July 12, 2006
Shock the Flock
A few years ago a past preacher brought the infamous Howard Stern to our worship service. As Howard was welcomed, his larger than life photo looked down on the congregation from the video screens. The minister described him, told us his history and then, introducing our children to new vocabulary words, he regurgitated quotes from the shock-jock. Following the service one middle-age member said, “I’d never even heard of Howard Stern until today.” If the minister’s illustration was meant to push the envelope in sermons and ‘shock the flock’, he was successful. Stern is a man whose program I’d never allow in my home, yet he was now invited to share the pulpit in my church. No, that’s not correct…it wasn’t a shared pulpit, because I don’t remember Jesus being there. Sadly, it was Howard Stern’s quotes that climbed into my head and went home with me that day.
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1 comment:
Gail;
----I remeber, not many weeks ago,
one of our Sunday School classes crossed the topic of course joking. Now this Sunday School teacher is respected by many even more than the preacher at that church. When one of my particularly dear brothers went to the church service following Sunday School he was served by the preacher a joke which involved a hunter's unwillingness to suck the viper venom from his hunting buddy's bit backside. That shelled my dear brother out the "worship" service immediately!
----I recall your blog piece from late in June regarding the need to rid hooligans from the public places in Australia. I perceive that more than music is involved in the similar techniques used in the contemporary church. And I still believe that it is a spiritual brutalization upon many good souls who still have not removed their dark glasses that hide the resulting bruises.
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