Thread by @vinsonousley

The eternal dangers of the @HeGetsUs campaign. A thread:

You've, no doubt, seen the commercials that I'm referring to. Simple, well produced, and appealing to the culture. If you're anything like me, however, after watching one of their ads, you feel a little dirty. 1/

You may feel like you're trying to be persuaded into a perception of Christ that is incomplete, surface-level, and not quite accurate. In my experience, that feeling is a result of the Spirit working inside you. He's waving his hands in a cautionary plea to be on guard. 2/

They are impressive in their marketing. Using catchy hashtags like #activists, #refugee, #inclusive, #relationships, #judgement, #justice, etc. Browsing through their website you're presented with write-ups that relate back to the hashtags. It's very well done. 3/

I'm not going to get into what all the scriptural deficiencies are contained in their messaging, videos and articles and they aren't all even deficient. I'm going to focus on the hell-sized hole that they've dug in the @HeGetsUs campaign. One of the goals is to connect people 4/

with "Someone near you who can help you learn more about Jesus and his life or get plugged into a group where you can bring your questions about life and faith". So that's what I did. I filled out their contact form and asked one question: "How do I make sure I go to heaven?".5/

The contact form then gets matched with a church in your geographic location and you're notified that someone will be reaching out. This is where I knew there would be a high likelihood of a problem, depending on who responded. 6/

I received the response from an Associate Pastor from a megachurch, City Church, in San Antonio. I'm sure they do lots of good work but none of it matters if the end result is damnation. This oversimplification of what it means to be a follower of Christ and outright 7/

disregard for the teachings of Christ is going to end with people in hell. I would like to think the last thing any Christian would want is to lead someone to hell. We know, unequivocally, that belief alone does not result in a trip to heaven. 8/

There is no prayer to pray in Scripture that results in a ticket to heaven. That idea is man-made. "Belief" or faith is not something I can sit on my couch for the rest of my life and have. They require action. Daily, hourly, constant action. It's difficult. It's arduous. 9/

It's fitting a camel through the eye of a needle kind of stuff. It's small gate and narrow path kind of stuff. When James says that faith without action is death, he's saying faith without action ISN'T FAITH! It's long past time that we stop allowing the whitewashing of 10/

Christianity. It's time to call these groups, organizations, churches and campaigns to account now, before it's too late. So, @HeGetsUs and City Church, SA if you actually care about people getting to know Christ and NOT going to hell, teach sound doctrine or shut up.