Heavy, Deep & Real ministries

Most of you know that I love to scroll social media to see what folks are thinking. After the Super Bowl I noticed a ton of Christians responding to the “He Gets Us” ads that played during the game. Unsurprising all the Christians responding to the ad had nothing but negative reviews.

If you didn’t see the ads they basically shared the message of Jesus’ inclusivity. Here is what the He Gets Us people say about their campaign:

“How did the story of Jesus, the world’s greatest love story, get twisted into a tool to judge, harm, and divide? How do we remind people that the story of Jesus belongs to everyone? These questions are the beating heart of He Gets Us.

“We hope to remind everyone, including ourselves, that Jesus’ teachings are a warm embrace, not a cold shoulder. That he didn’t let pro-this or anti-that opinions prohibit him from seeing the value in all people. He Gets Us invites you to explore Jesus’ story on your own terms and at your own pace. Our message isn’t from a particular church nor is it affiliated with any one denomination.

“Our campaign comprises humble perspectives from a diverse group of Jesus fans and followers with a variety of faith journeys and lived experiences bound by a common desire: to rediscover and share the compelling story of Jesus’ life in a new way.

“We will make mistakes. Like anyone with a public message or who sets out to share an idea, we won’t always get it right. Expect us to be human.

“The campaign exists to remind us of the example that Jesus set while inviting all to explore his teachings so we can all follow his example of confounding, unconditional love. Because He Gets Us. All of Us.”

As with all things dealing with the faith, we all should have a critical eye to ensure that what is being professed is biblical and in line with Christ’s teachings. This group has chosen to focus its efforts on the love of Christ in an effort to bring people to Him.

Personally, I didn’t think they were too off in their message but if you read social media you would think these folks are basically a heretical mouthpiece.

This response surprised me. There is nothing wrong with talking about the love of Christ and saying that sinners (word not used but implied via the images used) can come to Jesus with open arms. Isn’t that a big piece of the gospel message?

The main complaint I read came from the reformed folks who blasted the ad for not acknowledging sin and repentance. Their view was the ads were what I call “partial gospel” which is highlighting one part of the gospel at the expense of the other.

Now, I’m a HUGE critic of partial gospel but I just didn’t get that feel from these ads. Saying that Jesus loves you and wants you to come to Him is not mutually exclusive to having to admit your sin and repenting once you meet Him! Maybe I’m wrong about the motives of the He Gets Us group but painting Jesus as a loving shepherd is something we all preach about every Sunday!

I just went to the He Gets Us website to look a little deeper into the big question: Who do you think Jesus is? Here is there answer:

“It wouldn’t be hard to guess that many of those backing the campaign believe that Jesus is who the Bible says he is. He Gets Us is an initiative of Come Near Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to sharing the life and love of Jesus, that believes Jesus was human and divine, he rose from the dead, and more. No matter who you are and what you believe, we’re glad you’re here.”

So, they say they believe Jesus is who the Bible says He is – human and divine (hypostatic union) and rose from the dead (resurrection). I’m okay with that.

What about the LGBTQ-LMNOP stuff? He Gets Us says they believe God loves gays and trans people. I agree with that. Their statement doesn’t come out and call it sin that needs to be repentance. But they do say this:

“So let us be clear in our opinion. Jesus loves gay people and Jesus loves trans people. The LGBTQ+ community, like all people, is invited to explore the story of Jesus and consider his example of unconditional love, grace, and forgiveness of others. No matter who you are, YOU are invited to explore the story of Jesus and consider what it means for your life.”

Not a strong biblical statement but I get it given their mission which is to make Jesus approachable.

For me the question is are they watering down the Messiah and Savior? If they leave out the need to address sin and repentance then yes and they are a partial gospel organization. But if they agree that Jesus is who He says He is then once people come to know Jesus they will understand clearly their need to repent! You really can’t miss that part if you read scripture.

I have very strong views about the apostate church – the church that embraces cultural norms instead of biblical truth. However, I also have strong views on using biblical means to draw people to Jesus, including what some may consider soft skills to do so.

Never forget that our faith is about relationship – relationship with Jesus and relationship with each other. If people are finding Jesus and are being saved from He Gets Us, I am Second, the Jesus Today books, The Chosen, and other means I’m okay with that. The goal is to bring people to Jesus – it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict them of their sin and bring them into repentance.

We are to love people not judge people. Judging is God’s job not ours.

So, I’m okay with He Gets Us until they prove to be apostate which I don’t see from a couple Super Bowl ads.

Oh, one more point – as you know Super Bowl ads are expensive! Some said $7 million a pop! Someone wrote that He Gets Us should have spent that money serving the poor. I get that but I feel it’s more important, honestly, to evangelize and bring people to Christ than feed/house/clothe people. You can give someone a sandwich and they’re still going to hell if they don’t make a decision to follow Jesus. I see people use Christian charity all the time who aren’t going to make a decision for Jesus. But part of that is they’re not being evangelized while receiving that charity – the church just feels good about itself giving people stuff. Okay but let’s keep our eyes on the mission: Go out into the world making disciples… I like that He Gets Us put their money where their mouth is to draw people to Jesus. Let’s see how if they tell us the response they got in terms of people seeking Jesus because of those ads.