It was one of those “man bites dog” news links on the Drudge Report website that I just
couldn’t pass up. It enticed with
something like, “Pastor tames wild horse while preaching sermon.” The link sent me to this video on youtube.com
where, in fact, you can watch Pastor Lawrence Bishop II of Solid Rock Church in
Monroe, Ohio actually tame a wild horse within a ring set up in the center of
the church’s sanctuary (more likely, “worship center”). Pastor Bishop (great name) is also apparently
a former rodeo professional, and the “sermon” was the seventh and climactic in
his “Conquer the Beast” series.
The stunt reminded me of the time a few years back when I
attended the Pastors’ Conference at the annual Southern Baptist Convention,
held in Greensboro, North Carolina (back when I was still a Southern
Baptist). At that meeting one of the
keynote messages was preached by a pastor from Texas who stood at center stage
while daredevils jumped over him on motorcycles (I kid you not!). At the sermon’s close we were encouraged to
follow this model in order to draw a crowd and grow our churches.
Is there anything wrong with sermons where wild horses are
tamed? Or where motorcycles scream
through hoops of fire over the preacher?
Is this what Paul was talking about when he said, “I am made all things
to all men, that I might by all means
save some” (1 Cor 9:22)?
In fact, I would say this is not at all what Paul was talking
about. Rather than demonstrating
innovation or zeal for souls, it shows a fundamental lack of confidence in the
simplicity of preaching as the God-ordained “converting ordinance” (as the
Puritans called it). It is an attempt to
improve on the God-called minister standing forth in the midst of the gathering
of the Lord’s people with an open Bible to preach the gospel. Paul said, “it pleased God by the foolishness
of the message preached to save them that believe” and “we preach Christ and
him crucified” (1 Cor 1:21, 23).
OK, we might not be tempted to put up a horse ring or build a
motorcycle ramp, but we may have our own subtle expressions of lack of
confidence in divinely ordained means.
Before the wild horses and motorcycles there were other attempts to
spice things up and hold the interest of the audience whether Christian puppet
shows, ventriloquists, organs, handbell choirs, praise bands, video clips,
etc. These more recent expressions just
prove how fleshly craving for entertainment must always push the envelope for
the next spiritual “high.”
May the Lord keep us from this temptation and give us
confidence in his appointed means for converting sinners and edifying the
saints.
Grace and peace, Pastor
Jeff Riddle
Great post. What is the best interpretation of 1 Corinthians 9:22? We have missionaries in North America that are trying to spice things up by going into bars and having church there to go "where the people are" so to speak. Many are using entertainment, and some are just trying to make the environment more "comfortable." I think there is freedom on some level with Church government and worship "style," but where do you draw the line? Verses like 1 Corinthians 9:22 are used to justify all kinds of tactics, including circus acts being implemented into the sermon! It's just my opinion that if you need a circus act to gain attention to your preaching, maybe you should try another profession! Some years back I was at a SBC Church that had a man come in to town to do a presentation. We met at the rodeo arena, and he implemented a similar method that you described. It was just a one time deal for us, and I thought it was a neat visual illustration and no evil came from it, but I don't expect my pastor to make it an every Sunday event!
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