A tribute to Katy Perry like only the church can [hopefully I don't go to hell for this post]

courtesy AP

When I was young, my family and I went to one of those churches with the ironic billboard proclaiming clever puns in the name of Christ. The church was small and intimate; like the town it was in, just about everyone knew just about everyone. We eventually stopped attending that church, and my parents switched to another and I slowly stopped going altogether.

Over the years and through various pastoral administrations, I saw the tone of the sign evolve from cutesy and clever to stern, nagging messages along the lines of “delayed obedience is disobedience” (paraphrased - it was years ago).

However, the church where I met many a partying, beer-swilling youth group attendee never had anything as bold and brash as the sign that was briefly displayed in front of a church in the somewhat oddly named Blacklick, Ohio.

It seems the local pastor was tired of listening to Katy Perry’s breakout summer hit, “I kissed a girl.” So he decided to put the fear of God in some potentially promiscuous and inappropriately curious locals.

From MSNBC:

(P.S. I should add that I do not condone looking down on any particular religion just because of the way a few overzealous people represent it. Certain religions seem to have more of these types of people than others, but certain religions are also more common in these parts. Can’t we all just get along?)