"He Gets Us" Campaign: 10 Questions
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ส.ค. 2024
- Is the He Gets Us campaign effective? Is it a wise use of money? What is the strategy behind the show? I talk with Ed Stetzer, Dean at Talbot School of Theology about these questions and more.
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How about these three words.
"He Saves Us."
naah, cuz THEN YOU WOULD HAVE TO SAY FROM WHAT, and things get complicated.
especially if anyone you are talking to, does not already agree that there is something to
be saved from.
since that threat is also something your ideology invented out of blue sky.
@@tracyavent-costanza346No Jesus taught that
@@tracyavent-costanza346But saying “he gets us” seems to say it’s most important to be understood, which isn’t the case.
@@cpjds1
tell you what, we can just agree to disagree on that. if god isn't going to bother to understand ME, why would I bother to try to understand HER.
SHE supposedly has this unlimited capacity but evidently is not willing to go to the trouble.
So why should I, when I have a limited capacity. Where by design she saw to it that I had those limits.
@williamhodge9970
because most people are not so paranoid as to presume they need to be saved from something, that is why.
Why spend millions of dollars to do Pre-evangelism? If you’re gonna spend that much money, why not go straight to the point? We don’t need to sneak in anything. Preach it boldly and see the mighty work of God.
”So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.“
Isaiah 55:11
🙏amen
Because the people they are trying to reach won't respond positively to that
***comments*** WRT
Why spend millions of dollars to do Pre-evangelism?
***it's not millions, it is billions and just not all spent by the same outfit. Imagine how much it costs to train all of the missionaries to have tunnel-vision and put them in the four corners of the earth, for a thousand years or so.
And compared to what it cost to do it, the return has been rather scant. Except when they killed those who wouldn't convert. That was fairly efficient but not a legitimate claim to having overwhelmed the previous population of sinners.
***
If you’re gonna spend that much money, why not go straight to the point?
***a couple of reasons.
1) christianity is hardly monolithic with respect to eschatological claims
2) once you state specific ideology, fewer of those who don't agree with how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, will still donate
3) you still want to appear prophetic and the lesson of history is that you are more likely to appear so, if you are VAGUE about your prognostications
4) prior such disagreements as above, tended to result in "believers" engaging in wars for decades if not centuries. Not that the non-believers would especially be offended if more of the profoundly self-righteous kept killing one another as long as there were fewer cases of collateral damage.
5) BIOLA/Talbot etc., had a total of 60 seconds to make a point (two 30 second spots) and their intended audience is not especially known for a protracted span of attention
***
We don’t need to sneak in anything. Preach it boldly and see the mighty work of God.
***so WHAT EXACTLY became of the "twelve apostles" again?
***
”So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.“
Isaiah 55:11
***so I guess "Isaiahs plan" was to get them killed.
Good to know that.
***
if they directly equate the money with religious ideology, their "church" could be looking at losing their IRS tax-exempt status. Churches are not supposed to support political ideologies nor for-profit business.
But when a church outfit throws 14 million for 1 minute of superbowl ad time, I'm thinking someone profits from that.
WRT "...We don’t need to sneak in anything. Preach it boldly and see the mighty work of God...
[isaiah]:It shall not return to Me void..."
1) the marketing people they hired, obviously saw this issue differently. if you have a line on this concept maybe they should pay 7 mil to you for a 30 second spot.
2) isaiah made a mistake. gave bad advice to a king. not only did that "return void" it got him cut in half with a saw.
About a yr ago, I did some pretty deep research on the "He Gets Us" campaign. I went to their website and read and printed off all of their articles. I was not and am not at all impressed with their campaign. Where is the call to repent of sin and turn to Christ? That Jesus is God the Son and He died on the cross for our sins? All I see is Jesus being portrayed as a social justice warrior who hung out with the outcast. Yes, there is truth in that but they leave the most important part of the gospel out! We are sinners who need to turn from our sins and make Jesus the Lord of our lives! Satan is fine with the social justice warrior Jesus who doesn't call for repentance and humility towards God and IMO, that is exactly the Jesus that the "He Gets Us" campaign is promoting. I will be watching the Super Bowl tomorrow night (GO CHIEFS!) and will be looking for these "he gets us" commercials and hope they do a much better job of portraying Jesus as God the Savior and Lord instead of just a good man who did good deeds that we should emulate. Not holding my breath...
@@fibonacho I did watch the entire video. Have you ever heard of Natasha Crain? She just wrote a long article on this topic called "Here comes the He Gets Us campaign again: Why it's portrayal of Jesus is still a problem." I find her article to be much more balanced and accurate on the "He Gets Us" campaign than this podcast which I found to be too accepting of this campaign. That being said, I appreciate Sean McDowell and have learned a lot from him.
It’s a foot in the door, it’s planting a seed, how many conversations with non-believers have you had recently. It’s the long game, the deep stuff comes down the road. Pray for this effort. I’m impressed.
@@sajordan3428
No it’s screwtape letters stuff.
@@fibonacho it is their website content that is the problem
👏👏👏👏👏
I have mixed feelings about this campaign. The website seems to misrepresent the character of Christ with progressive ideology. I'm not sure that's the best way to initiate a conversation. However, I also know that God can use anything for His purposes.
I completely agree. I more have a negative view of the campaign, because I think people already have a positive view of Jesus being a good guy and doing good things. To have that time and spend that money and not actually share the gospel at all seems wrong to me. Yes Jesus is loving and his ultimate expression is not washing feet, it is dying on the cross so that people could know God and have a relationship with him and their sins being forgiven and getting the gift of eternal life.
Totally agree, you worded that perfectly.
@@biblicalworldview1 it’s more than just how Jesus loves us and gets us, to piggy back on what you shared, it’s how through Him we can be made new, the resurrection is the linchpin of our faith and being a follower of Christ. A lot of other religions purport love, peace, etc; nevertheless as you stated God can use it for good and His glory.
God can absolutely use anything, but that doesn’t excuse us from propagating false views of Jesus. If we do such a thing, then we must repent.
Perfectly said. I agree...
Guys, I am looking at the website now (I don't watch the Superbowl); let's be honest, you guys are all supposed to be theologians here. Is there anything in the "HeGetUs" campaign that is anything more than the old "social gospel." Jesus was a nice guy, he loved people, he did good things, he wants you to be a good person. Is that what Talbot is teaching now?
no, no. talbot is all about "apologetics". it is a training camp for ideologues to allegedly "win arguments against atheists". it is headed up by frank turek and william lane craig, both of which have lost debates with notable atheists (clips easily found on youtube in their entirety). So obviously they are brilliant and worth 14 million dollars in money to CBS Sports.
I guess that was Frank's way to buy some "mainstream media" access.
Maybe he should just start making stupid statements while the press is there, and get the media to follow him around, like Trump does.
I find it very depressing that this came out of Talbot.
@@akhiker2495
IMHO the unifying lesson is called "hubris". He who fancies himself a theologian, apparently is not a good manager of money. Especially large sums of someone else's money.
Which reminds me of a guy likely to be running in some states in November. He fancies himself brilliant too. He is not.
@@akhiker2495 yes, I was unpleasantly surprised by it too. However it could just be they are allowing freedom of ideas to be discussed.
no, both the mcdowells and the talbot crew are definitely in the "turn or burn" apologetics camp.
I presume the 14 mil was from donations, but good luck getting them to fess up about where their money comes from.
it only took one minute for them to waste it, so obviously they are richer than that.
I agree with the critiques coming from people like: Natasha Crain, Melissa Dougherty., Allie Beth Stuckey, Matt Walsh, Robert Gagnon, Nate Fischer, Samuel Sey, etc. Your guest said something like you can't get the Christian message of creation, fall, redemption in a 30 sec. ad. What? He said that in less than 3 seconds. I"m sure those who are creative could do that Christiian message an ad. Regarding pre-evangelism, do you pre-evagelism with false (or potentially) information? Let me answer that, "no!"
👏👏👏👏👏
Yes.
That's what I'm thinking, if we pre-evangelize and "build a bridge" we have to have something real on the other side and that website isn't it. I would probably feel different if there was clear messaging on the other side and they had actually teamed up with Biblical local churches to send people to if they have questions or a place right there to ask questions with Biblically solid people to answer them.
Yes! And have you seen the counter-ad that Jamie Bambrick put out from Northern Ireland!?? INCREDIBLE!! Gave me chills and brought me to tears-the power of the Gospel in 30 seconds! He kept the commercial’s song and motif but completely empowered it with the true gospel and its incredible.
@@laurenkwarrenYes, had me in tears.
“How do you address Jesus’ divinity in a 30 sec. ad?”
In stead of “He gets us” how about “He is God”
Right. Or just use Philippians 2:5-11, and just add He did all this to save us from our sins. You get the divinity of Christ and that he died to save us from our sins.
Jesus came for the sick, another words, those who were not brought up reading or getting a proper understanding of the Bible. Just quoting scripture was not enough to get me curious about reading and studying for myself and consequently, getting saved! And, it has never been enough to get any of my unsaved friends and family to want to want to know God, in a personal way. He (Jesus) gets us and came to tell us that God gets us!
Calling Jesus a refugee seemed targeted about the border crisis and conservatives' stance on the restriction of immigration.
They called Jesus a “refugee”? 🤦♂️🙄
@@brando3342 yes. Did you see tonight's ad with the washing of feet? I actually thought it was ok. Until they made yet another dig at conservatives. It's like they have never actually gone to a protest of an abortion clinic.
@@markwhite116 That’s sad. I didn’t see the ad, didn’t watch the Super Bowl. Actually I’m not sure I’ve seen any of these ads. Sounds like I’m not missing much.
It’s tainted with leftist drivel. This campaign is put in place by a nonChristian billionaire. Its purpose is to further divide the church.
Not everyone coming across the border is a refugee. Some are coming with evil intentions, including drug muling/sales, human trafficking, and some are just terrorists that would be stopped at airports but not at the border. I'm not going to back down on shutting the border.
I thought the ads were evangelism from a watered-down, Progressive perspective. Knowing that they’re intended as “pre-evangelism” makes a big difference.
Trying to meet people where they are but not compromising the word and the truth. Gentleness and love is important when trying to bring down a barrier.
Issue is people can easily be led fown the progressive path with this
@@troylee4196 I think: that determination needs to be done with individual ads.
@@troylee4196what you you mean by that? I truly don’t know.
@@benjaminprice3219 It means being vague allows for too many interpretations.
I have to admit, I figured those ads were Mormon. They are just so truth light with quite a bit of artistic license on how Christ would be counter culture. It also rings a bit "social justice." Those involved in social justice will likely see it as an affirmation that they are trekking with God. I do hope God uses it, but fear that too many have a false sense of security from a watered down gospel message. They got their golden ticket to Heaven by saying a prayer but were never taught to "examine themselves to see if they truly be in the faith. I hope I am way off base on this and this is an effective campaign.
I respectfully disagree. I think about how Paul preached the Gentiles, and he always preached using their verbiage and their concepts. If you look at acts 21 and Mars Hill, Paul use their philosophers to point to Jesus. Paul didn’t have a message of repent on Mars Hill, but an affirmation of what they were seeking. I see this as being something adjacent to that. The repentance comes after the curiosity.
It does sound a bit social justice, but the social justice movement has taken over all the of the west. Thinking of the scripture, "Be as wise as serpents, as harmless as doves". It doesn't hurt to reach them where they are at. I'm not saying Jesus is social justice like the socialist, far left movement, but he was totally subversive and different for his day. His message always irked the pharisees, who were far more interested in the letter of the law, than the actual spirit of the law, which Jesus said was far more important.
No. I don't like it. And the partnerships they made are less than... discerning.
I love how the Bible tells us not to put our trust in men. I am grateful for Sean McDowell's ministry and think he is an excellent teacher, but I just can't get on board with this campaign. I get an uneasy feeling about it.
Agreed!
Just finished Melissa Dohertys commentary on this campaign.
If you listen to it, Sean....can you give your thoughts?
It was very powerful.
Agreed. I saw it first and read a comment about this interview. I think it's good to see all the angles. I personally disliked the social justice aspect of the ad and felt it is controversial for a reason. If someone gets truly saved with this great, but if others use it to justify a sinful lifestyle, the campaign has to live with that too.
I think the danger, which I saw in this year's Super bowl ads, were an oversimplified portrayal of Jesus. Which I think can be misleading for someone who's a skeptic or new believer. I love the heart of the ad campaign, but I also think there's an important line that probably needs to be followed.
I see some people saying they get a “bad” or “uneasy” feeling when they see these ads and I honestly get that as well. However, I then see the conclusion from others that it’s because the ads “are bad” and that you or I “should feel that way” but I disagree.
I want to conclude that but if I’m honest with myself I think I get that feeling because I’m being convicted by the Holy Spirit that I’m not doing the things that Jesus would be doing if he were here. Interacting with the least of these and instead I find myself frequently repelled by them for many reasons (smell, look, fear of judgment, etc.).
Lord use this to move me and other Christians towards those that don’t look like me but need you the most! In Jesus mighty name! Amen!
Jesus would not have washed feet in front of an abortuary. Based on what He fid in Scripture, He would have rither loudly called for repentance or overturned the operating tables. God HATES sin and did not minimize it by 'being nice" to sinners, but calling them to repentance. Wr don't get to keep our sin (abortion, LGBTQ identities) and have Jesus, too.
Jesus would have pulled everybody out of the abortion clinic before overseeing the complete demolition of it.
@@conceptualclarity Is that what he did to the heretics in Rome that oppressed and exploited God’s chosen people?
@@Braillionaire Jesus did not go to Rome
@@conceptualclarity You are 100% right.
I watched this podcast, and now that the commercials have aired I have a lot of questions. What is Sean’s take on this campaign now? To me, it gives no message of the need to repent and is not based on Scripture, but a twisting of Scripture. Very disappointing that Sean would put this up as something to support. I hope he comes out and clarifies his stance.
I agree… very surprised to see Sean sitting here…..
The interview is his boss. He’s the Dean at Talbot Theology believe it or not. Ed Stetzer is hired by many churches on how to grow a church… these men have platforms and influence the younger generation. That’s what is sooooo disappointing why Sean didn’t call this out.
so buy your own commercials. nobody is stopping you.
Natasha Crain recently did a very thoughtfully analysis of He Gets Us.
Oops-thoughtful analysis…
Yes, her article was excellent. Dallas Jenkins called it "laughable word salad poppycock." 🙄
@@uploadingjoy9120 I hope her article and podcast on same topic is widely read/heard. 🙏🏽
I just read the original article from 2022, as well as the new one she published after this video came out. Both were a good read and I agree that they should be widely shared.
@@uploadingjoy9120Oh, man...any idea where I could track down Jenkins' response?
The commercial they aired during the Super Bowl last night definitely represented a leftist social justice Jesus and not the one of the Bible.
Jesus transcends politics from all countries
@@sajordan3428 Yes, Jesus is not a politician but this organization is using him as one.
Absolutely agree, leftist propaganda, NOT Jesus.
“He gets us” does not present the Gospel. Plain and simple. If people see a sin friendly Jesus who is all kind and all love they miss the real Jesus. This is such a gross misrepresentation of Christ it is despicable.
You’re totally right that it doesn’t present the gospel, that is in the way you are likely meaning… if you listened, the goal wasn’t to present the gospel. The goal was to get people open to become curious about Jesus > then lead them to more after.
Agree. Despicable.
Thank you Jesus that you first loved me when I was a despicable sinner. Your love for me was overwhelming, to the point of dying, when I was a fornicating, sinning, drug user.
You cannot “present the gospel” in 30 seconds
@@stokedpoke and now you are a huge egomaniac.
you just use a different kind of drug now.
great if it works for you, but you really should not be driving. since rapture claims your vehicle could be empty at any moment.
I don’t like the words “ He gets Us”
We need to to get HIM!
I noticed a lot of critics commenting here about this campaign. They seem to be mostly against spending so much money on it, or that it is misleading or misrepresenting Jesus, or not sharing the gospel. Those are all noteworthy concerns. But do they understand what pre-evangelism is about? Do you walk up to a total stranger who may not know anything about Jesus and start telling him about some guy dying to save him from his sins? Does it not make sense to start wherever a person is and go from there? I have a suspicion some of the critics never actually do any evangelism themselves, or they would recognize the most secular people are clueless about what you're talking about if you don't start where they are. Yes, people need to hear the whole gospel, but how effective can you compress that into 30 seconds? Seriously? There are literally millions today who have heard little or nothing about Jesus, he's not even on their radar in life. At least this group is trying to get those people to think about Jesus and hopefully raise some curiosity to learn more.
Yes, the ads can be misused by various groups for their own agenda. Yes, the various cults will jump on the opportunity to lead people to their version of Jesus (e.g. Mormons, Jehovah’s witnesses, prosperity gospel, Progressive christians, etc.), and that will be true just by mentioning the word god or jesus without any context.
Is this ad campaign imperfect? Sure. Will some misunderstand it? Of course. Might God use these opportunities to lead people to Christ? I believe quite possibly so.
I remember as a teenager living in a secular home being influenced by a ‘Try God’ campaign in the 70s it pointed me during a very tumultuous time in my life to the Lord, though I later learned there were many, many critics of that campaign slogan. For me it was something God used in a critical time of my life to point me to the gospel. I was even moved hearing the words “Jesus loves me” in a secular country song before I was saved that strangely drew my attention back then to Christ. Looking back I can see several unrelated events like these let me straight to the gospel of Christ.
I understand what they're trying to do with this ad campaign, I would prefer to see something more substantial, but I at least give them credit for trying something, rather than nothing (which I suspect some of the critics are themselves guilty of). Perhaps next year's campaign should say something like, ‘he gets us… but do you get him?’ if they want to provoke people to think more about what's behind the subject of Jesus?
I know people who know all about Jesus and the gospel and they still don't “get it”. I’ve also come to recognize there is not a one-size-fits-all presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And wherever you start is not as important as where you end up. I'm not saying all criticism is wrong, and we can all learn from our critics, and perhaps this campaign will take to heart some of the constructive criticism and critiques that they have encountered. But let's at least not be so quick to throw each other to the Lions (sorry Super bowl fans, I wasn't referring to Detroit, maybe next year 😉).
So the ad was so quick, I didn't really get to digest it, also I'm already a Christian and didn't see myself as the target audience anyway. However, seeing Justin Giboney vs Samuel Sey (both black Christians) disagree on what the ad represented made we think more deeply.
The feet washing was one directional. Jesus was criticized for sitting with “sinners”, but also said to love our enemies. The ad made it seem only one side had a pride pill to swallow (eg preppy girl washing the feet of the goth girl), but actually those who have been wronged/bullied/oppressed in the past may have the pill of unforgiveness and think it’s above them to do such a thing (like showing the goth girl doing the gesture towards the preppy girl). Your campaign ads show the “come as you are” brilliantly, but it doesn’t inform the audience that there is an expectation “not to stay as you are”.
If you're coming to church you're interested in repenting of a sin like abortion or homosexuality. The ad should've had these people at the church to emphasize that they are at least seekers if not repenting
Pre-evangelism is what it is being described. Seems like, the truth is a bitter pill to swallow so let’s sugarcoat it for now. I don’t know, that’s how I thought of it.
@@jameslancatiwalaan5236 That's not the sense I got from the ad, but when I actually went on the HeGetsUs website and read their FAQ, then ya, "sugarcoat" definitely fits the bill. SMH
Yeah I’m curious to see if they would’ve included a black man washing a white man’s feet or vise versa.
@@airtown83 Wouldn’t be effective. When people get offended in the modern era, they turn their brains off and react with unrestrained hostility. So to get a person to seek evangelism, it is not wise to offend them during your pre-evangelism.
Now I know because I started from the beginning. Interesting. God can use this if we pray, so let's do that!
One person plants the seed, one person waters, but God gives the increase.
Exactly even pop christianity might draw people to an authentic conversion
@@carolinenorman6141Gambling with people's souls. Will, that's a new twist.
@@carolinenorman6141 I've heard dramatic Christian conversions that started w/ a very progressive church. Even though the message was super watered down, if there at all, the person was ready and God moved on them powerfully. God can work through anything, all you have to have is fertile soil in your heart. A la, the parable of the sower.
I found that scripture only recently! Then I read it out loud in Sunday school class!
1 Corinthians 3:6
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase
@@glynnetolar4423 Hey, out of sincerity, I believe that God makes all things toward the good, so if evil intentions are used toward the good, how much more are good things of Jesus (even if they might be off, like pop Christianity) used for the good! I had this thought a while back. I remember a line from John, "Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me-" I bet whoever sincerely believes will be drawn closer. I would think our Lord would guide them, hopefully pop Christianity is like a foot in the door kind of thing
As Babylon Bee stated, "Satan: He Gets Us" - Satan wants us to keep sinning. How is this any different from the "He Gets Us" ad?
I had a small role in the "I Found It" campaign in CA. Part of the campaign was working with local churches and volunteers would go door-to-door or call people up on the phone to talk to them cold-turkey.
Mmm, I’ll look into this campaign, but telemarket evangelism seems odd and off putting, perhaps it was effective to producing fruitful Christian’s????
I remember this one and our church was involved. Encouraging Christians to actually personally reach out one on one was right!
@@hannahbaker3080this campaign was long before telemarketing was a thing. Jesus told us to go out and preach the gospel which we/I don't do as we should these days. I don't think the cold calling would be as effective today as so many abuses of the phone system with telemarketing. But it was good to get Christians reaching out to people who need Christ!
I think this is a wonderful use of Christian resources. Pre-evangelism makes perfect sense to me. The goal is to get people to read the Bible. That’s as good as it gets.
I can't seem to find "pre-evangelism" anywhere in scripture.
@@Reconciled2Himtouché! But it works. We have people on the airwaves telling the plan of salvation; having something different on the airwaves to stoke people's curiosity about the gospel (with a place to go and learn more) is just another fishing line in the water.
He's making one big consequntialist argument: if it gets people talking about Jesus, it's good. That's a load of nonsense. Especially coming from a leader at a Christian university.
This interview was very helpful. I have been seeing these ads and have been concerned about where they’re going. The Superbowl ad was well done, but my mind went to the cost of the ad and was that the best use of resources in a broken world. This makes so much sense now and I feel good about getting behind them.
Hmmm... it seems like this 'let's steal past the watchful dragons' approach to 'get people looking into Jesus' is an approach where the end supposedly justifies the rather questionable means. That's a no from me. I won't be evangelising in a way that's misleading in order to trick people into thinking that Jesus APPROVES of all or any behaviour.
Agree
I get that "somethings wrong" feeling whenever the name of this group is spoken. I can't explain it.
It's about social justice change rather than heart change
So you should get that feeling as it's wrong
@@troylee4196 What part of this campaign is about social justice? And if there is, doesn't the bible still promote righteousness regardless of whether or not people may abuse such wording to virtue signal? Don't you think this could be a good starting point to guide non-believers on the road to Jesus?
@@eryhv First, I feel it's not on the road "to Jesus" but the road "with Jesus" as he is the forerunner and direcrs our steps
I think the starting point comes from recognizing we're sinners not so much we need to see things fixed because of these other sinners
Sure, I have no idea how people may respond to this campaign or who have, I'm certain plenty of people actively recognized the need to repent and know Jesus and go to their own Arabia (as Paul said he did for 3 years in Galatians) and get to be led personally by God...but overall, the issue with the campaign looking at ut from my pov is it doesn't show how we are the problem without Jesus, not them
@@troylee4196 how would you create a campaign that accurately portrays that on my best day I, you, and every - every other faithful believer is daily struggling with pride, self-righteousness, and pick your favorite sin AND it’s that grace saved me in spite of those sins?
Is doctrine important it is. However, we, meaning the historical, orthodox Christian church has so misunderstand that the most powerful part of my witness is transparency about how much I was and can be like the people still lost yet and despite that Jesus gets me.
Just something to consider.
The fact that they point to the YouVersion app ought to raise the hairs on the back of our neck...
I get what he is saying about the pre-evangelism, but there is no call to repentance. Once you do get to that won’t it feel like a bait and switch or if you never do bring them around to repentance you’ve done nothing.
I can't seem to find "pre-evangelism" in scripture.
@@Reconciled2Himthe reason people are talking about pre-evangelism is because we’ve been used to living in a society that even none Christians assumed a more or less Biblical worldview, that is not the case anymore even among many that would call themselves Christian. To contend with this we have to one recognize our own assumptions and also get the person we want to reach to recognize their own assumptions. At that point communication can really begin instead of just talking past each other. This campaign seems to be conceding the assumptions and just going with the the world’s world view.
I can see both sides . And I keep going back to Philippians 1:15-18
Where Paul explains how some preach the gospel with false motives and he could care less. Because Jesus is being talked about.
If one of the most influential humans in the Bible said that, while imprisoned .. we can agree that God can do anything through any form of exposure to His Word.
Paul said he rejoices because of this!
So I will too 🙏🏼 God is big enough to convict, correct and rebuke ..
Great point!
I can see your point. Something to think about is while in Philippians they preach the gospel with false motives, they still preach the gospel. But when the gospel itself is changed, even if it were to be spread through good motives, it is a false gospel. Which should not be spread. If this is not the true Jesus being portrayed how will this Jesus bring salvation?
Yes but lets look at Philippians in context. It says Paul rejoiced that "Christ was preached" regardless of their motives. But the key phrase is Christ was preached, as in Jesus being the Messiah, Son of God, died in our place, rose from the grave, not Jesus being taught as a good moral teacher. When you leave out the divinity and authority of Jesus, all is seen is His humanity and that's the misleading part that does the most damage.
I had to look this up and read it for myself. Thank you for posting this scripture!
Remember, Paul said the motive behind preaching is false, not that it was a false gospel.
I get that you can't put the entire gospel story in a 30 second ad, but you certainly can put it on a website. The website articles and FAQs are extremely vague and do not share the hope of the gospel at all.
The last thing Jesus told his disciples was "teach the nations to obey what I have commanded you". Your message seems to be that Jesus doesn't want everyone to obey Him but wants everyone to know that He loves them, which is true but I'm afraid it's misleading to many.
I was hoping that this conversation would help shed light on the Ads but I only have more questions. I think the ads are thought provoking just not in the ways that I think actually point to the truths of who Jesus actually is. Further, it’s not if he gets us, it’s if we get him.
I’m sorry, but I strongly disagree with this conversation. I always appreciate you and the guests you have on, but I expect better from those who actually teach theology. “Jesus was a nice guy” is not The Gospel. The Lord can certainly use this for His good, but He can also use it for His glory if we all go punch someone as hard as possible and say, “Jesus loves you!” That doesn’t make it right, Biblically.
And, he uttered pure liberation theology with his comment on “how Jesus elevated women”. It’s much more nuanced than he’s making it out to be.
The Super Bowl ad was a disgrace.
My head hurts. This is so convoluted
Exactly. The Truth is a lot simpler than a supposedly justified misleading campaign to 'hook' people by selling a watered-down version of god..
Ive heard it said that what we draw nonbelievers with, we draw them to. So if we are drawing them with a "nice", "innocuous" "tolerant" Jesus, will they ever honor Him as Lord? I think the reason Christians are so hated right now is not their hypocrisy it's that the culture can't stand any standard other than what is right in their own eyes. This ad further alienates the church from its Leader in the eyes of the world. That's not necessarily the best move right now. And as far as feet washing? In as far as it is a symbol for caring for the needs of others? The Christian church does more for others in the Name of Christ than any other entity on the planet. My daughter spent a year raising money so that she could move to an area that houses refugees and come alongside them in every way possible. She had spent months there previously being trained and is now a permanent "employee" living off the generosity of the church. She is one tiny example of all the beautiful ways the church brings the kingdom of God to earth.
“If you disagree with the ad but have the conversation and share the Gospel then the creators would be profoundly happy.”
That says it all to me.
I invited my whole neighborhood and more people that don’t know Christ to watch the Super Bowl and they will leave with a track and an announcement that my church is being mentioned in the add since we teamed up with He Gets Us. It’s not about us it’s about Christ!
I hope people saw Christ, but I just cannot imagine Christ washing feet while babies were being murdered a few feet away.
I honestly pray God uses that to open doors for you to share the gospel, but you'll have a lot of misconceptions from the ad to overcome when you start talking about sin and repentance.
@@btvolley1 I agree. There is so much more than this and there is a lot more to Christ that they go around I have recently discovered. Some things I am learning as well and I am just praying that we decipher the truth from the facade.
If this gets people seeking the Jesus of scripture and only scripture. Not the Jesus of someone's mind, we all should be 100% for it.
“If”
I think the premise of the campaign is that Jesus “getting us” is a good thing. The problem is it’s not exclusively good. Because Gof is all holy and all knowing Jesus “getting us” means he gets how sinful we are. Some days I wish Jesus didn’t get me.
He does "get" us in that He knows everything about us and what we are thinking, yet He still loves us.
@@gailpurcell1649John 3:18
But it’s actually such a blessing that He does get us & understands the depth of our sin against Him, because He actually did something about it! God loved us first, Jesus took on our sins & died in our place, satisfying God’s wrath, so that we can repent of our sins, and joyfully accept God’s mercy. We are no longer slaves to sin, no longer bound to it, nor controlled by the fear of death. The Holy Spirit now dwells in us, and we are now slaves to righteousness, being sanctified and trusting in the salvation God offers us, looking forward to eternal life with Him! You are not your sin and not made up of your own desires. You are a child of God, if indeed you have repented and confessed that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead! ( see Romans chapters 8 & 10) Praying for you, friend!
I look forward to watching your sermon at Bayside Saturday night. Apologetics always excite me with regards to the Christian faith.
Woo hoo, please say hi!
Ed is the man! He was serving as a teaching pastor at CF Miami when u first discovered him. Amazing teacher!!!
Putting a pebble or a grain of sand in the shoes of non believers. God will do the rest. This is an act of faith.
Without a call to repentance, the message of this "campaign" is watered down and has no power to truly save. It might make people feel good and accepted, but lacks a critical step in authentic salvation.
The idea that these commercials have to explain everything about "the Gospel" is like saying that a tract needs to explain everything on just the cover. Silly.
Wouldn't be that hard to show more of the gospel though.
-The ad could end like this:
"He gets us. He died for us. Because he loves us."
The problem is that many in our society already see Jesus as this affirming, non-judgemental buddy, not God in the flesh who died to bring sinners to repentance. These ads simply reinforce that error. So IF someone goes to the website and starts asking questions to learn more, now you've got to go back and correct the misconception you brought them in with.
A tract at least HAS the gospel in it, maybe not on the first page but definitely on one of the pages... Not just a "affirming" view of Jesus with a weak attempt at pointing people to the Bible to find the gospel on their own.
Pre-evangelism? What a joke. Have not heard that term in years and you all should be ashamed endorsing this crock. Monique and Krista are so right on about Biola/Talbot.
I also disagree with the ad on multiple counts but thank you for the conversation. I would highly recommend Alisa Childers analysis on the recent “Unshaken Faith” podcast. It’s concise and gets to the heart of why this ad is so problematic, particularly the scene from the “Family Planning” clinic.
I received my M.A. Theology from Talbot in 2021 and noticed the school (like seemingly everyone else) allowing culture to creep into the university. During 2020 and 2021 there were things like articles written in the Talbot magazine on Social Justice or the Division of Diversity and Inclusion being created within the university. I reserved comments but sadly believed where the school was heading. When Stetzer was chosen to be the Dean at Talbot, it affirmed my worries for such a good school. His culture bridging and CEO approach is a dangerously slippery slope, especially for a School of Theology. This is a battles between Christians while unbelievers are watching carefully so we must be mindful with how we react to these things. When "He Gets Us" started, it was pretty clear that the "bridge to culture" as Ed mentioned was important. The obvious clickbait tactics get Christians talking about the commercials and unbelievers chomping at the bit to see Christians unknowningly how to discuss the commericals. My worries, and like many (dare I so most) Christians, are to be hesistant in bridging to culture that is so perverse, hating of the Gospel, and so joyously anti-Christian. Rosaria Butterfield brilliantly talks about the Post-Obergefell culture that we live in currently. After the Supreme Court legalized gay mirage, the culture loudly proclaimed itself to not be neutral towards Christians and therefore Christians must not be neutral either. When we try to walk the thin line and bridge the gap with culture in ways like the He Gets Us campaign, we really are bending and even breaking to the culture. The Gospel is meant to confront sin (not through affirming it) and proclaiming a new life in Jesus (not one continuing in the sins). Christ dying for our sins is much more than a talking point for "pre-evangelism" like Stetzer says. The death and resurrection by our Savior should be revered to the point of tears that He would even dare wash our feet. The Creator of the universe certainly gets us, but do we as Christians really get what He has done for us?
Thank you for this conversation. Praying for all who were triggered by those ads, one way or another.
Thank you for the video. Very helpful.
Thanks Sean for doing this conversation. I've sat under Ed's teaching in a room with a bunch of other church planters so I trust his theology and his heart.
If he reads these comments at all, I have a couple of suggestions that might help to bring together other Christian groups that saw these ads simply in line with current cultural values.
What if you'd had a nicely dressed black pastor coming out of his church building and washing the feet of a white homeless vet?
What if you had the Mexican abuela washing the feet of her unwed poor young white neighbor girl with her infant in her lap?
There's a ton of people in my neighborhood, rural Midwest, who have left the church and who feel excluded not only from the church but from society as a whole. And that commercial would have been seen by them and they would have known they were also included in the He Gets Us.
I believe the commercial gives ammunition to counter the gospel presentation at around 23:50: “receive Him? He receives ME.” Then we get back at the core of the issue: who are the sheep? Do they hear His voice? Has His Spirit quickened them to receive Christ as Lord? This commercial affirms the mainstream view on how Jesus “loves”. I pray that I see what I’m missing here.
You should have waited until these most recent ads aired before having this conversation. They’re presenting a very different Christ than the true Christ found in scripture. They don’t vet any of the churches that they send people to once they sign up on the website. So many red flags with these people. Not at all surprised that Stetzer is on board…I’m a little surprised that Sean seems to be supportive.
😮
All praise be to God 🙌🙌🙌
Hey, this is a question. How did someone create a better presentation of the Gospel that showed Jesus's love for us, than the feet washing ad? They put former [fill in the blank] sin and said Jesus doesn't just get us, he saves us. Transforms, heals, redeems and a couple more. The He Gets Us campaign, feels super squishy. Maybe it's because the creative team wants to bash conservative Christians so hard. But wow. I will not be taking the excuse of proto-evangelism anymore.
Where in Scripture is “pre-evangelism”?
Precisely what I was thinking.
I have to admit that I never heard of the He Gets Us campaign until I saw this video.
My question is this add downplaying sin? I want to know what the intention of the add was. Do you feel their is need for repentance or does Jesus meet us on our terms?
Jesus meets us where we are. Those are God's terms.
Matt Walsh probably best sums up this ad: "the problem wt modern christianity is that it offers the invitation, but it forgets what the invitation is for"
Im just glad ads about Jesus are in the mainstream. ❤
I would like to see what portion of people think Jesus is anti woman, and also what portion of people think Christians are anti woman. I honestly think most people have a very high moral view of Jesus. What they don’t have is a repentance based view of Jesus. I think their issue is with “religious people” or Christians who say repent and believe as Jesus Himself said.
I don't see how Stezter can say in a world become increasingly pagan, openly neopagan even, that what is missing about Jesus is his humanity, and not his divinity? What an absolute misread of the culture. If you are going to do cultural apologetics, at least discern the culture correctly! The more Evangelicals try to do the "Jesus from below" method of Evangelism, the more Evangelicals will migrate to the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. In age of humanism, it is uninteresting and, to be honest, banal to emphasize Jesus as a humanitarian.
As if you need one more comment, especially from a nobody like me with no theology background. First the positives: getting people into the Bible to discover Jesus. Grabbing their attention and sneaking past the "dragons/gatekeepers". Showing Jesus as someone they can relate to and who can relate to them. The grasp of the whole gospel message of creation, fall, redemption, restoration is solid in what was said in this interview although that does not come across in the ad. I volunteer with on online evangelism organization loosely associated with CRU at one time, so I have seen ads that do present the one minute version of the gospel and I know it can be done. Everything doesn't have to be a full gospel presentation. It can be a (Greg Koukl) "pebble in the shoe" to get people to think about a certain aspect.
HOWEVER, this campaign could backfire as such people as Natasha Crane and Melissa Daugherty have stated. The negatives threaten to outdo the positives. The ads seem to portray a woke, culturally acceptable Jesus who endorses sin especially to those of us on the more historical Christian position who have had to deal with a different gospel (Alisa Childers) and a "Jesus in my image" ideology. My fear is people getting people to think that they are OK without turning away from doing life their way (I-dolatry), and to Jesus. It could mean people thinking that they have discovered the "real Jesus" from a wrong impression and use it to beat Bible believing Christians over the head for being too "narrow, judgemental, noninclusive, phobic...etc." (Been there far too often) Jesus met people where they were, but He never left them there. He said, "Follow Me."
Great discussion thanks Sean and team!
greetings from the Netherlands😊
This video makes me feel like even Sean was dooped by this campaign. He Saves Us, ,not he gets us. The Truth will set you free
Talbot school is among the best reformed schools.
DTS is also great.
Biblical inerrancy is maintained, kept and applied.
Pastor John
By dts - do you mean the ywam cult?
Are you kidding??!?! 😂
I understand by using this campaign that they want to lead people to Jesus and spread the gospel message. I completely get why they are doing this. However, I disagree though with how they are promoting it. These ads are promoting a false gospel and a false Christ by using a Left political agenda based off of false notions that don’t actually come from the Bible. I personally believe that If you want to lead people to Jesus, promote the truth of the gospel. That’s love the truth of who Jesus really is. I think there are other ways to promote these ads by speaking the truth. I will be praying for the folks who work for this organization to change their narrative to the truth. 🙏✝️❤
🙏🏼 Agree. The idea that came to mind is that the truth is such a bitter pill to swallow that we have to sugarcoat it for now just to attract non-believers.
I actually thought it was an LGBTQ ad! lol
It sure did seem like it.
EXCELLENT persepctive. much much appreciate you
There was an ad for Jesus during the Super Bowl, Halelujah!!!
Thank you for explaining , (without a de fensive posture ) the intent of the campaign. ... I have heard criticism about the wokeness of the content, but I get that, it is for a purpose. This is the *language of our culture. If it ignites an interest in Christ...and the bridge is crossed and on the other side of the bridge is the True Jesus and one comes to repentant faith in Him..... Awesome!
I just compare it somewhat to a prolife billboard. It may say in 5 weeks you detect a heartbeat...
Seed planted and maybe the one seeing it will be impacted.
”What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,“
Philippians 1:18 ESV
Also, can we dispense with this notion that "no one in America knows who Jesus is," as if we are all living in North Korea or something. I really doubt that is the case. Minimally it is an exaggeration. We still have a whole heck of a lot of churches round these parts; even if attendance if dropping. I have this creeping suspicion that people know what, and who, they are rejecting.
Thanks for this interview Josh, it did help me understand the ad and it’s intent. Unfortunately, in many American churches, you never actually hear clear preaching of the gospel. It’s usually more therapeutic, moralistic preaching.
Read the Gospels, Jesus is and was “counter culture” It led to His crucifixion
Why do they never show the need for repentance of sin? Jesus wasn’t just some hippie guy who “hung out with sinners.”
Wow, I have loved every Sean McDowell video I've seen until now. The HeGetsUs campaign is not an introduction to the Gospel as is said here. It teaches a false gospel altogether. I'm shocked at the promotion of this campaign on this channel.
No mixed emotions here ... This is the most dangerous thing going on in the world today.
Never heard of those but it is an interesting idea.
Some stuff I read on their website I think actually misrepresents who Jesus was/is. The idea that Jesus didn't feel welcomed by "religious" people or "church". Well, actually he was religious himself. He was called Rabbi. He was a Jew. He taught in synagogues. He taught his disciples. The word "religion" is bandied about as a rebuttal to the legalistic "fundamentalist" or something, but I think it's taken out of its first century context. Jesus ministered to people in need, people who reached out to him and recognised their need for God, for forgiveness, for healing, and so on. Zacchaeus made an effort to see Jesus by climbing a tree. The woman who anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume had experienced great forgiveness. But yes, there is the other side of it that people have a poor image of Jesus or a false image of Jesus, probably a politicised image of Jesus. I don't know about making Jesus into a modern day person that some might identify with though. It would seem more faithful to represent the Jesus of the gospels. I feel like in some ways the Jesus they are presenting is a half-baked Jesus, not the full Jesus of the gospels.
"He get's us" misses the mark in sharing the Gospel. God gets us, we NEED to get Him! He is a loving and holy God, who hates sin and wants us to repent and turn to HIM.
"I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I might save some"
I think this is foolish marketing by man. Use your money to show the actual words of Jesus. That's where the power is! For example, "In the world you will have trouble, take heart, I have overcome the world" Put this scripture up on billboards. Jesus words are powerful, unlike the man-made babble that you're currently doing!!
Are you going to call them out, or will you simply ignore it?
I do appreciate the Green family though. They've done some amazing work.
Sean, Scott: please ask Talbot Dean Ed Stetzer about why he scrubbed his July 29, 2020 Christianity Today article "Pro All Life: Why I Protest and Encourage You To Do So Too" from the internet?
The depiction of a priest washing the feet of a clearly gay identifying individual is deeply disturbing to me. To me this particular depiction appears more subservient than a depiction of an an individual that stands in need and someone choosing to serve. It smacks of mockery. Sadly, there is no attitude of "Thou shalt never wash my feet" (The attempt to elevate Christ) there is only the depiction of "Yes, the church should absolutely bow to the demands of the homosexual to be accepted and affirmed as is." I think to paint the expectation that Christ accepts us as is, is heresy. Perhaps Sola Scriptura will cure the ill. More likely, the portrayals will only serve to deepen the cultural expectation that Christians have no voice to oppose any cultural evil.
So, I magine that there won't be a serious critique of the Super Bowl ad on this channel......
"Insanely creative" key word Insane! Yeah, these people don't sound to me, interested in sharing God's word as it is, but would rather try and come up something they thought of to their own shame.
I remember the “I found it” bumper stickers, still don’t know what it means, one misconception about Jesus in my opinion is that everything is ok with him no matter the lifestyle, when in actuality he is pretty strict, go and sin no more, they tend to forget or leave that part out, don’t have a tv but blessings for your campaign, thank you everyone
Yeah, people love to leave out the "go and sin no more" part. Always drives me crazy how they just don't see it, or just choose not to see it.
I'm actually kind of disappointed in Shaun. He normally does such a good job of asking probing questions and it feels like there was a missed opportunity to address the elephant in the room: repentance. The ad campaign didn't fail in regards to the whole washing feet thing, it failed in an articulate presentation of the call. I know he says "you can't get it all in there" but there's literally a recut someone put together that does a tremendous job of showing the kind of life altering experience He offers
Timely conversation. The foot washing advertisement has been on my mind all evening and morning. Very thought provoking.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make pre evangelistic commercials of me to get the conversation started. There’s no rush.”
Hmmm....mixed messages in that add. Overall I like how it shows Jesus's love but unfortunately it doesn't address those lifestyles are sins and require repentance and are not ok in Jesus's eyes. So I get the attempt to trigger conversations it's a no for me.
Ed Stetzer continues to promote a false Christ. Surprised to see Sean promote this.
Could you tell me more context behind this? Like what do you mean he “continues” this. I genuinely am wondering
Where’s the interview where a strong Christian actually pushes the issues with what they’re doing and how their website is not fundamentally/ biblically sound?
Most people watching Super Bowl dont pay attention to commercials. They mute them and go to the bathroom or to the kitchen for a drink or food.