I said I wasn't going to get into this

I decided a few weeks ago that I wasn't going to get into the inevitable Easter marketing barrage that occurs every year and floods our mailbox with flyers for special events (egg hunts, sunrise services, musical presentations, movie showings), special sermon series (because the only reason people haven't gone to church yet is they haven't heard you compare Jesus to Jack Bauer - more on that in a second), and even special parking for guests (that's right - right up front with the pastor!!!).
So I decided to stay out of it and then 3 things happened. (I am intentionally omitting any direct information about the churches involved, but I bet you could find them if you wanted to)
1. Greg pointed out the drive-thru "Passion" at a local church and then we received an email invitation to it this morning. Fortunately, the existence of this event comments for itself, so I can move on.

2. This ad came in the mail (cropped to keep the church out of it).










As a fan of both Jesus and Jack Bauer, this bothers me on a handful of levels. Jack is just like Jesus. Except for the shooting people in the leg to get information. And the kung fu skills. And the magic PDA of infinite knowledge. And Chloe.

But the straw that finished me. . .
3. My daughter (who is 7 and in first grade) brings home this invitation from school yesterday.
Note the moral superiority. No robes or live animals or special effects this year. No sir, not this crew. They offer "something different in this presentation that addresses our common concerns in the light of an uncommon savior".


And what is that something different? Just turn it over and see...





It's ice cream! Yes kids, come to the greatest Sundae (clever) ever! Enjoy and awesome Easter story as you enjoy an awesome sundae.
So many issues.
1. What if you are one of those crazy over-prtective parents that doesn't want your kid to have ice cream at 10:15am?

2. Note the corporate sponorship of this "unplugged" and "uncommon" celebration of Easter (Rusty's if you can't read it).

3. How dare you put me in the position of having to explain to my daughter why we can't go to that church and eat ice cream because we have to go to our lame church that only celebrates the resurrection of Jesus with music and prayer and remembering the story. I know it's the hip thing these days to market to kids (note the development of disneyesque children's centers), but ice cream? If this church were in a van handing out ice cream to kids to come and go for a ride, my kids know to run away and alert the police. This doesn't feel all that different to me.

Enough. Just remember that the strawberry topping represents. . .
j
(ps - sorry for the bad scans. even my scanner is rebeling at this)