Gas Price Break, Part 2

Gas prices are on the minds of a lot of people, I suspect. And there doesn't seem to be much we can do about them, despite the encouragement of those e-mails that suggest a one-day "boycott" from buying gas or a boycott of certain brands of gas. But the fact that the price of a gallon of gas does have such a direct (as well as indirect) impact on so many of us has caused many churches to think about ways to use gasoline as something of an attention-getter, as I pointed out in my last post. But here is a different approach that seems to be a little more Christ-honoring.

I Could Use the Gas Price Break, But...

First of all, gas prices are RIDICULOUS! That pretty much goes without saying. And I know it is affecting many of us quite seriously - it almost costs more to drive to work than we'll make once we get there. So, I guess it is only natural that churches would want to try to help some of the people affected. But I'm thinking this is probably not the way to go about it.

It seems to me that publicity is not something that is completely off-limits for churches. A yellowish-colored pages advertisement in the phone book, a web page, or a listing in the local newspaper - those would all be excellent ways to let people know that you exist, where you're at, and maybe a little bit about you. But isn't the church's only "marketing gimmick," the only way we are given to add to a church's membership, by presenting the Gospel, which is very likely going to be seen not as compelling but as offensive?