Mixed Messages

I was driving behind a white taxi in Lima yesterday. I noticed that the taxi driver had a Jesus fish hanging from his rear-view mirror. Very nice, I thought. A brother in the Lord. But then I noticed the rear bumper on the taxi. The rear bumper had a pair of identical stickers on it, each featuring a cartoon delinquent extending his middle finger and grabbing his crotch.

To paraphrase Fred Rogers from "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" fame: "Can you say 'Mixed messages?' I know you can!"

A Jesus fish, a raised middle finger, and a crotch grab. Yeah, that pretty much meets the definition of a mixed message.

Are you sending out any mixed messages in your ministry? Perhaps you think that people only see the "Jesus fish" side of your ministry - the good-and-worthy spiritual side - but are you doing anything else that may be sending out a mixed message to your community? You may not be raising your middle finger or grabbing your crotch - at least I hope you're not! - but maybe there's a bad association that you're a part of, or maybe your ministry doesn't have as positive a street rep as it should, or maybe the people involved in your ministry come across as cold, indifferent, uncaring, condescending, arrogant, or holier-than-thou in the community.

You may have the greatest ministerial vision in the whole world, but if the vision is being trampled by a bad or mixed message, then you'll never accomplish it. Make sure your vision and message are on the same track. Make sure that when people view your ministry, they see the Jesus fish, and only the Jesus fish, and nothing else.