"Pursuing Jesus' Dream for the World…"

That was the tag line of my home church when I served on staff. I had a hand in developing that line, and I continue to think it’s the best church tag line that I’ve ever seen. Of course, it leaves unanswered the question, “What is Jesus’ dream for the world?” And I think that’s good, because it forced our congregation to constantly struggle with that question. But it also did some other things. It never referred to us (as in, “We at Black Eye Presbyterian seek to…”); it was Christocentric; it was missional (I particularly argued for the gerund of the verb “to pursue,” since it implies a kind of present action, and it allows the entire phrase to function as a noun; I think that the ellipses at the end also connote a kind of unfinished business quality about the whole thing).

Unfortunately, the church has since changed its motto to the much more self-referential, “A Place to Grow in Christ and Serve the World.”