They took one act by Jesus in privacy with his disciples and try's to assume the general public will get their images. It doesn't seem the ad is about servanthood. I don't get the purpose of the ad.
Meg I
Well, because of how “off” this campaign is (and it is not that it just went “off” recently - it’s been “off” since the beginning), we now have “He Saves Us” by the gentleman from North Ireland, Jamie Bambrick. This is most excellent. As a member of the SBC, every time I think of “He Gets Us,” I can not help but think, “And Kevin Ezell was about to sign on the dotted line for my denomination to be a part of this.” Boy, does the SBC have house cleaning to do (and I know I am preaching to the choir here).
RudyB
I saw this line in today's Washington Times opinion page. The author is describing how traditional, Bible Believing, Christianity is now becoming excoriated and more and more marginalized.
"• A Super Bowl ad called 'He Gets Us' portrays Christians who stand against killing babies and debauching our bodies through sexual nihilism as guilty of 'teaching hate.'”
https://washingtontimes-dc.newsmemory.com?selDate=20240219&goTo=B02&editionStart=Washington%20Times
SAWGUNNER
The Babylon Been had a great take on the "He Gets Us" ad.
You should watch it.
I won't spoil it for you.
Schneider_1
Andrew, I appreciate your honesty in this article, but I think that you have ended up being "that guy" after all. Why did the producers of this ad choose the people they did? Maybe it was because they represent parties that have the highest propensity to be at odds with one another. I also found it ironic that in your technical criticism, you suggested that they should have focused on "Love your neighbor as yourself." The ad literally ends with the text, "HeGetsUs.com\LoveYourNeighbor". If we can start by proverbially washing our enemies' feet, speaking the truth of the gospel message to them will be much easier.
RudyB
Thank you! Fair critique. Much to ponder.
STEVE SOCAL
I've seen and read several videos and commentaries on this ad. To me it seems that the criticism, and sometimes outright vitriol from supposedly concerned Christians just illustrates one of the prime reasons such an ad is so needed in our divided and hate-filled society.
I am truly amazed at the fixation so many people under the "Christian" umbrella seem to have on just two of the multiple scenes on this excellent and moving Super Bowl ad. The scenes in the ad were not even focused on different kinds of sins at all, but this article, and so many other commentators sound as if the ad subtly minimizes, intentionally or otherwise, the spiritual gravity of certain select sins that are some of the hot topics of the day by showing "those" people's feet being washed by others. What about most of the other scenes portrayed? What are the sins represented by the young man and the conservative father/grandfather; the two high school students; the black young man and the (latino?) police officer; the native American and the rancher type; the environmentalist and the oil worker; the immigrants arriving in a middle class Chicago suburb; the young Muslim couple and their neighbors; the southern black and white men on the porch; etc. For goodness sake!
The foot washing was clearly representing the love of Christ in action through His people... loving God and loving our neighbors. Even the people doing the washing had their shoes removed to show how we all need grace and forgiveness. Many self-identified Christians seem more bent out of shape by this message than the standard atheist commentators are.
I say may God bless the people who made the effort and investment to create this ad... and I pray that it will touch the hearts of many who need to encounter the love of Christ... AND open the hearts of many Christians in America to walk away from the division and vitriol and look into our hearts and ask whether we truly have almost any of Christ's love for the sinner whose sins He willingly went to the cross for.
Yes, He wants us to repent for ALL of our sins, have faith only in Jesus and His gift of salvation paid in His blood, and be transformed by His grace and work in our lives, but He also calls His followers to love their neighbors as He has loved us. Let's stop tearing each other apart piece by piece.
Jesus did that. Jesus did this. Jesus was such. Make-no-image much? Why is it always those who have least relied on the Word through suffering who claim to know the most about Him? Run, sheep, run.
Every year, we see a sweet but poisonous message straight out of hell that's so visible it's invisible.
One year it was a literal prostitute riding a beast effigy and crowds cheering it on.
Another year it was using sacred symbols to support the idolatry of pluralism.
This time around the subliminal messaging of the hour could not be a clearer:
'Jesus? Jes Us. Xe's Us. Or, more accurately, We the open church are the voice of he/je. Us.
The importance of holiness and preservation of the harsh but sharp testimony that is able to jolt dead men to life, the never-changing character of the great white patriarch, and the message that time is short to turn from self-destruction before we dissipate into becoming incapable of even hearing the call to turn - these are hateful and don't align with the character of the real Love, which we are just beginning to explore in being true to our selves. At most, we just needed this spark of divinity, this message of love, add in maybe having a continual supply of blessings, and we can handle the rest. You who say, "We have an enduring continual deep need for the Living God as Father, to know and rely on his truth and to walk in the such a way that honors the Son who redeemed us back to His family and bestowed on us his own Holy Spirit. We were dead but now are being made alive. The impossible is possible with God!" -- you who insist on an impossibility for anyman are deceiving the everyman. You cannot be trusted; you are hypocrites. Your dirty feet are the very proof that you are frauds. We, not you, are the spiritual Jesus' real body, and you who claim to be the spiritual body of a real Nazarene, are the fakes.
So Man created god in Their own image
In the image of Self They created them.
Whateverkind and bestial they/them created.
Such is the ultimate blasphemy against the real Name of Jesus, that is, The LORD Saves / I Am Savior.
Who would have thought the Antichrist would come in the same name, claim, and wrappings, with the sheep having to rely on their hearing alone to discern? Oh how the world longs for a more accessible Jesus. A more welcoming church. Freedom from the having to fight with conscience. How the whole world will eagerly receive the shallow appearances, quick fixes, and powerful excuses, and love it.
The day is at hand when the antichrists spirits of the world unite to make one final war on the saints.
Alan Skiles
I see the technical point about the subject of foot washing, but I imagine the creators of this campaign would disagree with your understanding of their goals. There are other less cynical reasons for their choice to only highlight liberal sins. Right or wrong, one could interpret the ad as an attempt to reduce to absurdity the tried and true tropes about Christianity that mostly come from liberals, not conservatives or whatever you’d call the MAGA crowd, most of whom are already comfortable with Jesus if not followers of him. They seem to see the audience of the Super Bowl as slanted left thanks to Taylor Swifts involvement and its wide pop culture appeal. Therefore if that’s who was watching, that’s who they felt they should address. Even if the rust belt drug addict or factory worker is watching the game, they’re not the one with the voice in today’s public square and that’s where the argument was being made. I’m not saying the ad said enough, but it’s one thing to measure execution. It’s another to indict motives.
F STEPHENS
I'm not surprised that so many church-goers love t he ads and haven't a clue why they missed the theological mark. Few today have a firm grasp on doctrine and theology.
First, consider that the ads got it right by highlighting our duty to imitate Christ by reaching out to vulnerable members of society. The image of washing feet is precisely how we should treat mankind. Our goal should be to imitate the love that Christ showed His disciples.
Christianity calls one to repentance and that is where the problems of the campaign arise. Christianity is not a social religion whose only obligation is to be nice to each other. No, Christianity and faith in Christ calls for a total annihilation of the self and complete conformity to Christ. It is not a religion of simply good morals and a love-fest; it involves a radical change of the individual as Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 16.
The “He Gets Us” ads do not display true Christianity but, instead, a social justice Christianity.
I do understand they had just a quick very few moments to tell a story, but I would have expected a more complete theology on their website. It is not there.
In the ad's several seconds, of seeing the faces and reading the transformations of these once-lost souls, chills were spontaneously all over my body, tears instantly in my eyes as I saw myself, my husband and children, family and friends, who are redeemed, who walked away from the darkness that had us bound and into His marvelous light.
Thank you for sharing, pip. I pray this ad is played/shown as often, and in as many venues, as possible for years to come. Salvation through Jesus. Real lives changed. The power of God.
Lily
I liked the commercial. It was powerful for what it was. Could they have put another odd pairings doing foot washing (example: BLM washing MAGA supporter's feet)? Sure. But I think arguing about what it didn't show is missing the point of what it did show. If what was shown convicts some people, great! Nothing will convict everyone until the judgement at the end of time!
For what it is worth, there is a good response/continuation to "He Gets Us" floating around on YouTube called "He Saves Us". I thought it was equally powerful. It shows the transformation of lives that comes through saving faith.
The first step though is to reach out and 'wash feet', if not literally then symbolically, while we share the Gospel message so that some might be saved.
"He Saves Us" is way more powerful, because it presents the gospel. Nothing about HGU is convicting because the Jesus in the ads and most of the reading plans the website links to isn't Lord and Savior - He is merely a human, a "good example," a cool dude who rah rahs the Left's favorite causes, and seems (to me) to do little more than stroke the target audience's ego ("see? I've been right all along. I care about all the right people - Just like Jesus - and it's those religious Christians who have always been the problem!") How does that inspire any left-leaning skeptic to change anything?
TWAL1871
You are correct: You sound like “the seminary professor egghead who is just a little too fussy, especially when it comes to making a criticism.”
In my judgement (which I admit is humanly faulty) the producers at HGU have done a generally good job of conveying Jesus in 30-second commercials. I’d need to see more commercials than just this one to sound the “leftward tinge” alarm.
Christians “taking an X-Acto knife” to other Christians is not a good look.
DMEN4296
I think like any commercial, it is focused on creating curiosity in a specific audience of people. I think you need to view the commercial through those lens, not through your own lenses. I think the commercial is very effective at trying to create curiosity. We live in a post-Christian country, creating curiosity is the first step towards being able to engage others. As a biblical Christian who desires to engage all types of individuals, I think these commercials are awesome, and I think criticisms I've seen are misguided. Foot washing is a relational experience, a sign of love and care for an individual. People have to know how much you care, before they'll care about what you know.
jjlibrarian
Please don't put down other Christians. This only make the rest of the world think that Christians don't get along with themselves. It makes me so angry!
We need to learn to speak the truth in love. This means correcting those in error, but not in a nasty way. Honestly I'm still learning how to do this myself.
Yes, we do. But I have seen too much criticism of those commercials on social media and to me, it makes people sound like they are "holier than thou." We need to show love, and sadly Christians are not known for their love at all right now. Especially the MAGA folks.
You say 'please don't put down other Christians' and decry the idea of 'holier than thou'... and then specifically call out 'the MAGA folks'... I'm not sure if I'm missing something here, but something about this doesn't smell right to me.
This article was indeed framed not as a "put down" or condemnation but a helpful critique. It offers a balancing viewpoint and opens room for problem-solving and improvement. Where does your anger bring you? (saying that to myself as much as to you, friend)
You are putting down other Christians, and even expressing anger towards them!
DEHR2778
Follow the money folks.
Thor
Those commercials were the height of cringe.
Non-Christians were mad that religious fanatics interfered with their football watching and Christians realized them to be woke versions of what they believe, reinforcing the stereotype of Bible thumping.
The non believer reactions I saw were not about football. They were disparaging in ways that demonstrated a complete lack of understanding about who Jesus is. Some comments were pretty offensive, to be honest; but it’s not necessarily bad for there to be a discussion about who Jesus is and why people who follow him would wash someone’s feet. Etc.
You are entitled to your opinions, of course; but I am a Christian and I did not feel the same way about these ads. I liked them (as below) and felt hopeful they could stimulate conversations that might inspire people who currently want nothing to do with Jesus or the church to feel curious and seek to find out more about him.
Uff Da
After watching the ad several times, I'm still confused.
Who was this commercial aimed at?
not silent
I personally like the commercials, but the mission fields God has called me to have mostly been people who fit into groups this article describes as being on the “left.” (To be fair, I also volunteered at a crisis pregnancy center helping single mothers AND I have been active in recovery groups like AA. It would be a stretch to assume anything about the political affiliation of those groups-as they are both pretty diverse.)
For what it’s worth, I do know some Trump supporters and most are friends and fellow believers. We already do ministry together.
I have found that, regardless of political affiliation, people are much more willing to listen to truth AFTER they have experienced expressions of love (maybe not foot washing, per se, but things like: listening to them and not just talking at them, helping them where they are since not everyone can or will come to a physical church building, showing I care about them as a person by taking time to build a relationship, etc).
I’m not sure of the actual intent of the foot washing analogy, but I personally viewed it as doing ministry and showing love so that people who don’t know Christ can realize he loves them. The people I know who fit in categories featured in the ads have all heard plenty of preaching about sin, but most have not experienced much love from Christians.
"I have found that, regardless of political affiliation, people are much more willing to listen to truth AFTER they have experienced expressions of love"
The Big Sky Worldview Forum has had Abdu Murray come and speak several times. During one of his sessions, he told us a saying he heard in Lebanon: "You can't expect a person to smell the rose that you're handing them if you've first punched them in the nose." True as that may be, there still needs to be the sting of truth. "He Gets Us" is pretty much all roses.
Worse still, the "He Gets Us" thing spends an awful lot of time playing in the Critical Theory sandbox of Marxist oppressed/oppressor dogma, and leaves out any of the truth unless and until a curious person gets to the fourth and fifth YouVersion bible study programs. EVERY one of their images illustrates this trope and none have flipped the script. I would have liked to see in those ads a BLM activist washing a cop's feet. Where was that image? Or how about a gay or pink-hatted abortion activist washing the feet of some boomer in a MAGA hat? That would be countercultural.
The way this campaign is shading the truth of repentance at best sets up the curious for a bait and switch. I think it's more likely to foster a continued shallow understanding of Jesus. People who have prejudices against Christians who hold biblical worldviews as bad and intolerant will see their ideas reinforced rather than being moved toward an understanding that they, too, are sinners in need of salvation. The mainline churches have tried this idea of conforming to culture by tearing out books of the New Testament and all it's gotten them is empty pews. I don't see this hip-and-bougie ad campaign as doing anything different.
But maybe that's the point because I noticed that all of the dark money behind the campaign is from groups who are ideologically on the side of evil--atheism and abortion, primarily. I'm bummed that Ed Stetzer is involved in this program.
If I may ask, how exactly does one find out about “dark money” behind an ad campaign? (I should probably also ask what exactly dark money is.)
If I may add a question: I looked up Ed Stetzer, and I didn’t do a deep dive; but he definitely doesn’t look like an atheist or someone who is pro abortion. Could you clarify your position? Thanks.
Megan Basham has a book coming out in July that talks about this.
Ed Stetzer is a great guy, by all accounts. The Dean of the Talbot School of Theology at Biola, I remember fondly listening to him do Breakpoint commentaries.
However, the lack of transparency is disconcerting. Why does it smell exactly like something that the world wants to claim for its own? The HGU website tells us that it's made up of "many others who, though not Christians share a deep admiration for the man that Jesus was...." I'm pretty sure that getting your biblical hermeneutics from a non-Christian isn't a great idea. I'm quoting from their website.
They don't want you to go to church: "He Gets Us is not against the church, but we are not a back to church campaign."
And about the alphabet people: "Many of those who represent Jesus have made people in the LGBTQ+ community feel judged and excluded. And others in the Jesus community have simply ignored their stories and lived experiences. 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." Did you pick up on the progressive jargon there? "Lived experiences," and so forth. Yet somehow, there's not even a whiff of the term "repent." I wonder why that is.
The foot-washing ads were defended on the website like this: "With an upcoming election year that will be filled with division and derision, we decided to focus on one of the most important directives given by Jesus — Love Your Neighbor…As we explored creative ideas, we recalled the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet and realized this was the perfect example of how we should treat one another, even those people with whom we don’t see eye to eye." But what was the message that the images told us? If you haven't seen them yet, one shows a woman washing a younger woman's feet outside an abortion clinic, while a group of pro-life activists stand around nearby holding signs. The message is that the foot-washer woman is a good person. She's not one of those divisive, hateful, and judgemental Christians with their pro-life signs over there. No, she's nice. She's washing the feet of a woman who either just murdered her baby, or is about to. See? That's how Jesus would do it. Not like those icky, mean, bible-thumping, fundies over there getting in the way of this poor woman's right to health care.
But is it? Did Jesus say to wash everyone's feet while ignoring their sin? No. First, he only washed the feet of his disciples. Not everyone. He was demonstrating that only HE could wash away one's sins. The humble act of foot washing symbolized the spiritual cleansing of their sins. (John 13:8) He sure didn't wash the feet of the people who were defiling the temple, did He? No, he made a whip out of cords and drove them out. (Matt 21:12-13) You could say that Jesus got those people, and He got them but good.
Samuel Sey wrote on social media, "The He Gets Us ads message isn’t that you should worship Jesus. Their message is that Jesus worships you." In the flap that followed, he clarified, "Also, the so-called culture war ethic and the Christian ethic are not mutually exclusive. The culture war is a proxy war of the spiritual war. Christian ethics demands opposition to every lofty opinion (in our culture) raised against the knowledge of God (2 Cor 10:5)."
Natasha Crain has written several good pieces on this.
https://natashacrain.com/7-problems-with-the-he-gets-us-campaign/
https://natashacrain.com/here-comes-the-he-gets-us-campaign-again-why-its-portrayal-of-jesus-is-still-a-problem/
Thanks for the info. It’s true that it doesn’t matter how appealing or friendly a ministry is if it preaches a false gospel. So…I checked out the website again (the last time I checked it was a while ago-after the first time I saw one of the ads.) Sorry this is so long but I really tried to do this fairly.
The website did appear to say (as you noted) that there are non believers providing input. This could be an issue-or not. It’s hard to say based on what I could access. I liked the ads, as I’ve said. I also liked some of what the group said on their website. But it was rather disconcerting how much seemed vague and unclear. It did say it had resources to help people read the Bible and it mentioned that many churches have classes where one could ask the “hard questions” about Christianity. I understand the tone and the desire to encourage people to look into the life of Jesus and what that means for themselves at their own pace (I have told people something similar if they had previously felt pressured or judged and it turned them off). It’s not wrong to encourage people who have rejected the gospel to take a fresh look at the life of Jesus-even a “modern” look-but we aren’t really taking what he said and did very seriously if we do so with the intent of trying to force him or the Bible to conform to us or our current society. (Jesus certainly didn’t try to conform to HIS society!) It seemed oddly unclear where this group stood.
I did not see evidence showing that the movement was funded by people who support atheism or abortion. But I also didn’t see proof that it WASN’T. The website says “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.” Some of the people who are involved seem like grounded believers, which seems hopeful. I should note that none of the atheists I have ever met or debated would EVER support this. AT. ALL. So it’s a bit hard for me to believe that someone who is “pro atheism” would be a supporter. But it’s possible there are supporters who are pro abortion.
[On that topic, I don’t think you ever explained how one can trace “dark money.” The answers may be in the book you recommended, but it’s hard to check since the book isn’t available yet.]
Bottom line: I’m rather conflicted about this. I liked the ads. I WANT this group to be legit. I want there to be a movement that rises above our current society and its political polarization and shows the world what Jesus did and taught. I already see plenty of examples of Christians telling people what not to do or pointing out what they are doing wrong, and I have rarely-if ever-found that helpful in sharing the gospel. (As most here know, I spent years sharing the gospel with militant atheists online. God has also sent me to satanists, adherents of other major religions, people in recovery, etc.) What HAS been helpful was demonstrating love and respect and a willingness to listen to someone’s life experiences WHILE speaking truth. (So I don’t find it problematic that this group says things like that on its website.)
I want to see more believers live in a way that shows love to our enemies-even those who hate and persecute us. (Heck, I need examples in my life to help ME do it better.) I want those who have rejected the gospel because of or partly because of terrible experiences in the church and/or with Christians to understand that it wasn’t Jesus or God who did those terrible things but instead to realize that Jesus loves them and that his teachings are guardrails for their protection and benefit-that he is not trying to destroy intellect, joy, or individuality but instead that he desires for all people to know him so they can have a fulfilling and abundant life and be transformed into the best versions of themselves. (That’s why I liked the choices made in the ad. They directly addressed and subverted many of the objections I have heard towards the gospel.)
The “lack of transparency” of this group on its website (there is even less information about the non-profit, Come Near) IS concerning, but I’m not sure it’s proof that they teach a false gospel. I hate to say this after making such a long comment; but, at present, I don’t feel that I have enough clear or definite info to come to a final conclusion about this group.
"I would have liked to see in those ads a BLM activist washing a cop's feet. Where was that image? Or how about a gay or pink-hatted abortion activist washing the feet of some boomer in a MAGA hat? That would be countercultural."
That's my main issue with the commercial. The one-sided political undertone doesn't bring people together.
They took one act by Jesus in privacy with his disciples and try's to assume the general public will get their images. It doesn't seem the ad is about servanthood. I don't get the purpose of the ad.
Well, because of how “off” this campaign is (and it is not that it just went “off” recently - it’s been “off” since the beginning), we now have “He Saves Us” by the gentleman from North Ireland, Jamie Bambrick. This is most excellent. As a member of the SBC, every time I think of “He Gets Us,” I can not help but think, “And Kevin Ezell was about to sign on the dotted line for my denomination to be a part of this.” Boy, does the SBC have house cleaning to do (and I know I am preaching to the choir here).
I saw this line in today's Washington Times opinion page. The author is describing how traditional, Bible Believing, Christianity is now becoming excoriated and more and more marginalized.
"• A Super Bowl ad called 'He Gets Us' portrays Christians who stand against killing babies and debauching our bodies through sexual nihilism as guilty of 'teaching hate.'”
https://washingtontimes-dc.newsmemory.com?selDate=20240219&goTo=B02&editionStart=Washington%20Times
The Babylon Been had a great take on the "He Gets Us" ad.
You should watch it.
I won't spoil it for you.
Andrew, I appreciate your honesty in this article, but I think that you have ended up being "that guy" after all. Why did the producers of this ad choose the people they did? Maybe it was because they represent parties that have the highest propensity to be at odds with one another. I also found it ironic that in your technical criticism, you suggested that they should have focused on "Love your neighbor as yourself." The ad literally ends with the text, "HeGetsUs.com\LoveYourNeighbor". If we can start by proverbially washing our enemies' feet, speaking the truth of the gospel message to them will be much easier.
Thank you! Fair critique. Much to ponder.
I've seen and read several videos and commentaries on this ad. To me it seems that the criticism, and sometimes outright vitriol from supposedly concerned Christians just illustrates one of the prime reasons such an ad is so needed in our divided and hate-filled society.
I am truly amazed at the fixation so many people under the "Christian" umbrella seem to have on just two of the multiple scenes on this excellent and moving Super Bowl ad. The scenes in the ad were not even focused on different kinds of sins at all, but this article, and so many other commentators sound as if the ad subtly minimizes, intentionally or otherwise, the spiritual gravity of certain select sins that are some of the hot topics of the day by showing "those" people's feet being washed by others. What about most of the other scenes portrayed? What are the sins represented by the young man and the conservative father/grandfather; the two high school students; the black young man and the (latino?) police officer; the native American and the rancher type; the environmentalist and the oil worker; the immigrants arriving in a middle class Chicago suburb; the young Muslim couple and their neighbors; the southern black and white men on the porch; etc. For goodness sake!
The foot washing was clearly representing the love of Christ in action through His people... loving God and loving our neighbors. Even the people doing the washing had their shoes removed to show how we all need grace and forgiveness. Many self-identified Christians seem more bent out of shape by this message than the standard atheist commentators are.
I say may God bless the people who made the effort and investment to create this ad... and I pray that it will touch the hearts of many who need to encounter the love of Christ... AND open the hearts of many Christians in America to walk away from the division and vitriol and look into our hearts and ask whether we truly have almost any of Christ's love for the sinner whose sins He willingly went to the cross for.
Yes, He wants us to repent for ALL of our sins, have faith only in Jesus and His gift of salvation paid in His blood, and be transformed by His grace and work in our lives, but He also calls His followers to love their neighbors as He has loved us. Let's stop tearing each other apart piece by piece.
Jesus did that. Jesus did this. Jesus was such. Make-no-image much? Why is it always those who have least relied on the Word through suffering who claim to know the most about Him? Run, sheep, run.
Every year, we see a sweet but poisonous message straight out of hell that's so visible it's invisible.
One year it was a literal prostitute riding a beast effigy and crowds cheering it on.
Another year it was using sacred symbols to support the idolatry of pluralism.
This time around the subliminal messaging of the hour could not be a clearer:
'Jesus? Jes Us. Xe's Us. Or, more accurately, We the open church are the voice of he/je. Us.
The importance of holiness and preservation of the harsh but sharp testimony that is able to jolt dead men to life, the never-changing character of the great white patriarch, and the message that time is short to turn from self-destruction before we dissipate into becoming incapable of even hearing the call to turn - these are hateful and don't align with the character of the real Love, which we are just beginning to explore in being true to our selves. At most, we just needed this spark of divinity, this message of love, add in maybe having a continual supply of blessings, and we can handle the rest. You who say, "We have an enduring continual deep need for the Living God as Father, to know and rely on his truth and to walk in the such a way that honors the Son who redeemed us back to His family and bestowed on us his own Holy Spirit. We were dead but now are being made alive. The impossible is possible with God!" -- you who insist on an impossibility for anyman are deceiving the everyman. You cannot be trusted; you are hypocrites. Your dirty feet are the very proof that you are frauds. We, not you, are the spiritual Jesus' real body, and you who claim to be the spiritual body of a real Nazarene, are the fakes.
So Man created god in Their own image
In the image of Self They created them.
Whateverkind and bestial they/them created.
Such is the ultimate blasphemy against the real Name of Jesus, that is, The LORD Saves / I Am Savior.
Who would have thought the Antichrist would come in the same name, claim, and wrappings, with the sheep having to rely on their hearing alone to discern? Oh how the world longs for a more accessible Jesus. A more welcoming church. Freedom from the having to fight with conscience. How the whole world will eagerly receive the shallow appearances, quick fixes, and powerful excuses, and love it.
The day is at hand when the antichrists spirits of the world unite to make one final war on the saints.
I see the technical point about the subject of foot washing, but I imagine the creators of this campaign would disagree with your understanding of their goals. There are other less cynical reasons for their choice to only highlight liberal sins. Right or wrong, one could interpret the ad as an attempt to reduce to absurdity the tried and true tropes about Christianity that mostly come from liberals, not conservatives or whatever you’d call the MAGA crowd, most of whom are already comfortable with Jesus if not followers of him. They seem to see the audience of the Super Bowl as slanted left thanks to Taylor Swifts involvement and its wide pop culture appeal. Therefore if that’s who was watching, that’s who they felt they should address. Even if the rust belt drug addict or factory worker is watching the game, they’re not the one with the voice in today’s public square and that’s where the argument was being made. I’m not saying the ad said enough, but it’s one thing to measure execution. It’s another to indict motives.
I'm not surprised that so many church-goers love t he ads and haven't a clue why they missed the theological mark. Few today have a firm grasp on doctrine and theology.
First, consider that the ads got it right by highlighting our duty to imitate Christ by reaching out to vulnerable members of society. The image of washing feet is precisely how we should treat mankind. Our goal should be to imitate the love that Christ showed His disciples.
Christianity calls one to repentance and that is where the problems of the campaign arise. Christianity is not a social religion whose only obligation is to be nice to each other. No, Christianity and faith in Christ calls for a total annihilation of the self and complete conformity to Christ. It is not a religion of simply good morals and a love-fest; it involves a radical change of the individual as Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 16.
The “He Gets Us” ads do not display true Christianity but, instead, a social justice Christianity.
I do understand they had just a quick very few moments to tell a story, but I would have expected a more complete theology on their website. It is not there.
This commercial would have been much better.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/pastors-powerful-alternative-to-controversial-he-gets-us-super-bowl-ad-goes-viral?utm_source=theblaze-dailyPM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Newsletter__PM%202024-02-14&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Daily%20PM&tpcc=email
Good call, pjp, I like that commercial much better.
In the ad's several seconds, of seeing the faces and reading the transformations of these once-lost souls, chills were spontaneously all over my body, tears instantly in my eyes as I saw myself, my husband and children, family and friends, who are redeemed, who walked away from the darkness that had us bound and into His marvelous light.
Thank you for sharing, pip. I pray this ad is played/shown as often, and in as many venues, as possible for years to come. Salvation through Jesus. Real lives changed. The power of God.
I liked the commercial. It was powerful for what it was. Could they have put another odd pairings doing foot washing (example: BLM washing MAGA supporter's feet)? Sure. But I think arguing about what it didn't show is missing the point of what it did show. If what was shown convicts some people, great! Nothing will convict everyone until the judgement at the end of time!
For what it is worth, there is a good response/continuation to "He Gets Us" floating around on YouTube called "He Saves Us". I thought it was equally powerful. It shows the transformation of lives that comes through saving faith.
The first step though is to reach out and 'wash feet', if not literally then symbolically, while we share the Gospel message so that some might be saved.
"He Saves Us" is way more powerful, because it presents the gospel. Nothing about HGU is convicting because the Jesus in the ads and most of the reading plans the website links to isn't Lord and Savior - He is merely a human, a "good example," a cool dude who rah rahs the Left's favorite causes, and seems (to me) to do little more than stroke the target audience's ego ("see? I've been right all along. I care about all the right people - Just like Jesus - and it's those religious Christians who have always been the problem!") How does that inspire any left-leaning skeptic to change anything?
You are correct: You sound like “the seminary professor egghead who is just a little too fussy, especially when it comes to making a criticism.”
In my judgement (which I admit is humanly faulty) the producers at HGU have done a generally good job of conveying Jesus in 30-second commercials. I’d need to see more commercials than just this one to sound the “leftward tinge” alarm.
Christians “taking an X-Acto knife” to other Christians is not a good look.
I think like any commercial, it is focused on creating curiosity in a specific audience of people. I think you need to view the commercial through those lens, not through your own lenses. I think the commercial is very effective at trying to create curiosity. We live in a post-Christian country, creating curiosity is the first step towards being able to engage others. As a biblical Christian who desires to engage all types of individuals, I think these commercials are awesome, and I think criticisms I've seen are misguided. Foot washing is a relational experience, a sign of love and care for an individual. People have to know how much you care, before they'll care about what you know.
Please don't put down other Christians. This only make the rest of the world think that Christians don't get along with themselves. It makes me so angry!
We need to learn to speak the truth in love. This means correcting those in error, but not in a nasty way. Honestly I'm still learning how to do this myself.
Yes, we do. But I have seen too much criticism of those commercials on social media and to me, it makes people sound like they are "holier than thou." We need to show love, and sadly Christians are not known for their love at all right now. Especially the MAGA folks.
You say 'please don't put down other Christians' and decry the idea of 'holier than thou'... and then specifically call out 'the MAGA folks'... I'm not sure if I'm missing something here, but something about this doesn't smell right to me.
This article was indeed framed not as a "put down" or condemnation but a helpful critique. It offers a balancing viewpoint and opens room for problem-solving and improvement. Where does your anger bring you? (saying that to myself as much as to you, friend)
You are putting down other Christians, and even expressing anger towards them!
Follow the money folks.
Those commercials were the height of cringe.
Non-Christians were mad that religious fanatics interfered with their football watching and Christians realized them to be woke versions of what they believe, reinforcing the stereotype of Bible thumping.
The non believer reactions I saw were not about football. They were disparaging in ways that demonstrated a complete lack of understanding about who Jesus is. Some comments were pretty offensive, to be honest; but it’s not necessarily bad for there to be a discussion about who Jesus is and why people who follow him would wash someone’s feet. Etc.
You are entitled to your opinions, of course; but I am a Christian and I did not feel the same way about these ads. I liked them (as below) and felt hopeful they could stimulate conversations that might inspire people who currently want nothing to do with Jesus or the church to feel curious and seek to find out more about him.
After watching the ad several times, I'm still confused.
Who was this commercial aimed at?
I personally like the commercials, but the mission fields God has called me to have mostly been people who fit into groups this article describes as being on the “left.” (To be fair, I also volunteered at a crisis pregnancy center helping single mothers AND I have been active in recovery groups like AA. It would be a stretch to assume anything about the political affiliation of those groups-as they are both pretty diverse.)
For what it’s worth, I do know some Trump supporters and most are friends and fellow believers. We already do ministry together.
I have found that, regardless of political affiliation, people are much more willing to listen to truth AFTER they have experienced expressions of love (maybe not foot washing, per se, but things like: listening to them and not just talking at them, helping them where they are since not everyone can or will come to a physical church building, showing I care about them as a person by taking time to build a relationship, etc).
I’m not sure of the actual intent of the foot washing analogy, but I personally viewed it as doing ministry and showing love so that people who don’t know Christ can realize he loves them. The people I know who fit in categories featured in the ads have all heard plenty of preaching about sin, but most have not experienced much love from Christians.
"I have found that, regardless of political affiliation, people are much more willing to listen to truth AFTER they have experienced expressions of love"
The Big Sky Worldview Forum has had Abdu Murray come and speak several times. During one of his sessions, he told us a saying he heard in Lebanon: "You can't expect a person to smell the rose that you're handing them if you've first punched them in the nose." True as that may be, there still needs to be the sting of truth. "He Gets Us" is pretty much all roses.
Worse still, the "He Gets Us" thing spends an awful lot of time playing in the Critical Theory sandbox of Marxist oppressed/oppressor dogma, and leaves out any of the truth unless and until a curious person gets to the fourth and fifth YouVersion bible study programs. EVERY one of their images illustrates this trope and none have flipped the script. I would have liked to see in those ads a BLM activist washing a cop's feet. Where was that image? Or how about a gay or pink-hatted abortion activist washing the feet of some boomer in a MAGA hat? That would be countercultural.
The way this campaign is shading the truth of repentance at best sets up the curious for a bait and switch. I think it's more likely to foster a continued shallow understanding of Jesus. People who have prejudices against Christians who hold biblical worldviews as bad and intolerant will see their ideas reinforced rather than being moved toward an understanding that they, too, are sinners in need of salvation. The mainline churches have tried this idea of conforming to culture by tearing out books of the New Testament and all it's gotten them is empty pews. I don't see this hip-and-bougie ad campaign as doing anything different.
But maybe that's the point because I noticed that all of the dark money behind the campaign is from groups who are ideologically on the side of evil--atheism and abortion, primarily. I'm bummed that Ed Stetzer is involved in this program.
If I may ask, how exactly does one find out about “dark money” behind an ad campaign? (I should probably also ask what exactly dark money is.)
If I may add a question: I looked up Ed Stetzer, and I didn’t do a deep dive; but he definitely doesn’t look like an atheist or someone who is pro abortion. Could you clarify your position? Thanks.
Megan Basham has a book coming out in July that talks about this.
Ed Stetzer is a great guy, by all accounts. The Dean of the Talbot School of Theology at Biola, I remember fondly listening to him do Breakpoint commentaries.
However, the lack of transparency is disconcerting. Why does it smell exactly like something that the world wants to claim for its own? The HGU website tells us that it's made up of "many others who, though not Christians share a deep admiration for the man that Jesus was...." I'm pretty sure that getting your biblical hermeneutics from a non-Christian isn't a great idea. I'm quoting from their website.
They don't want you to go to church: "He Gets Us is not against the church, but we are not a back to church campaign."
And about the alphabet people: "Many of those who represent Jesus have made people in the LGBTQ+ community feel judged and excluded. And others in the Jesus community have simply ignored their stories and lived experiences. 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." Did you pick up on the progressive jargon there? "Lived experiences," and so forth. Yet somehow, there's not even a whiff of the term "repent." I wonder why that is.
The foot-washing ads were defended on the website like this: "With an upcoming election year that will be filled with division and derision, we decided to focus on one of the most important directives given by Jesus — Love Your Neighbor…As we explored creative ideas, we recalled the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet and realized this was the perfect example of how we should treat one another, even those people with whom we don’t see eye to eye." But what was the message that the images told us? If you haven't seen them yet, one shows a woman washing a younger woman's feet outside an abortion clinic, while a group of pro-life activists stand around nearby holding signs. The message is that the foot-washer woman is a good person. She's not one of those divisive, hateful, and judgemental Christians with their pro-life signs over there. No, she's nice. She's washing the feet of a woman who either just murdered her baby, or is about to. See? That's how Jesus would do it. Not like those icky, mean, bible-thumping, fundies over there getting in the way of this poor woman's right to health care.
But is it? Did Jesus say to wash everyone's feet while ignoring their sin? No. First, he only washed the feet of his disciples. Not everyone. He was demonstrating that only HE could wash away one's sins. The humble act of foot washing symbolized the spiritual cleansing of their sins. (John 13:8) He sure didn't wash the feet of the people who were defiling the temple, did He? No, he made a whip out of cords and drove them out. (Matt 21:12-13) You could say that Jesus got those people, and He got them but good.
Samuel Sey wrote on social media, "The He Gets Us ads message isn’t that you should worship Jesus. Their message is that Jesus worships you." In the flap that followed, he clarified, "Also, the so-called culture war ethic and the Christian ethic are not mutually exclusive. The culture war is a proxy war of the spiritual war. Christian ethics demands opposition to every lofty opinion (in our culture) raised against the knowledge of God (2 Cor 10:5)."
Natasha Crain has written several good pieces on this.
https://natashacrain.com/7-problems-with-the-he-gets-us-campaign/
https://natashacrain.com/here-comes-the-he-gets-us-campaign-again-why-its-portrayal-of-jesus-is-still-a-problem/
Thanks for the info. It’s true that it doesn’t matter how appealing or friendly a ministry is if it preaches a false gospel. So…I checked out the website again (the last time I checked it was a while ago-after the first time I saw one of the ads.) Sorry this is so long but I really tried to do this fairly.
The website did appear to say (as you noted) that there are non believers providing input. This could be an issue-or not. It’s hard to say based on what I could access. I liked the ads, as I’ve said. I also liked some of what the group said on their website. But it was rather disconcerting how much seemed vague and unclear. It did say it had resources to help people read the Bible and it mentioned that many churches have classes where one could ask the “hard questions” about Christianity. I understand the tone and the desire to encourage people to look into the life of Jesus and what that means for themselves at their own pace (I have told people something similar if they had previously felt pressured or judged and it turned them off). It’s not wrong to encourage people who have rejected the gospel to take a fresh look at the life of Jesus-even a “modern” look-but we aren’t really taking what he said and did very seriously if we do so with the intent of trying to force him or the Bible to conform to us or our current society. (Jesus certainly didn’t try to conform to HIS society!) It seemed oddly unclear where this group stood.
I did not see evidence showing that the movement was funded by people who support atheism or abortion. But I also didn’t see proof that it WASN’T. The website says “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.” Some of the people who are involved seem like grounded believers, which seems hopeful. I should note that none of the atheists I have ever met or debated would EVER support this. AT. ALL. So it’s a bit hard for me to believe that someone who is “pro atheism” would be a supporter. But it’s possible there are supporters who are pro abortion.
[On that topic, I don’t think you ever explained how one can trace “dark money.” The answers may be in the book you recommended, but it’s hard to check since the book isn’t available yet.]
Bottom line: I’m rather conflicted about this. I liked the ads. I WANT this group to be legit. I want there to be a movement that rises above our current society and its political polarization and shows the world what Jesus did and taught. I already see plenty of examples of Christians telling people what not to do or pointing out what they are doing wrong, and I have rarely-if ever-found that helpful in sharing the gospel. (As most here know, I spent years sharing the gospel with militant atheists online. God has also sent me to satanists, adherents of other major religions, people in recovery, etc.) What HAS been helpful was demonstrating love and respect and a willingness to listen to someone’s life experiences WHILE speaking truth. (So I don’t find it problematic that this group says things like that on its website.)
I want to see more believers live in a way that shows love to our enemies-even those who hate and persecute us. (Heck, I need examples in my life to help ME do it better.) I want those who have rejected the gospel because of or partly because of terrible experiences in the church and/or with Christians to understand that it wasn’t Jesus or God who did those terrible things but instead to realize that Jesus loves them and that his teachings are guardrails for their protection and benefit-that he is not trying to destroy intellect, joy, or individuality but instead that he desires for all people to know him so they can have a fulfilling and abundant life and be transformed into the best versions of themselves. (That’s why I liked the choices made in the ad. They directly addressed and subverted many of the objections I have heard towards the gospel.)
The “lack of transparency” of this group on its website (there is even less information about the non-profit, Come Near) IS concerning, but I’m not sure it’s proof that they teach a false gospel. I hate to say this after making such a long comment; but, at present, I don’t feel that I have enough clear or definite info to come to a final conclusion about this group.
Samuel Sey’s take on this is very Biblical as is Natasha. And she warned us ahead of time!!
"I would have liked to see in those ads a BLM activist washing a cop's feet. Where was that image? Or how about a gay or pink-hatted abortion activist washing the feet of some boomer in a MAGA hat? That would be countercultural."
That's my main issue with the commercial. The one-sided political undertone doesn't bring people together.