The He Gets Us campaign has drawn a lot of attention. If you’re missing it, it’s a series of 1-minute advertisements funded by a largely unknown group of people that just wants to reintroduce people to Jesus. Naturally, like Jesus himself, they’ve been criticized by believers and unbelievers alike. I have been asked frequently what my opinion is.

To answer that question, I can’t do better than refer you to my friend Rob Webster, whom I quoted last May. I give you his Facebook post of February 12, the night of the Super Bowl:

There’s a story in John 9. Jesus heals a blind man. What a miracle! It’s an amazing thing, and it changed the man’s life. Who could find fault in this?

The Pharisees, that’s who. They call on the man to come explain what has happened. You see, Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and that was a problem. Maybe because healing was considered “work”? I don’t know what the real issue was. But the Pharisees put the man through the wringer with their questions and suggested that Jesus was a sinner.

Exasperated, the formerly blind man gave one of the shortest testimonies you can imagine. “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

Tonight during the Super Bowl, two ads aired from a campaign about Jesus called “He Gets Us”. They’re powerful ads. You probably saw them.

Also tonight, my Facebook feed has been littered with conversations and links to news articles, not about the ads, or who Jesus is, but wondering what the motives are of the people who funded them. Because such-and-such group gave money, and they also did this and this and this… and one of the directors also directed campaigns for this group I don’t like… and this other backer supported this legislation…

But friends… listen to me.

My church has been partnering with He Gets Us for a few months now. I don’t know who all is behind it. But as people have seen ads, they’ve contacted the website and filled out a form. And when their zip code is near our church, I’m one of the people who gets an email, and a chance to follow up with them.

You wouldn’t believe the pain. In a sentence or two, people pour out their hearts about children who have died. Broken relationships. Hating themselves. Loneliness. Hopelessness. Fear. Insecurity. My biggest problem is that I feel under-equipped to adequately respond. So I don’t over-promise, and I let them know I’m not a counselor. But I can be a friend. I can listen. I can pray with them.

I guess suspicion is natural. But if anyone wants to know about how this ad campaign is working itself out on a granular level, reach out to me. Because it’s not He Gets Us that is following up the people near our church. It’s me. – Rob Webster, Facebook, February 12, 2023

Rob’s post links to this ad, which ran during the Super Bowl:

Paul wrote about the motives of people preaching the gospel in his day:

So how am I to respond? I’ve decided that I really don’t care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on! (Philippians 1.18, MSG)