It was at an evangelism conference when it happened. Some of the nation’s top evangelists were preaching. Most of them directors of nationally renowned ministries or pastors of mega churches. And they didn’t inherit these ministries. They built them from the ground up. They took their churches, as their introductions said, from 100 to 1,000-plus people. Most of them overnight.
It was a typical conference. Another evangelist was preaching, one whose sermon induced “amens” from all over the building. Then, it happened. It was a statement that turned a nasty corner. Sure, it received dozens of “amens.” Some clapped. Others laughed. But that was the point. It was a cheap zinger employed to gain a roaring, knee-slapping response. A deliberate statement to encourage buddies to elbow one another and shake their head in hearty agreement. One that people could reminisce about in the hallways after service. But one that, ironically, served the opposite of the event’s purpose.
The statement was something along the lines of, “I don’t need Christina Uguliera.” The statement also included rhetorical slanders of other well-known celebrities.
I can’t help but think that if Christina Aguilera had been in the audience, she would have probably not been evangelized. In fact, she would have been the opposite of evangelized. She would have been in a room full of hundreds of believers, listening to a professional evangelist speak on the gospel, and still be as lost as the Dallas Cowboys on a football field.
In reading the Gospels, I don’t remember Jesus ever belittling lost people. Jesus didn’t tell the woman at the well: “Only God knows how you got five husbands.” He didn’t walk up to the fishermen and say: Pyew! And I mean capital P and capital U. Go take a bath and then you’ll be gospel worthy.”
Instead, Jesus did things like wash people’s feet, touch people with leprosy, and open an old grave so he could raise the rotting corpse back to life. He intentionally chose the stinky and the ugly and bid them to come and die. “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” Jesus said (Luke 5:32, NASB).
The point is that it would be okay to tell Christina Aguilera that you don’t like her hair, makeup, or the way she dresses. You can tell her that you don’t agree with her music or her choices. You can even tell her that you loathed her on the Mickey Mouse Club. But calling her ugly because she isn’t a Christian is an atrocity. It doesn’t get her or anyone else closer to Jesus and it certainly doesn’t promote the gospel. It demotes it, conveying that if you don’t agree with us then we are going to call you names, take our ball and go home.
If Jesus were here, I would like to think that he would deal with Christina Aguilera differently. He would certainly address her sin, but he wouldn’t degrade her in the process. He wouldn’t be worried about what’s happening on the outside so much as about what’s going on in the inside. That is, he would tell her she has an ugly heart, not an ugly face. And it would be so that she might respond to the power of the gospel, not so believers can respond to the appeal of his rhetoric.
This is because the gospel is for Christina Aguilera, and every other ugly-hearted sinner, of which I am included.
Amen.
I’m not sure why mocking the lost is such a popular pastime among evangelicals, but I’ve certainly seen enough of it (and to be honest, probably done some of it myself).
Unfortunately, me too Bill.
I agree we need to watch our language and how we speak to others about Christ. We should speak the truth in love. But there are times we need to speak with strength and conviction. Times we need to speak strongly against sin. Maybe some are called to do this more than others.
I don’t know the details of the sermon to which you refer, but I recall Jesus speaking very strongly against lost Pharisees (Matthew 23). Jesus called Herod a fox, and apparently did not mean it in a positive way (Luke 13).
The prophets, John Baptist, Paul also spoke some pretty harsh words.
Are you criticizing “professional evangelists” in general? I believe evangelists are called of God and do outstanding service for the cause of Jesus Christ.
http://www.sbcevangelist.org/Dr-Johnny-Hunt.html
David R. Brumbelow
Thank you David for pointing out that ALL of Jesus’ harsh words were reserved for those who were religious and sure of their righteousness, not those who were clueless of their current situation. That’s the difference. Evangelicals tend to pick on the broken culture- creating further barriers to a fair hearing of the Gospel by their unmerciful mocking tones- while praising and upholding the judgmental legalist or hyper-moralist as a paragon of virtue.
Jesus used his harsh words to shake up the self-righteous not to demean the obvious sinner. The difference is night and day.
David: Speaking strongly against sin doesn’t mean to do it like a sanctimonious jerk.
+1
“Are you criticizing “professional evangelists” in general? I believe evangelists are called of God and do outstanding service for the cause of Jesus Christ.”
As to your question…the evangelists and pastors who practice tactics that are mentioned here…I would say yes and it is necessary criticism, IMO.
As to your statement…I agree wholeheartedly there are a great many evangelists who do outstanding service for the cause of Christ.
Hello David.
Thank you for the insights concerning Jesus’ response to various individuals. That is an important addition to this blog.
I would argue, however, that the difference between Jesus and this particular speaker is the intention of the comment. Even in what can be considered “harsh words” by Jesus, they never seemed to be gratuitously slanderous, especially for the purpose of inducing praise.
And to answer your final question, I am not criticizing, in this blog, professional evangelists in general, only this particular evangelist’s comment. Unfortunately, however, this particular conference hosted a variety of speakers that preached along the same rhetorical lines.
I agree, evangelists are certainly called of God and do outstanding service for the cause of Christ!
WOW, I didn’t see any critical comments toward evangelists in general. I just wasn’t sure if he was calling her ugly, or was mispronouncing her name. You heard it I guess, so based on that it is a sad sell-out to the crowd. I don’t say that as speaking the truth in love. I see it as working the room.
Clark, there is no doubt that he was calling her ugly. It was a small part of a rhetorical line that the evangelist often uses in sermons. He toyed with other celebrity names in the same fashion.
OOOPS, I have a typo toward the end that changed what I was trying to say.
It should be:
I don’t SEE that as speaking the truth in love. I see it as working the room. –
liked your post. You mentioned Luke 5, when some Pharisees asked why Jesus ate with sinners. He replied that he’d come to call sinners to repentance—like who else should he eat with? To us it seems a non sequitur, to Jesus, it was the spirit of God.
Jesus led with hospitality, either offered or accepted. He accepted being in community with these people. And from there, yes, he lambasted them.
God wants a marriage, a covenant, with those who are offenders.
Good move. We could learn. We need those who see the world differently than we do. We start with hospitality. Once that’s established, we speak and we listen.
still be as lost as the Dallas Cowboys on a football field
Best line in the history of Voices or blogging in general! The post was great and spot on, this was the giant glob of icing on the cake.
I fully agree. Best line ever.
Thanks for the encouragement Dan!
Some of the worst messages that I have heard have been at pastors conferences and evangelism conferences among Southern Baptists. They are preaching to a group of people who genuinely care and so many messages have been derogatory and have laid heavy burdens on people. Do more. Get motivated. Get out there. Share the gospel. Be like me. Do more and work harder. Stop being lazy. America needs Jesus.
It is often exhausting.
Then, we have the messages like this where the lost are made fun of. Why do people like this stuff? Why do we nod approvingly? How is not all of this a big waste of time?
I have heard good messages before too, and I think that the idea of the pastors/evangelism conference is good. But, it can go sour real quick depending on the speaker and his motivation.
It is something that people should think through more, I think.
When we make fun of the lost, we are mocking people that Jesus died for. That is a serious thing, in my opinion.
Alan, I agree with you 100%.
I recently spent time at a conference where a retired mega church pastor now state denominational exec and evangelist spoke for over an hour basically telling us that we need to 1) buy and read his book 2) be more like him 3) do more (using his program), and of course 4) react “appropriately” to his largely pointless quips, stories and political commentary…
It is, IMO very exhausting.
“When we make fun of the lost, we are mocking people that Jesus died for. That is a serious thing, in my opinion.”
Great line brother.
Sadly, I think it has become a part of the mantra of soooooo many evangelists and pastors…someone mentioned in this comment stream “working the room”….that is exactly what this evangelist/preacher was doing – and lets not pretend that the same is not often done on Sunday mornings in churches (small and large alike)….
Honestly, I think this comes from (our) tendency toward pride – we love to get Amens…we love the laughs, the howls, the cheering….so we condition our audience (whether it in a conference setting or in a church every Sunday). It puffs us up. It makes us feel appreciated. etc., etc., etc.
Example: How many times have we heard a pastor or evangelist tout something to the effect of “if that don”t get an Amen…” or in the case one I saw recently…leave the platform while saying “guess I will have to do this myself” then proceeded to take a seat on the front row, and exclaim “Amen, preacher”..for the rest of his message he had got numerous and continued amens and “that’s right”, and “good stuff”, etc… most times when he extended pregnant pauses or threw out a quip to signal the audience.
It is a battle that I think all public speakers (and especially pastors) must fight – I think the author is so right that it betrays the gospel we are called to represent and honestly – if we look at it seriously makes the speaker look like a small minded, low hanging fruit grabbing, comedian or commentator. Nothing wrong with being a comedian or commentator….but we as pastors are not called to be such.
I once had a preaching professor tell us in class that “if you need a bunch of people in your audience yelling and cheering at your words and awaiting the next opportunity to do so again – you are not viewing yourself as messenger of the Word, but an entertainer and that will lead you to trouble.”
That has stuck with me. My pride is a huge monster though. I battle it. I battle it because the gospel is too important, the authoritative word of God is too sacred for me to dare to use it for my own ends!
I cringed when Jerry Falwell said “Ellen Degenerate”. I think she’s a nice person, but I also think she may be lost. Mocking her name was ugly on his part.
I had the same reaction in seminary when a prominent evangelist preached in chapel and referred to then-Attorney General Janet Reno as “Janet Lesbo.” It was a throw-away comment that got plenty of laughs but in no way advanced the point of his message. In fact, that remark is the ONLY thing I can remember from the sermon.
Let’s face it: any preacher who refers to Christina “Uguliera” is: a) blind, b) terrible at puns, and c) undermining his own message.
Jerry Falwell once called Ellen Degeneres… “Ellen Degenerate”.
Sure he did great things for the cause of Christ and the advancement of the gospel and that cannot be denied..but that fact does not absolve him from culpability as to the the stupidity, gospel defeating reality of this (and numerous other) comment.
I have been attending such conferences for many years. While I have experienced this I have experienced some really good stuff much more. I have left these conferences refreshed, inspired and excited about Kingdom Work. When I chose to go to such conferences I went because I needed to get away and be preached to and hopefully hear a word from God. I seldom came home disappointed.
Yea, that is a good point, DL. I do not want to convey that these conferences are not beneficial and even important – it is good for us to get away and be taught – since most times we are the teachers.
I will say that most of the time these conferences are a mixed bag….you get meat and bone…the trick is to eat the meat and throw away the bone….problem is though – and maybe I am seeing this wrong – but it seems the bones are getting more prevalent.
Often, when see a “speakers list” for a conference I end up choosing to go understanding that while I want to hear the preaching and encouragement from one or two of the speakers and I also know some of the others might not be so encouraging.
I too find myself encouraged at these conferences D.L. Thanks for adding this positive note. I certainly don’t want my blog to overshadow this fact!
Jared
I saw nothing in the post at all that indicated there were not blessings to be received in such a conference. You raise an issue that is all to familiar and sad with some speakers. Tarheel raised a relevant issue of “meat and bones”. It is so very unfortunate that we do have to make those choices.
My point was that it is just sad that such things happen in what should be a blessed experience. We spend our churches or perhaps our own money and take our time to attend a conference because we need that blessing. Then at times it is tainted when the speaker issues this type of verbiage.
D.L. is a pretty positive fellow. Like me, he has a son in the ministry. No easy thing in these days of difficulty, in these days of a growing opposition to the Christian Faith, especially that faith derived from the Bible. We need to become better acquainted with the depth of Holy Scripture, to perceive its subtleties as well as its simplicities. We have followed the latter too much, and it has come to pass out of left field that we are being assaulted by an inveterate skepticism that is a long way down the road to undoing our society and culture, a precursor to a veritable disaster of colossal proportions.
Thrilled to have Jared Wellman as part of our team.
Jared is the real deal. He also has a newborn baby who has just gotten out of NICU. Don’t expect heavy comment stream interaction.
Oh, my.
Yep. Pray for him and his family.
Thanks for the kind words and encouragement Bart.
Lord bless this new life that you have given and bless Jared and his wife in a special way, In Jesus Name
Thanks Dave. I’m especially honored!
As a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, I’m deeply, offended and patently unevangelized by this article. What they did to Christina, you did to countless Dallas Cowboys fans across the globe.
But it was funny, can I steal that line? 🙂
Actually, as I read this, I thought “Wow, it’s bad on multiple levels – Aguilera isn’t really that offensive anymore, she’s kind of cleaned up her act a bit. There are PLENTY of others out there who are FAR worse influences than her.”
Maybe they were thinking about someone else?
If any person familiar with pop music these days were there, they probably would have thought the same thing. Just another excuse to see them as outdated and disconnected with the culture they are trying to reach.
I could see a person in the audience saying “Man, if they think this about her, what would they say about those artists whose songs on the radio contain more silence than lyrics due to words being removed?”
Dallas Cowboys reference aside, great article. It reminded of one of the thoughts I go through whenever I prepare a sermon – when I want to use a “pop culture” reference or analogy, I think to myself – “What if that person showed up on Sunday? Would I still say that? Would I still say it that way if he/she were sitting in the front row looking right at me?”
Ha! Thanks Jeff. To be totally honest (is there any other kind of honest?), I scrutinized, because of it’s nature, the content of this blog, especially that particular line.
I originally had “as VP Joe Biden at a gun show,” but adding politics to a religious article is like adding pool shock and brake fluid together. You’re asking for an unbridled explosion!
I’m glad it was read as humorous and not slanderous. I too am a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, and share in your assumed disappointment.
Also, I loved your final comment. What a wonderful pre-sermon thought!
> I originally had “as VP Joe Biden at a gun show,” but adding politics to a religious article is like adding pool shock and brake fluid together. You’re asking for an unbridled explosion!
OOH! I need to try that! Not talking about Joe Biden at a gun show, but the brake fluid thing. Maybe I can use it as a sermon illustration. Can I steal that too? 🙂
Since you were already talking about religion, it’s probably a good idea that you left out the politics angle. It’s not Thanksgiving yet, but it’s dinner time somewhere…
Of course Jeff. There’s nothing new under the sun, right!
“Actually, as I read this, I thought “Wow, it’s bad on multiple levels – Aguilera isn’t really that offensive anymore, she’s kind of cleaned up her act a bit. There are PLENTY of others out there who are FAR worse influences than her.”
Maybe they were thinking about someone else?
If any person familiar with pop music these days were there, they probably would have thought the same thing. Just another excuse to see them as outdated and disconnected with the culture they are trying to reach.”
LOL! reminds me of the time when an older speaker at a youth conference threw out several comments about modern music and artists and included this gem; “…and Marilyn Manson, who wants to listen to her trashy music.” The comment was met with laughter and groans, but the out of touch preacher mistook it for support and continued his moralist outrage.
HA! Yeah, that Marilyn Manson chick…
People should probably make sure they know SOMETHING about whatever it is they are protesting…hehe
Very good points here. I know I’m prone to this, and many of our efforts at “cultural transformation” end up sounding like this: mocking the lost for being lost.
But they are dead people acting like dead people (spiritually-speaking). Why would we mock that? Has anyone ever been mocked into the Kingdom? Not very often, I would suggest.
And praying for your newborn!
Great point Doug! We, myself especially included, are often guilty of expecting lost people to act like saved people, without sharing Christ.
I agree, the better medicine–and the only medicine–is the Gospel.
Thanks for the prayers.
On winning the lost think about this: Spurgeon in his Evening devotions prayed on two occasions for the conversion of the whole earth, for every soul on earth. And in one of his sermons in the past week or so, I came across a statement to the same effect also. Personally, when I set out to pray for a Third Great Awakening, I had no idea how far it might reach. Eventually, I began to include the whole earth. Then I began to think of a 1000 generations (that’s generations, not years) and, God willing, a quadrillion planets and more. Just to fulfill the number in Rev.7:9 and Jer.33:11; Gen.15:5;12:3;22:17;26:4;28:14; Isa.11:9; Hab.2:14; Ps.72:19; et. al.
Doug
You spoke of cultural transformation. That seems indeed to be the goal of our preaching be it a conference or in our own pulpits.
Dr. James
You spoke of a third great awakening. Just the mention of such a revival makes my heart grow warm. Why not…it has happened before and God is still in control.
The older I get the more I come to believe that real revival is the only way true cultural transformation is going to come. As much as I have enjoyed the conferences I have attended (warts and all) they will not be the instrument that will bring about the desired transformation.
Now to my point (and there is one there in my rambling); The larger problem is not what some evangelist or pastor may say or how he says it. The larger problem is the seeming assumption that many speakers seem to make, and that is listen to me, do what I say, buy my book, and your church will grow and then there will be a cultural transformation.
Amen, Bro. D.L., Amen!