accept all sinners. They just don't accept their sins. If I was a pastor I would allow gay members. A sermon may come up condemning the practice of homosexuality. I might want to have a private counseling session with them. I wouldn't pin point them however, and make them feel alienated. I wouldn't preach about that particular sin every sermon.

[joesnuffy]

Jesus aka God the Son made his mind well known on the subject of sodomy and gommorahmy

If you can find them....You can still visit those famous, once thriving cities, and see for yourself what becomes of such defiance.

It is a horrible enough thing when pagans engage in it...I cannot imagine how angry God must be about the so called church promoting it..

'Fear not He who can harm the body... but Fear Him who can throw both body and soul into Hell fire"...Jesus warned...

"Have you no fear of God?" demanded the 'good' thief on the cross of his partner the 'bad' thief...as he foolishly mocked The Christ who was crucified between them. (the human race is defined by this relationship by the way...we are all finally in one of the two camps..either that of the good thief or the bad thief..)

At The Judgment we all must face...either Jesus either speaks up for us or he does not

God is not tolerant of sin....God punishes sin....If you sin you die....if you die apart from a saving relationship with Jesus Christ...you go to Hell

A truly 'saved' Christian CAN NOT live in a lifestyle of sin...as a Christian you will indeed still sin on occasion and this is still sin...but if you have a saving relationship with Christ you will not be able to bear the guilt of a sinful lifestyle...and will repent
and be brought back...just as a lost sheep is found and brought back to the flock by the 'good' shepherd who loves the sheep and gave his life for them.

For 'The Church' to teach otherwise...is the greatest abomination of all.....run from that church just as fast as you can...and take as many with you as who will hear you out...find another who teaches the truth...

imo

[Coldwater Creek]

My church does not accept gay members, but will do everything possible to help them to forsake their sin and then take them in. The Bible tells not to even eat with people living in known sin.

[Coldwater Creek]

You are right! It is that separation from God that is so painful for a born again Christan.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

The UCC [spit my coffee at the "liberal leaning" comment] is just further down the road than the rest of American Christianity.

Everyone else will either catch up or be marginalized in small hovels of orthodoxy.

If you are tired of your church getting its theological marching orders from the New York Times best seller list (Prayer of Jabez and PDL/C) or worse yet, Oprah Winfrey than I say...do something about it!

[unlearner]

The world hates the real Jesus Christ and His true followers. The world hates Him because He declared the world's works to be evil. The world hates His followers because the world hates Him. (John 7:7, 15:18-25)

Regarding homosexuality, Jesus said Sodom would have repented and been spared destruction if they had seen the great miracles He did. (Matthew 11:23)

The UCC is among the many so-called "Christian" groups that reinvent Jesus to suit their own purposes. They are cursed by God for deceiving people into believing in a false gospel of a false Jesus. (2 Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:6-12)

[Jay777]

I respectfully disagree that the Bible teaches not to eat with people living in known sin. Jesus was ridiculed for associating with drunks, and whores. He was accused of being a wine bibber and glutton. His response was well spoken. "John the Baptist came neither drinking nor eating and you condemned him. I come drinking and eating and you accuse me. Hypocrites!" Probably not an exact quote. He also said that those who are well need not a physician, but those who are sick. Referring to the sickness as sin. The sinners are the ones who need God the most. There are many lessons of this in the Bible. The Good Samaritan is one example. I'm not condoning the sins people do. I'm just saying that we are all sinners. Let he who has no sin cast the first stone. The church is full of sinners and hypocrits. Judge not lest ye be judged. If you want to debate whether a gay person is in "known" sin...I would say they have justified it to theirself and should be shown the error of their ways. God gave Soddom and Gommorah many chances to repent and change their ways before destroying them. I think churches should accept all sinners so that they can hear the word of God. Gays included.

[Hebrews 11:6]

The UCC is headed for the final swirl in the bowl.

Their halo is the wax ring.

[Hebrews 11:6]

I respectfully disagree that the Bible teaches not to eat with people living in known sin.

"But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat." I Corinthians 5:11 NIV (emphasis added)

The distinction between what she wrote and what you seem to be advocating apparently lies in the status of the sinner: does he claim to be a Christian? If so, yet he sins as described, we are to shun him. Her point was that they should not be accepted into full fellowship in the first place unless they repent first.

[Jay777]

Accept them into the Church building. You don't become a member of the church until you repent your sins. If the sinner comes and sits and listens, I say invite them back as often as it takes for them to hear God speak to their heart. Once they repent and give it their all to stop their sins they would then become a member. And if they backslide, you pick them up and encourage them to march on down the narrow path of victory over sin.

The key word is "known" sin.