Don’t you just love a good slogan? While some advertising strap-lines are instantly forgettable, others stick around in the mind for a long time – which is of course what they’re designed to do. Some are a success because they are witty, others because they seem to saturate the media. They catch on, even though many of them tell you very little about the product or service they advertise, but instead count on a slick campaign to persuade you to buy. Many people will remember the days of rather more straightforward marketing, when a typical TV advert would be a housewife holding up a bar of soap or a cup of tea and giving a kind of ‘testimony’ that it was the best thing since sliced bread. There is something about a genuine customer review that makes it the best kind of advert for a good product, and that’s probably one of the reasons so many people now shop online, where it’s easy to find independent and unbiased user reviews. Just recently, I found these two slogans at a local gym advertising their own fitness plan, which includes a diet regime: ‘Eat more. Rest more. Snack more. Lose more.’ (If only!) and ‘Forget the fads. Find out the facts.’The second is good advice, whatever we apply it to, including the whole area of ‘spirituality’. Religion has seen its share of faddish beliefs over the years. In some cases, it just takes an individual to cobble together a few ‘beliefs’ that others might just find believable and hey presto, a new religion is born.To my mind, ‘user’ reviews and witness statements are still the most convincing when it comes to Christianity. If we are prepared to forget the fads and spend some time finding out the facts of what it means to know Jesus Christ, the truth that emerges can surprise us. We’ve just completed an Alpha course at Welton. Some of our group have become aware for the first time of what the Christian faith means for them personally, and have decided that it is what they need. I would like to hold an Alpha course in Saxilby, so if you’re interested, get in touch! (See www.alpha.org) Now I’ve done my bit of advertising, may I reinforce it with a ‘user review’ from St. John? Towards the end of his gospel, he writes this: ‘Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.’ (John 20:30-31).
Rev Andy Burrows 01673 862486 revandy@live.co.uk |  Click on photo to see it full screen  |
