It’s Calvin’s 500th birthday this year. Not the comic character – the predestination guy (for all you Arminians out there).
To celebrate this milestone our church is putting on a Calvin Conference – at which I am presenting something as yet undetermined about his interactions with government. Exciting times. To get me in the mood I’m thinking I may purchase one of these John Calvin Bobble Heads.
Yesterday while I was thinking about Guerrilla Evangelism, it occurred to me that road safety ads could be easily edited to be ads about not leaving a decision about Christianity to the last minute. Death bed confessions only work for people who know they’re on their death bed.
This ad is slightly disturbing… so only watch it if you want to fully appreciate my argument.
Would you have a problem with an “offensive” ad like this – ie one designed to shock – being used to promote Jesus? I know a uni group copped some flack a few years back for dressing up as death and running around harvesting people with sickles.
I suspect imminent mortality is one of the only things that atheists find confronting.
What do you get when you cross Eurovision rehearsals and some awesome Segway moves? This post. That’s what.
Cereal and computers don’t mix. Trust me. I’m speaking from experience when it comes to mixing milk and circuitry. This guy has found a way to turn this all into a winning formula…
Not really my cup of tea – but interesting.
I’ve been toying with the idea of how Christians can use emerging technologies and the public sphere to conduct “guerrilla evangelism” (not to be confused with gorilla evangelism).
I know gospel proclamation occurs best in the context of an actual person to person relationship – but that doesn’t discount the idea of keeping Christianity in the public eye.
Here are five ideas I think are perhaps worth considering if you’ve got some time on your hands:
Any other ideas?
“Under new management” signs make a pretty clear statement of discontinuity with the past. I suggest that the more prominent the sign, or the longer it’s shown – the greater the intended discontinuity.
One of the Pizza Hut restaurants in Townsville (one of the few remaining dine-in Pizza Huts in Queensland) has had a large “Under New Management” sign on its roof for a couple of months now.
Turns out when it comes to Transformers peripherals there’s more than initially meets the eye. Not only can you get the awesome transformers thumb drive I put up the other day – you can get a matching USB hub – or a mouse… from here.
The Hub goes from this:
… to this
Then there are two mice to choose from:
And this one:
It’s 2009 AD – that’s Anno Domini – the year of our Lord. You probably know this, others may need constant reminding – which is why you should install this calendar in your office cubicle. It’ll no doubt be a great tool for office evangelism – or for ruling right angles/architectural drawings.
Human Rights activists spend far too much time sitting in cages in public spaces and doing things that are too easy to ignore. Largely because they’re so obnoxiously offensive that we immediately shield ourselves from the horrors they describe. Their campaigns aren’t generally “sticky” for this reason.
Stickiness is an important part of any marketing campaign – finding a message that is memorable is vital if your product isn’t something that involves an immediate and spontaneous purchasing decision (like a bottle of Coke).
Stickiness was particularly important to this UNICEF anti-landmine campaign, in a more literal sense.
Adhesive stickers with bottom side simulating a detonator for explosive were placed on the pavements in Zurich. When the passers by checked their shoes, they saw the message from Unicef: In many other countries you would now be mutilated! Help the victims of landmines!
Lif e is full of redundancies – nowhere moreso than the humble cutlery drawer. I grew up with splayds (and other cutlery too) – and regret not receiving any as wedding presents.
For those not familiar with splayds or the myriad other food consuming implements I present this Venn Diagram…
Welcome to an all new high in cultural sophistication – a beat boxing flautist…
Super Mario Bros Theme
Sesame Street Theme
Inspector Gadget Theme (with Axel F thrown in for good measure)
Design brief
I have a new design – that’s obvious for those of you visiting – but for the subscribers you should perhaps stop by and check it out.
Robyn doesn’t like it though – so I may have to change it if I want her posting more often.
Also, apparently commenting is difficult for some people (not the general vibe but a specific) – I think it’s got something to do with the OpenID plug-in I’m using. If commenting has been a problem – can you try commenting on this post without including a website in the website field – that will confirm my suspicions if it works.
Oh yeah, feedback on the design/design issues would be more than welcome.
May 25, 2009