If you had thirty seconds to speak to millions of people, what would you say? Would you sell a product, offer social or political commentary, or would you want to say something else?

That's a question I put to some of my friends after last year's Super Bowl. Think of the millions of dollars corporate America spends at each year's Super Bowl so that they can deliver a thirty-second message. Why do they do it? Because the Super Bowl is America's largest cultural stage, drawing 106 million viewers in 2010, the highest rated television event in history. Sadly, most of the advertising messages are inane, promoting beer and potato chips via highly sexualized means. That got me wondering: If I had thirty seconds to say whatever I wanted, what would I say?

Respondents to my informal poll initially said that they would shout "Roll Tide!" or "War Eagle!" or something similar. Once they realized that I was serious, the answers became more thoughtful:

"I would want to say that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life," said Rick Burgess.

"If all I had was thirty seconds," someone else observed, "I would try to get the audience to focus on eternity."

Another wrote: "I would want to deliver a message that offered 'Authentic Hope.' People are looking for something real and personal, like a true relationship."

All of these reflected my own thinking. A message of hope. Real hope. The question, however, was how? How do you get a message like that on television during the Super Bowl? We had to find a way in. A way to connect the sport to the Gospel. Then it dawned on me. How many times had I seen "JOHN 3:16" signs held up in end zones during field goal and extra point attempts? Anybody who watches football has seen it hundreds of times. And then there's the Scripture verses written in the eye black for which Tim Tebow became famous.

John 3:16 has become a part of football through signs, tattoos, eye black, etc. So much so, that this past year the NCAA passed the "Tebow Rule", outlawing further displays of the verse by players. Even so, it remains part of the game through the fans. In the recent Jets-Colts playoff game, a fan held up a "JOHN 3:16" sign just as the game-winning field goal was kicked. But does anyone think about what it means? What if, I wondered, we could find the money to produce a quality thirty-second spot that showed "JOHN 3:16" in its normal usage at a football game and creatively asked the question, "Did you ever wonder what that means?" Not an in-your-face presentation of the Gospel, mind you, but a spot that encouraged viewers to consider the hope offered to any who accept the simple words "for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son ..."

I shared the vision with Sean and Susan Doyle of Fitzmartin Agency, a marketing and communications firm in Birmingham. I knew that we would need the expertise that they could provide. Committed Christians, both Sean and Susan loved the concept and agreed to help assemble a team of storyboard artists, web designers, marketers, media experts, camera crews, actors, lawyers, and so on. We invited this group to Latimer House and presented the idea to them. When they stopped laughing and realized the seriousness of the proposal, people began to excitedly discuss the possibilities. But there was more. I asked them if they would be willing to work at a deeply discounted rate and on a contingency basis. Most agreed and the project began to take shape.

Since that time, the original idea has been honed, polished, and taken on a life of its own. Sean and his team of talented experts have been busy writing and filming the commercial. This was no small task. With the gracious help of supporters who were captivated by the vision, resources began to flow in for the initiative we now called "LookUp 3:16."[1]

The University of Alabama agreed to let us film the spot in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Sean marshaled his camera crews and actors. Hundreds of extras were required. Two semi-pro football teams joined in the fun and played a mock game to give it an air of authenticity.

There has been much spiritual opposition. And numerous discussions with network executives revealed their nervousness about airing such a commercial.

"You want to put what on television?" the Vice President of Fox Sports asked. A nice man, he nevertheless thought the idea a little unorthodox.

"I want to put a verse from the Bible on television and ask viewers 'did you ever wonder what that means?'" I said matter-of-factly.

Silence.

"But it's a verse you know," I continued. "It's part of the sport." This was a gamble, but I was banking on him having a deep knowledge of the sport. After all, he is the Vice President of Fox Sports.

"You're talkin' 'John 3:16' aren't you?" He chuckled. "Yeah, you used to see that guy with the crazy hair holding up signs in the end zones." He was thoughtful for a moment. "You're right. It is part of the game. Still, I don't think we would air something like that." Another pause. "What product are you selling?"

"We don't have one. We don't even want to put our name on it," I said. "We want to direct viewers to a website that offers a simple explanation of John 3:16."

"Oh, no, you can't do that," he objected. "If we air it - and I do mean if - you'll have to claim it. It can't look like a PSA."[2]

After a strategy session or two, we decided to pursue local markets that were much less reticent to sell a thirty-second time slot to us.

The next thing we needed was music. This is harder than you may think. You can't just use any piece that you like. The cost and the legal hurdles are daunting. Then there is the problem of getting the musicians to agree to your message. Not many were interested in having their songs associated with the Gospel. But this, too, was all part of the Lord's larger plan. I decided to put the idea to my friends Keith and Kristyn Getty, authors of numerous hymns, most notably, In Christ Alone.

Sitting in a Nashville sandwich shop, I did my best to convince Keith to join our team. He listened intently, but gave little indication of what he was thinking. Fabulous musicians, the Gettys are primarily hymn writers, not producers of commercial music. This was, he said, not an area of interest to them. Still, he agreed to consider the idea.

A week later, Keith called. "We're in," he said. "Kristyn and I love the concept." Another piece of the puzzle had fallen into place.

In the meantime, our guys worked busily building a website and populating it with a hopeful message. The idea was to keep the explanation of John 3:16 simple. No lengthy commentaries. No references to the Greek. No church-speak. Rather, a plain and concise interpretation that relies more on the power of the Word instead of scholarly explanations and gimmicks. Fixed Point Foundation's Associate Director Bill Wortman and our Technical Supervisor Ben Halbrooks achieved this beautifully.

So what remains? The Super Bowl on February 6th, 2011[3]. It is our prayer that the message of John 3:16, situated as it will be among all of the meaningless babble of primetime television, will challenge unbelievers to reconsider the source of their hope and encourage Christians to be bolder witnesses for Christ. Perhaps the spot will even generate a cultural conversation about this classic verse and what has changed in our country that television executives would be so worried about airing even a reference to it.

We are excited by this vision and the manner in which the Lord has blessed it. A team of talented and faithful people have worked for almost a year to make it a reality. Barring the unforeseen, February 6th will see it all come true. We ask you to join us in prayer in seeking His blessing on Super Bowl Sunday and subsequent airings of the commercial. May the Lord be honored and glorified through it.

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[1] All monies contributed to this project go to this project. None will be used for our general budgetary needs.
[2] Public Service Announcement
[3] The LookUp 3:16 commercial will air regionally. We plan to snowball the project over the next year and air a second commercial in television markets of major U.S. cities (New York, Atlanta, L.A. etc.) during the 2012 Super Bowl.

Copyright 2010 Larry A. Taunton