A north Alabama Baptist church is sparking community conversation with its signboard messages that contain film, food and science references.

The latest, posted with a Christmas theme, tells readers “We can help you get off that naughty list: Details inside,” connecting with the tradition of Santa keeping track of children’s behavior through his “naughty or nice” list. The other side of the sign reads “It’s all fun and games till Santa checks the naughty list,” a playful take on the popular saying “It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.”

The 140-year-old First Baptist Church, now located on a main thoroughfare in Madison, used to carry routine church announcements until Senior Pastor Amos Humphries arrived in 2023 after 14 years at a Baptist church in Waco, Texas.

“In Waco, I noticed we did the same thing with our signs, and it created such a really nice dialogue between the community, the neighborhood and us,” Humphries said in an interview with AL.com in the church’s lobby. “And so that’s when I saw our sign here. I’m like, man, it’s perfect. It’s on a main drag. People get stuck there at times.”

He aims for thought-provoking and humorous messages with a new one every couple of weeks. “Just something that’ll make you smile,” he said. “I think that’s important and part of who we are as a church engaging with the community in a way that makes sense to them.”

Some of the messages have been directed at school bus drivers who commute regularly along the Sullivan Street location of the church, said Lara Dunlap, the church administrator. “They love it,” she said.

Here is one from August: “Why was the bus driver sad? Everyone was talking behind their back.” And another from October: “Bus drivers: be encouraged, all your problems are behind you.”

“Thanksgiving. When people who are thankful are the ones who didn’t have to cook,” appeared during last month’s Thanksgiving holidays. The opposite side featured a scientific pun: “You matter. Unless you multiply yourself by the speed of light squared. Then you (sic) energy,” playing with Einstein’s famous mass-energy equivalence equation (E=mc²).

A sign from October referenced “Notting Hill,” a 1999 romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts. Her character’s line “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her” inspired the sign: “I’m just a person standing in front of a salad asking it to be a donut.”

Similar to the food theme, there are signs that relate to chocolate and coffee, like this one from August: “All you need is love, but a little chocolate now and then does not hurt,” and in September: “Coffee because adulting is hard.”

Dunlap welcomes the change in the messaging on the church board. “Before Amos came, I was changing the sign, but it was just generic, you know, worship service at 11… it wasn’t anything like it is now,” she said. “I think this is awesome. I look forward to coming and seeing what message he’s put up every two weeks when he changes it out.”

One of the signs was a discussion topic at a member’s workplace, Humphries said. “I think it portrays that we’re welcoming, that we’re not too stiff as a congregation, which we’re not. We’re friendly and relevant,” he said. “We live the same life in our community. So yeah, let’s just kind of poke fun at it. Let’s have fun.”