"To take a thing and make a joke out of it is not to take it in vain. It is, on the contrary, to take it and use it for an uncommonly good object."G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
Not to stretch this to ridiculous proportions, but running around the community and clandestinely planting lawn flamingos in the yards of the unsuspecting has about it an air of mission.
This is a blatantly public act. And while lawn ornaments hardly compel one to serious religious consideration, consider the buzz appeal that they create. People are asking their neighbors about them; co-workers arriving to carpool want to know how they got there; commuters want in on the act.
Since last Friday I've received phone calls at the church office from five people wanting to "flock" someone. Four of these callers have had absolutely no connection with the congregation, not to mention its youth group. That the gag is a fundraiser for a youth mission trip is only an added bonus, a secondary consideration. The primary appeal is getting in on something that is happening in public.
And that has a certain gospel ring to it.
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