Church Voices

Every once in a while I’ll preach a sermon or part of a sermon in what many people consider to be a Hellfire and Brimstone style.  Some people like this type of preaching.  Some just want some kind of passion and energy, but many that appreciate these types of sermons want the anger, the exposure of sin, and the railing against our wrongs.  These sermons/approaches can have their place, but I’ve found that many times you get some amens (often from those that need to apply it but only apply it in judgment to those around them) and some guilt (which is not a part of the role of the preacher).  Because of these responses, I often desire to utilize other techniques to help encourage transformation during Sunday mornings (one of the best is to provide an immediate and tangible opportunity to act, which of course as Chad pointed out in the previous post, is not always applicable).

Sometimes I just feel like offending people.  Mind you, not for the sake of offending people, but to wake them up, to get them thinking, and hopefully to inspire action.  I think it benefits us at times to get a bur in our saddle.  You don’t see people hearing about a need or problem in their lives or the life of a neighbor saying “Oh that’s just terrible” and then doing something about it.  But get somebody upset enough, and they might just take action.

So to that end, I would like to share a list of things that have come to mind over the past few years of ministering in the midwest that will offend many Christians in our country:

• It is sick how much money you spend on crap every year that you don’t need when brothers and sisters in Christ are starving to death.
• This country is not a “Christian” nation.  The only nation that is truly Christian is the Kingdom of God/Heaven.  A.k.a. the Church.
• You may disagree with certain political views, but national policy is not dictated by scripture.
• People from other countries need Jesus Christ.  If I hear one more person say something to show the attitude that they are more important than somebody from Mexico, India, or China, I’m going to punch them in the face.  Let the government system do what it needs to do and let the free market run its course, as for you, love your neighbor as yourself.  Ask yourself, “What is good for my (insert other nationality here) neighbor?”
• Your preacher is not a vending machine.
• Grow up and disciple other Christians.  Seriously, if you’ve been a Christian for more than 3 years, you should be mature enough to help others grow in Christ.  If you’ve been a Christian for 30 years and you’re still doing what you’ve always done (or you’ve slacked off), you never matured.  Find somebody to help you grow up.

If I think of more, I’ll try to offend you again sometime.