Las Vegas Pastor Gets First-Ever Tattoo During Sermon Series on Receiving a New Identity in Christ
The pastor of a Las Vegas church, which describes itself as "a church for people who don't like church," is in the middle of an "odd" series of sermons called "Tattooed," to highlight issues related to identity. As part of the series, the pastor got his first-ever tattoo during the worship service and while delivering his sermon.
"The one Jesus loves," reads the tattoo Pastor Vince Antonucci of the Verve Church got on stage during the worship service last Sunday, two weeks after he started the month-long series on Sept. 18.
The pastor received the tattoo from Las Vegas tattoo artist Chance Gomez, who is a Christian.
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Why a tattoo? Each person has certain setbacks which leave a mark in their lives and then begin to define their self-perception. And such marks can symbolize a tattoo.
Antonucci said he had an abusive father, who would call him "stupid" and "worthless."
"He would tattoo me with questions like, 'How could you be so dumb? What's wrong with you? Are you totally worthless?'" the pastor told the Las Vegas Review Journal. "And then he would make statements like, 'You've got a real problem' or 'You really are stupid.'"
Antonucci added, "In order to get your new tattoo, your new ID, you have to first remove the old. I had lived so long thinking of myself in a negative way. I didn't know how to not think of myself that way. I didn't realize that God loved me."
This is why the tattoo he received said, "The one Jesus loves."
"How do you define yourself? Is it based on your accomplishments?" asks a post on the church's Facebook page. "On what people think about you? There's a better way to find your true identity," it adds, inviting people to come to church for the series which would help them change the way they see themselves "so you can make a bigger impact, grow spiritually, and turn the world upside-down."
The church has also posted videos of members who have tattoos talking about their struggles and how their faith in God helped them, or just about their love for tattoos.
"Growing up I was bullied incredibly all through my elementary school. I was told I was bad, I was told I was ugly," says one woman, who identifies herself only as Samantha in the video.
When she turned 18, she got her first tattoo and discovered that it covered her skin. So she got many more tattoos to cover up the "ugliness" that she didn't want to see. "When I went to church for the first time, and discovered that my worth was so much more than what I looked like on the outside, I began to see myself the way God sees me," she adds.
"There are a lot of people who are looking for God and seeking a spiritual dimension to life, but just don't want to go to church to find it," the church says on its website. "And who can blame them? Most churches seem judgmental and holier than thou. They make you wear your Sunday best, play music from the 1800s, and are too into politics. And they seem to care more about people's money than people."
The church says it is "flipping the script on church."
"We are a church where no perfect people were allowed, because there are no perfect people. Where everyone can just come as they are and be themselves. We are a church that is about relationships — loving God and loving people, and turning the world upside down. We are a church that is fun, and relevant, and really made a difference in your life."
