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This. 1000%Do you preach?
Humour can be a very effective way of making a very serious point. Also, if one preaches for a long time without any change in mood or tone, people's attention drifts; but allowing for lighter moments and remarks helps keep them engaged.
The acceptability of the word "moron" from the pulpit might be debatable, but that there is a place for humour in preaching is, I would have said, a given.
It's not a matter of being a preacher. Church isn't an entertainment venue. It isn't a comedy club or a rock concert.Do you preach?
Humour can be a very effective way of making a very serious point. Also, if one preaches for a long time without any change in mood or tone, people's attention drifts; but allowing for lighter moments and remarks helps keep them engaged.
The acceptability of the word "moron" from the pulpit might be debatable, but that there is a place for humour in preaching is, I would have said, a given.
Right and laughter is reserved only for comedy clubs... You're funny.It's not a matter of being a preacher. Church isn't an entertainment venue. It isn't a comedy club or a rock concert.
The major church ministry this Christmas is to single moms in the city. The pastor decided to share some of the emails the church had received from people who knew about the effort, but were cynical. One man said, "How about single dads?" Another said, "You just want to get their money," presumably meaning, 'you just want to get them attending the church so they'll give regularly to the offering.'
The pastor then offered up to the congregation what he would have LIKED to have told the person....."THEY DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY...(pause).....YOU MORON!" and the place busted out in laughter.
I would describe it as a smaller church, with a pastor that has an above average sense of humor, always trying to be funny at some point in most sermons. At such times, I usually am first and loudest to laugh, but didn't laugh this time. I was tired, not having had enough sleep, plus it wasn't funny to me.
Most churches I've been in are much larger, and I can't imagine their pastors even mentioning apparent outsider hate email from the pulpit, much less resorting to name calling. Such outsiders must have been people at home who watch live over the Internet, or follow on social media. No one in attendance would have been the people being critical via email.
Do you think the pastor was out of line, or would you just chalk it up to human nature. He may have been using the congregation to vent frustrations. But still.....
P.S. - I wouldn't have put it past the pastor to have completely made up both stories. There is another instance in which I think he was lying to me about the issue of who exactly gets and reads the email that goes to the church's main 'info' email address. Unlike much larger churches in town that I know of, they won't put the pastor email addresses and photos on their web site.
It's not a matter of being a preacher. Church isn't an entertainment venue. It isn't a comedy club or a rock concert.
The major church ministry this Christmas is to single moms in the city. The pastor decided to share some of the emails the church had received from people who knew about the effort, but were cynical. One man said, "How about single dads?" Another said, "You just want to get their money," presumably meaning, 'you just want to get them attending the church so they'll give regularly to the offering.'
The pastor then offered up to the congregation what he would have LIKED to have told the person....."THEY DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY...(pause).....YOU MORON!" and the place busted out in laughter.
I would describe it as a smaller church, with a pastor that has an above average sense of humor, always trying to be funny at some point in most sermons. At such times, I usually am first and loudest to laugh, but didn't laugh this time. I was tired, not having had enough sleep, plus it wasn't funny to me.
Most churches I've been in are much larger, and I can't imagine their pastors even mentioning apparent outsider hate email from the pulpit, much less resorting to name calling. Such outsiders must have been people at home who watch live over the Internet, or follow on social media. No one in attendance would have been the people being critical via email.
Do you think the pastor was out of line, or would you just chalk it up to human nature. He may have been using the congregation to vent frustrations. But still.....
P.S. - I wouldn't have put it past the pastor to have completely made up both stories. There is another instance in which I think he was lying to me about the issue of who exactly gets and reads the email that goes to the church's main 'info' email address. Unlike much larger churches in town that I know of, they won't put the pastor email addresses and photos on their web site.
He didn't announce it as a joke. He said the whole thing (including the dramatic pause and punchline) in a very serious, premeditated way, and didn't laugh or smile after he said it, even after the congregation laughed louder than I've ever heard them laugh at anything. He normally interjects more spontaneous one-liners, such as....Given that he announced it as a joke when saying the word,
Okay, but that's not how your original post made it seem.He didn't announce it as a joke. He said the whole thing (including the dramatic pause and punchline) in a very serious, premeditated way, and didn't laugh or smile after he said it, even after the congregation laughed louder than I've ever heard them laugh at anything. He normally interjects more spontaneous one-liners, such as....
So you want to work from the assumption of guilty until proven innocent, fine, doesn't sound like a pattern of good works for you
You're right, it's not on par, it was worse.
As to the rest of it, it's just a bunch of justifications and misrepresentations of what I said, and I'm not going to waste my time on it, especially today. Titus 3 also tells us to avoid foolish disputes, and in my opinion this qualifies.
Yes we are to treat people with dignity and respect, absolutely. But being a pastor or leader doesn't mean being a punching bag.
If this person anonymously accused him and his church of attempting to exploit single mothers for financial gain, that is a awful, baseless allegation and that person is a moron,
I wouldn't say it from the pulpit myself, but if you had any idea how much total rubbish pastors get accused of that you never ever hear about, but respond just once and look out!
It's remarkable how many people who know nothing of what it takes to lead a church or stand behind a pulpit are experts at it.
Good thing you aren't a pastor. You aren't, are you?
Well, let's see...my Dad was a pastor; so was my grandfather; so are two of my brothers. I'm an elder at my church. I think I've got a pretty good idea of what it's like to be pastor.
LOL, Yeeeeeah. Senior Pastor Chris here, nice to meet you.Uh huh. Good thing you aren't a pastor. You aren't, are you?
As someone who has been on both sides, I assure you, you don't have a good idea what it's like to be a senior pastor. Many people think they do, including you yourself before you do it, but they are all wrong. Every single senior pastor I have ever spoken to knows this. Even being an associate is not the same.Well, let's see...my Dad was a pastor; so was my grandfather; so are two of my brothers. I'm an elder at my church. I think I've got a pretty good idea of what it's like to be pastor.
Lost count after 500 or so. But leading a church is far, faaaaaaar more than preaching. Preaching is like less than 10 percent. And I've done it all, down to cleaning the toilets because it needed to be done and there was no one else.This is the problem with making assumptions about the lives of strangers. You have no idea what the content or character of their lives actually are. It turns out I do know quite well what it takes to lead and have stood behind a pulpit to preach a great many times. How about you?
Much appreciated! We got some great people around us.I'm sorry for your losses, @topher694. Hope you have some good support around you this week.
Typically starts with a scripture reference, talks about that for 10-15 minutes, then inevitably veers off into a street preacher type of generic message that's a repeat of what he says each time, lasting an additional 40-45 minutes. He's probably been saying the same things for many years.What kind of theology does the Pastor generally teach / preach about? What are his major themes in sermons?
He didn't call the guy a moron, he said he would have liked to call him a moron. Big difference.The major church ministry this Christmas is to single moms in the city. The pastor decided to share some of the emails the church had received from people who knew about the effort, but were cynical. One man said, "How about single dads?" Another said, "You just want to get their money," presumably meaning, 'you just want to get them attending the church so they'll give regularly to the offering.'
The pastor then offered up to the congregation what he would have LIKED to have told the 2nd person....."THEY DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY...(pause).....YOU MORON!" and the place busted out in laughter.
I would describe it as a smaller church, with a pastor that has an above average sense of humor, always trying to be funny at some point in most sermons. At such times, I usually am first and loudest to laugh, but didn't laugh this time. I was tired, not having had enough sleep, plus it wasn't funny to me.
Most churches I've been in are much larger, and I can't imagine their pastors even mentioning apparent outsider hate email from the pulpit, much less resorting to name calling. Such outsiders must have been people at home who watch live over the Internet, or follow on social media. No one in attendance would have been the people being critical via email.
Do you think the pastor was out of line, or would you just chalk it up to human nature? He may have been using the congregation to vent frustrations. But still.....
P.S. - I wouldn't have put it past the pastor to have completely made up both stories. There is another instance in which I think he was lying to me about the issue of who exactly gets and reads the email that goes to the church's main 'info' email address. Unlike some much larger churches in town that I know of, they won't put the pastor email addresses and photos on their staff web page.
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