If you have been following the baseball playoffs (as have we Seattle Mariner fans) you have probably seen ads with the tag line “Jesus gets us.” The $100 million “He Gets Us” campaign is the work of a marketing firm called Haven based in Grand Haven, Michigan. Jason Vanderground, Haven’s president, says his hope is that the campaign can bridge the gap between the story of Jesus and public perceptions of his followers.
In other words, the general public likes Jesus; it is his people they can’t stand.
This is not a new problem. The English Romantic poet, Shelley, once remarked, “I could believe in Christ if he did not drag behind him his leprous bride, the church.” (Note: “the bride of Christ” is one of the New Testament’s images for the church.)
But the gap between Jesus and Christianity has widened with the cultural ascendency of the evangelical and fundamentalist branches of Christianity in America, and their identification with the increasingly extremist Republican Party. At the same time, the once dominant liberal and mainline churches has lost numbers and influence.
According to a recent Washington Post article, the “He Gets Us campaign, funded by the Signatry, a Christian foundation based in Kansas, will expand in the next few months, with an updated website, an online store where people can get free gear if they forgive someone or welcome a stranger, and an outreach program for churches, all leading up to a Super Bowl ad.”
“The campaign has done extensive market research and found that, while many Americans like Jesus, they are skeptical of his followers.
“The market research split Americans into four categories: non-Christians (16 percent of the sample), people who are ‘spiritually open’ (20 percent),’Jesus followers’ (34 percent) and ‘engaged Christians’ (30 percent). It showed a wide gap between the first three groups and the last category.
“Most people in the first three categories said the behavior of Christians is a barrier to faith. More than two-thirds agreed with the statement: ‘Followers of Jesus say one thing, but do not follow those things in practice.’ Only 5 percent of the engaged Christians agreed. Most folks in the first three categories also agreed that Christians care only about stopping abortions, rather than caring for moms and their children. Only 6 percent of the engaged Christians agreed.”
Many, not all, evangelical or conservative Christians have embraced a version of Jesus heavily identified with U.S. nationalism, of the Trumpist variety, and as a combatant in our Culture Wars. Even those whose acquaintance with Jesus or the Bible is limited cannot square that version with the one who said, “Love your enemies,” “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and “I desire mercy not sacrifice.”
The most interesting thing about the He Gets Us campaign is that it is not trying to sell people on church or church-going. All that is side-stepped in favor of the guy himself. In this respect, “He Gets Us” reflects the “spiritual but not religious” ethos of our times.
The campaign implicitly challenges the identification of Jesus with Republican politics and U.S. nationalism. The Jesus it presents is human, humane and empathetic. Even radical.
In these respects, the campaign is more true to the Jesus of the New Testament than that of his loudest and most politicized followers. They tend to turn Jesus into a legalistic figure who will send you to hell if you don’t buy their causes and politics. The Jesus of the New Testament is a figure of grace, forgiving sin and sinners, preferring the company of the lost and repentant to those who are certain of their own righteousness.
While I view “Christian Nationalism” as a heresy that betrays Jesus, I am not ready to abandon the church as a whole, despite our admitted faults. In fact, our “admitted faults” are crucial, as the church is not intended to be a gathering of the perfect so much as a fellowship of the guilty — those who know their failures and foibles and their need of God’s mercy.
In this sense, church is like the 12 Step movement, which grew out of the church and Christianity in the mid-twentieth century. In 12 Step groups people start in by telling the truth of their brokenness and need: “I’m an alcoholic, I’m an addict. I need help.” Such candor and contrition are truer to the nature of Christianity than anything wrapped in an American flag, celebrating supposed strongmen, and condemning as murderers women who have made the tragic choice of an abortion.
Wait…..the guy who is called Jesus died 2000 years ago. He can’t “get” anyone.
Just read the story of Christ! Yes he died but because he is more than man he rose from the dead for people like you and me. Question if the Bible was wrong and you lived the life it teaches how would you be wrong or hurt anyone? But if it is true and it’s teaching is correct then what. I hope you open your mind and read at least the first chapter of John and see who this man Jesus was and is.
I read the Readers Digest version called The New Testament. It’s a fact that he had some pretty good ideas and the plot was great. Sadly, he became a Brand and two millennia of real-life sequels ruined the preview.
I’m glad that this campaign is happening but the message is not at all clear in the ads. People I talk to just say “What was that about?” I’m wondering who the audience is and what the ads are supposed to do in terms of changing hearts and minds. If they are spending a hundred million they should at least be clear in what point they are making. In some ways, the gang shots, etc. only feed into the fear on the Right. I say this as someone who has been in communications for 45 years as a documentary filmmaker. I hope the people running the campaign will give more thought to creating effective messages.
I haven’t seen the ads. Since I don’t have a TV, I’ll probably never see them. However, I wish this group well. Anyone willing to risk the wrath of the far-right, including the evangelical right-wing, has my respect. The American right seems way too eager to strike fear into people, especially women. They think children can’t be trusted to learn about slavery, or the holocaust, or the massacre of Indians. They embrace guns and the use of violence …all of which puts them far, far away from the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Please keep writing about this rising danger of (non-) Christian nationalism. Too many people are obvious to this advancing fascist threat.
Those who have fallen into this cult would be much better off studying Jefferson’s “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth” than the rantings of R. J. Rushdoony.
Wow! Thanks Tony for sharing this true Christian perspective. I think when we get to heaven we will be in for a big surprise! The Lord is good. His steadfast love endures forever. 💙💚💜❤️
Yes! We need to humbly acknowledge the sins of those who preceded us. If we know better, let’s do better!
I too agree there can be a vast difference between Jesus(and his teachings) and the behaviors of many of his flock. I would have loved you to end your article with “the intensely personal choice of abortion” though. Less judgy, don’t you think?
I haven’t seen the ads and certainly can’t add to the thoughtful comments hete. Keep challenging us to think about this stuff, Tony!
If those who claim to follow Jesus’s teaching need to take out a $100 million marketing campaign to show the world that’s what they’re doing, I’d suggest more introspection and less projection. If you can’t be identified by your good works, you might not be following the right person, and no ad blitz will convince people otherwise.
When I saw this slogan, my reaction was, OK, another fundamentalist blurb meaning he gets US, not those OTHER folks.
Seems like to me that we should concern ourselves with our own moral failures , and sin, instead of trying to get Jesus to fit some sort of narrative wrought with agenda..
What do you do with “I am the way, the truth and the life.no man comes to the Father but by me?”
From what I have seen, this campaign seems to be speaking to people who are believers and tired of the religious voice who has politicized our Lord. (Maybe that is who I am.) I can see where this is needed. I’m reminded of John the Baptist when he said, “ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.” Matthew 3:3
I was going to comment on this but after thinking about it. Im not sure this organization understands Christianity. If you follow God at all you know its written that following our Savior is a hard narrow path. Its hard to be a follower in todays world. Its only going to get harder. I think the campaign should not be “He gets us.” It should be Do you get Jesus.
Is this to include all the Cartels and the NGO’s who are smuggling people and drugs across the border. Let’s talk about human trafficking and the sex trade industry, I’m sure Jesus was all for that. Did Jesus ever promote fentanyl?
I smell Soros. This group is the new Jim Jones – Jonestown only under a darker veil. They are twisting/distorting and weaponizing Christianity to use for their own dark agenda. Study the WORD, but some secular group interpreting the word for you. Be wary Christian.
Those commercials have my red flags going up! I definitely smell left wing deception led by their god satan in these commercials. Beware of these false teachers, dont be deceived!
God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself and He is no longer counting mens sins against them
Bad enough they are coming here illegally, because of our owned president, and stealing my tax dollars raising my health care cost and so on but don’t play these feel sorry for the illegals ruining my country commercial’s especially during my American football game.
They are everywhere now and it pisses me off.
“But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.” Luke 19:27
He Gets Us
Mr’s Youngblood, Adams, and Dirk: surely you jest. Soros is Jewish and probably not promoting any squink of Christianity; satan is a mythological beast; illegal immigrants should be made legal so they will lower your healthcare costs.
Jeremy: if that’s a biblical quote, it shows the true nature of the ’king of peace,’ and so many of his followers’ rationalizations for killing nonbelievers.
Easily the best article I’ve ever read on religion in general.
these ad are full of lies. Joesph & Mary were not refugees. they went to Bethlehem for a government tax requirement. so if u want a bad guy for ur propaganda it was the government. #1 problem in this country is idiots like whoever made this crap
When Joseph and Mary fled with Jesus for his safety to Egypt they were indeed refugees. What would you call it?
The campaign will go to hell. It is a complete crock of crap.
Obviously, you’re very uncomfortable with this ad. Truth contrary to our beliefs usually are.