Gimmicks or God

[For some reason, formatting does not carry over and there is no way to create paragraphs on this blog. Please bare with me as I try to find out why. In the meantime, I use asterics to seperate paragraphs.] **************************** I love Andy Stanley and many others who don’t feel the need to add gimmicks to their teaching. They do the work and trust that God will impart it on those who need to hear it. The great ones always do that. ********************************** Listen, if you serve the public and share God’s word, I urge you all to pray about this and to ask God for guidance in this regard. I ask you to get back to who you are and let God take the stage, so to speak, and impart His love and wisdom. ********************************* If you are a member of the church who has a pastor who performs, pray about whether to lovingly approach your pastor about trusting God rather than their own abilities while at the pulpit. ******************************** My goal is never to turn you from God but always to help you feel loved and protect you from deception. I feel compelled to talk about this subject. While it seems minor, it is actually one of the many reasons that people see ministry as insincere, performance art and pushy. ********************** It hurts my heart to see people who love God acting like they don’t trust Him when they get on to the pulpit to teach. I have seen good, calm, God loving people resort to theatrics on stage. They elongate the word God in a loud southern style and booming voice... hollering like they had too much caffeine. (They are not Southern.) After 45 minutes of music and announcements, they run around on stage during their short 15 minutes of sermon and impart very little wisdom while performing as one of the old time rain makers who have to trick people out of their money. It seems to be all flash and mirrors. Because I know that isn’t truly how they speak or act in real life, I just shake my head. Instead of going away full, I just go away praying for them. ********************************** My thoughts become, ‘WHAT happened to him? I knew him in class and he was soft spoken. This is not who he is on a daily basis. Why is he acting like this?” It reminds me of when my kids started talking with a Spanish accent to sound cool. I would just look at them, dumbfounded, and tell them that they don’t need to pretend to be someone else. They have never spoken Spanish in their lives and were raised in a poor white neighborhood. They are perfectly fine as they are. ********************************* It makes me wonder if ministers who overact just don’t trust that, a.) God made them perfect vessels for sharing the word as they are and b.) if they are spending time in the word, GOD will be with them. Whether the word actually touches someone’s heart is not within their power. It is His choice and responsibility to touch those hearts that need to be touched; it is in His power. We are, like it or not, just a mouth piece for sharing His love and Word. ********************************** And then it struck me, this form of performance art at the pulpit may be chasing people away. For mature Christians who need substance, it may work for a minute but it burns out quick and leaves people hungry. Mature Christians don’t usually feel the need for theatrics, but we know when we aren’t being fed enough. I am probably not the only one who questions why and turns to a more mature pastor for sermons. ************************ For the new Christian, it invokes excitement initially but after awhile, I suspect, as I once did, they either feel obligated to join in and over act, or they feel like they must be missing something. Or worse, maybe they feel as if they aren’t chosen because they don't feel the spirit move in that way for them. Maybe they feel like aren’t good enough. **************************************** People who are in the middle may or may not appreciate this kind of preaching for a while but I imagine it to grow old and stale and eventually, they would stop going and turn to something more filling in the world. ******************************************** I have watched preachers who skim over God’s word and talk about the niceties of life, the ‘feel good’ preachers who offer very little meat. It is great to catch people initially, but you fail to impart all of God's wisdom and love when you just give them the sugar. Would you just feed your kids sweets or would you nourish them with the full meal first? ******************************** I have heard preachers yell and scream because it worked for them once, and now they do it more than not. I find it disturbing because of my past history of abuse but I also wonder why anyone would want to sit through someone yelling and being theatrical all of the time. God is a God of love. There is so much wisdom and love and instruction in God's word, it is unnecessary to scream it out. ********************************* I have heard people from all parts of the world incorporate the southern voice and elongated speech to sound more dramatic at the pulpit… but it isn’t who they are. It isn't how we speak day to day when we want to reach others. We speak with love, wisdom and authority when we impart God's word. We don't have to pretend to be something that we are not. ******************************* No matter what, none of us want to run the risk chasing members away. It is a heavy responsibility. It is crucial that we understand that GOD will give us the words to say. God will touch the hearts that need to hear the message. Nothing is in our own power. ********************* When God told Moses to speak to the people, he assured Him that He would give Moses the words to say and be with him. He first gave him signs to show the people that he was speaking for God. But Moses was insecure. ********************************* Exodus 4:10-17: “10“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.” *********************************** 11And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.” ********************************* 13But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.” ********************************* 14Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do. 16He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him. 17But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.” ************************** TRUST God! Not in your own ability to perform. ***********************************