Exaggerated publicity: Acts 4: 16
“What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.”
Happy Boxing Day everyone!
We are setting fires all over the world!
We are taking cities for Christ!
Thousands and thousands came to Jesus through our ministry this year!
The most effective, the biggest church, the best welcome, the church with the largest influence, the anointed musicians. The number one church, pastor, preacher, book, conference blah blah blah. We’ve had it all this year. We read it and hear it every day. It has become so common to us we hardly notice it anymore so those who rely on such claims have to make bigger ones to get our attention.
Of course the world also joins in with this exaggerated self-publicity. On a recent programme of The Apprentice one contender in trying to seek his company boasted he was the leading number 1 company in that field. One of the interviewers then simply asked, “Who said this? Which reward ceremony did you get this title from?” It was priceless as the contender realised he had said it of himself.
Self-publicity is tiring but still many buy into it and that is why it will continue.
However, when it comes from your competitor, now that is something else!
“Everybody in Jerusalem knows” well that is probably stretching it. Was it actually everybody? Maybe, maybe not. It was a saying. An exaggeration.
I wonder if next year we could live our lives and our churches/ministries could conduct themselves in a way that those who don’t hold the same beliefs become the ones who make positive exaggerated claims of us?
Now that is an exaggeration I want to see promoted!
Missions Paul 