Friday, June 4, 2010

Do people think before they speak?

So a lady in my church was talking to me. She complimented me on a wonderful sermon the previous Sunday (Memorial Day). Several of the old men had been very complimentary, one said it brought tears to his eyes. "Made them feel very connected to God."

So the lady asked what my plans were for ministry.....did I plan on becoming a Senior Pastor one day. I said that I was happy serving as an Associate. She says, "Well, that's good. You preached such a wonderful sermon on Sunday, but I could have really made the people leave feeling as if they were much more uplifted, after all, that's why they come to church". She goes on to say, "Well, maybe that black lady that preached a few Sundays ago could have taken your manuscript and done an even more wonderful job."

I kindly thanked her..... I won't tell you exactly what I was thinking at that particular moment.

It was over Romans 5:1-5 and I used our veterans as a living illustration for the sermon and drew heavily upon my own military experiences.

And here she was saying she could have taken my manuscript and touched the hearts of the people better. (She never served in the military.)

Granted I know that I am not an Ellsworth Kalas, Tony Campolo, or Bishop Willimon, but this woman is not even a public speaker of any kind in her professional life or personal life.

I'm really not sure how to think or feel about this. I don't think she ever realized how offensive and arrogant she came off sounding.

1 comment:

Brian Vinson said...

To speak plainly, there are some freakin' idiots in the pews. Where do they get off making nasty comments like that? Or the ones that Rob Bell calls "chocolate covered turds" (that sound good, but when you think about them, you realize they're really an insult).

What I would do about that woman: either ignore her, or get a lay speaking school application for her and tell her, "Since God has gifted you as a speaker, you are sinning if you don't pursue it."

As for people "coming to be uplifted" - in other words, to be patted on the back and never be challenged... that doesn't sound like Jesus. Yes, he comforted, but he also challenged, especially the "church" people.

And (lastly) God didn't call you to be Elsworth Kallas or Tony Campolo or Will Willimon (and the last time I heard him, he was horrible) - God called you to be YOU.