A few weeks ago, we included in one of our newsletters this video of a pastor promoting his Resurrection Sunday service. In case you missed it, here it is again:

https://x.com/Steadfast_Women/status/1910676709633851800 

Resurrection Sunday fell on April 20th this year. The number is 420. If you know anything about the drug culture, the number 420 is synonymous with marijuana. If you want, you can look up some of the research on it.

Pastor Gary most definitely knows “420” is associated with that culture. As his car rolls in with secular music playing, he gets out of the car with his hat on backward, sunglasses on, and a whole bunch of smoke pouring out of the car, trying to represent the billows of smoke that come from someone smoking a joint or puffing off a bong.

And, of course, he mentions having the munchies, which is also tied into marijuana use.

Refuting the Critics

The first thing we need to ask is what point is he trying to make. Is he trying to be cool? To be hip? To be modern? Was this video designed to actually attract marijuana smokers to his church?

You might also recall that in a recent four-part newsletter series, we discussed what the church is and who it is for.

Do we really need to be like the world to reach the world? I think it is a big, big question that we need to be asking in the days we live in. Should we reach the lost by mirroring them, or should we reach them by hitting the depths of their hearts?

James 4:4

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Apparently, this pastor received so much feedback about that video that he talked about it in his service the following week. It was kind of a rebuttal to push back on the comments and critiques he received.

We’re including someone’s three-minute video of some of the comments he made during that rebuttal sermon. It is not a three-minute segment from his talk, but it combines different parts of his message together. But I have to seriously warn you upfront that this pastor uses curse words three times. We hear enough of this language coming from the world, and we sure don’t need to hear them coming from the pulpit. I hesitate to include this link because of the language in it, so part of me is recommending that you not listen to it.

https://x.com/NathanielJolly/status/1912156173404434846 

Appealing to Which Authority?

When he says in the video, “We are who we are,” he is basically saying, Take us as we are, or you can leave. We are not going to change. But if we are biblically off-base in any area of our lives, aren’t we supposed to repent and change? Aren’t we supposed to continually put the flesh to death? Aren’t we supposed to conform to Christ and not with our own self-will?

Then he quotes a professional wrestler to support his position. Really? That wrestler is long gone now. All that matters is whether or not that man was saved.

He also said how he has done this “church thing for a long time.” He appeals to personal experience as if those experiences validate that he is correct, and he can be trusted. Is that true? Is it possible that I could be doing something incorrectly for a long time and have just never changed my ways?

Then he brings up that he had the biggest church in his city at one time. Does the size of your church actually mean you are doing things biblically correct? I have mentioned before that “Big does not equal God.” I would rather have a small church or ministry that is biblically sound than have a large church or ministry that is not doing things the way God declares in His Word to do them.

Overlooking Sin

When he talked about losing his last church, he didn’t include all the details. While he was pastoring that church, he publicly admitted to having an affair with his married assistant. It sure seemed like he repented of that sin and understood the harm it caused his church. He probably didn’t need to say it again to his current congregation because I am sure most of them already know. But that is not “losing” your last church. And, by the way, it is God’s church and not any pastor’s church.

But that affair led to a divorce with his wife. Sin always has those unknown consequences that we didn’t think about when the sin was taking hold in our lives.

Then after a while, he remarried. Wait a minute. We discussed marriage, divorce, and remarriage very strongly and biblically in some previous newsletters.

   

According to what the Bible says, he is disqualified from being a pastor. That does not mean God cannot use him, but it does mean he should not be in the role of pastor.

Making Your Point Emphatically

But as I teach from the pulpit, do I really need to curse in order to reach lost people? To make them feel comfortable? He also used another curse word in a post talking about this video. Those words seem to flow too easily from his lips. Should those kinds of words tumble so quickly out of our mouths as we speak? Do we really need a potty mouth or to be crass to make our point or to reach a lost and dying world? Shouldn’t we feel some kind of conviction from the Holy Spirit to speak honorably as an ambassador of Christ?

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

James 3:10-12

Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

We need to guard against being pulled into worldliness in the Christian life, whether that temptation comes from ourselves, from friends, or even from someone in the pulpit. Keep reading your Bible so you can spot those pitfalls and prevent derailing your walk of faith.

On Wednesday, we’ll pick back up with what God says about the privilege of being a leader and pastor. But just remember, we’re all leading someone around us, so pursuing righteous living is critically important.

Until the nets are full,

P.S. Memorial Day is right around the corner. It’s a great time to reach people with the message of freedom and a great way to kick off your summer of witnessing!

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Bless the veterans you bump into at your local post office or other places you frequent. Thank them for their service and help them to see what will save them for eternity!

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