A billboard installed by the Restored Church in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania portrays God as saying he loves sex. The non-denominational church put up the billboard along the local highway late August and of course, it had many heads turning when passersby read God saying, “I love sex.”
The billboard, situated on Route 309, started drawing attention as soon as it went up. According to Pastor Dan Nichols, the billboard is aimed at drawing more people to the church in September when a three-part sermon series will be conducted to discuss sex based on the contents of Song of Solomon.
“It's in every single sitcom. It's on the radio. I mean, you go on any major news media outlet and there's stories about sexuality. If the culture can be so bold, I think the church can be so bold and speak directly on the subject and be up front about it,” Nichols said in an interview.
However, not everyone is looking at the billboard as a means to an end for the gospel. For instance, a pastor from another church in the same area wrote a letter to the local newspaper editor, calling the signboard misleading at best and a gross misstatement at worst.
“Our holy God is not a commodity that is to be marketed like a new line of clothing, new car or a new business; the world uses sex to sell everything. The church is supposed to be different from the world. God the father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are capable of evoking a reaction whenever they desire for whatever reason they desire,” said Pastor Vincent O'Boyle from the Church on the Square.
Pastors from Restored Church said that they wish to promote the idea of healthy marriages and dissociate sex from shame. Pastor Tim Walker, for example, said that he isn’t fazed by negative reaction because their strategy is definitely succeeding in drawing new visitors to the church and educating them.
“It really doesn't rattle us when we get negative feedback. We really put a lot of thought into this,” said Walker.
This is not the first time that a church has made use of such a billboard to promote the discussion of controversial subjects like love and sex. In September last year, a church in Richmond, Texas, also installed a billboard reading “Love Sex” to promote another sermon series that addressed sexual relations through a Biblical lens and referred to sex as a “powerful expression of love.” The current billboard by the Restored Church will stay on the highway until the end of September.
Photo Credits: Christian Post
