Is “He Gets Us” advertising worth the expense? – Q & A Week, Part 1

This week we take a break from our Relationships in the Church series. At Faith Church this past week I gave a Q & A sermon. I asked the congregation for questions ahead of time, and then I attempted to bring biblical theology to bear on their questions. Here goes…

He Gets Us spent almost $15 million (estimated) on Super Bowl commercials last Sunday.  According to an article on MSNBC, they have committed 100 million dollars for advertising since 2022.  Could this money be put to better use by this organization?  Helping the needy? 

Maybe you’ve seen the commercials. My opinion is that artistically and thematically, the He Gets Us commercials present a compelling portrait of Jesus.  The commercials and website describe Jesus in a way that invites and welcomes.  Jesus cares.  Jesus identifies with.  Jesus is for all.  Jesus is hope for new life.  Given that millions of people watch the Super Bowl and other programs during which He Gets Us shows these commercials, there were millions of people who viewed images of and heard messages about Jesus.  I’m glad for that. 

What is unsettling, in my opinion, is the expense involved.  It’s not just the cost of air time.  It’s also the cost of developing the short films/commercials.  Is it worth it to spend $100 million on television commercials?  I’m going to try to bring biblical theology to bear on this question. 

Spending money to advance the mission of the Kingdom of Jesus is not wrong.  In the pages of Acts and the Epistles, we read about the early church raising and spending money for the mission of the Kingdom.  But what were their spending priorities, and can we learn anything from their example and apply it to today? 

Their spending priorities were on two main areas.  First, they spent money on social concerns, making sure those with physical need were cared for.  Second, they spent money on in-person ministry, sending missionaries and stationing ministerial leaders.  They did not spend money on church buildings.  But what about advertising? While we don’t read about advertising, in time, the early Christians would start to utilize advertising.

In the Roman Empire print media was primarily via scrolls and letter-writing, which were quite expensive. Consider how many animal skins were needed for one scroll.  The printing press, newspapers, and other mass-produced literature were centuries away in the future.  All print media in the First Century CE was inscribed by hand, one word at a time, piece by piece.  There is, however, plenty of archaeological evidence of other means of advertising, such as mosaics, inscriptions, and graffiti.  This advertising is extremely similar to murals, billboards and spray paint graffiti. 

While we don’t read about Christians using advertising in the Bible, we do read about them utilizing letter-writing.  So we should be very cautious to say “The Apostle Paul would never have agreed with spending $100 million on television commercials.”  We simply don’t know. 

What we do know is that the early church demonstrated and taught that those with financial means should live simply so they could give generously to people in need.  That kind of in-person generosity to reach people in their real-life needs was and is a powerful message in and of itself. That principle we can and should apply to our day. 

I believe the He Gets Us ads can and do spark curiosity and conversation.  That’s a good thing.  I don’t know what it’s like to have $100 million extra dollars to spend. Perhaps the people financing He Gets Us have been led by God’s Spirit to spend their money by producing excellent, compelling advertising. Given that so many people have watched the He Gets Us commercials, perhaps we Christians can talk with people about them, and see what they think. Maybe it will lead to a discussion through which we can introduce someone to Jesus.

At Faith Church this past Sunday, we had our sermon discussion class after I had given the Q & A sermon, including the question above. We had a very lively discussion, with many differences of opinion.

After the class one person texted me the following:

“1. We feel the demographics of those who watches the Super Bowl fell into 2 main groups – those who ignored the commercials, and those who thought “those Christians. . .”

2. We really don’t believe a commercial is a witnessing tool, especially if you think someone who saw them would walk into a church to ask questions.
3. Actions DO speak louder than words. Many who saw those commercials know someone who claims Christianity but doesn’t act like Jesus, so they fell on deaf ears.
4. The word in Hebrew for righteousness and justice are the same, so being like Jesus, being righteous, ALWAYS involves social justice; again action; not words.
5. Words come later.”

I found their thoughts very helpful. Another person mentioned Mark chapter 14 where Mary uses a very expensive jar of perfume on Jesus and the disciples think it is a waste of money.  The disciples rebuke Mary for wasting the perfume when it could have been sold and monies given to the poor.  Jesus tells them to leave her alone and that she has done a beautiful thing. So maybe He Gets Us is like that?

I preached about that during the Gospel of John series last year.  Here’s the blog post that has the part of the sermon that relates:  

It’s so hard to know how to preach about money.  It seems to me that our American culture is extremely possessive and guarded when it comes to money.  We generally have a strong dislike of people even making hints about what they think we should do with our money.

My personal opinion is that if I had a $100 million, I hope I would spend it on actual people in need.  The act of generously caring for their needs, in my view, is a far more meaningful and impactful declaration of Jesus’ love than TV commercials.  As we look at the commercials, and think “If I had a $100 million, I would not spend it on TV commercials,” we should also reflect on how we are using the finances that God has given us.  You might not have $100 million, but you are a steward of his money.  Are you using it in line with the mission of his Kingdom?