The Clown in the Pulpit

The Scottish preacher and theologian Thomas Chalmers, in a sermon on "The necessity of the Spirit to give effect to the preaching of gospel," declared:

How little must the presence of God be felt in that place, where the high functions of the pulpit are degraded into a stipulated exchange of entertainment, on the one side, and of admiration, on the other! and surely it were a sight to make angels weep, when a weak and vapouring mortal, surrounded by his fellow-sinners, and hastening to the grave and the judgment along with them, finds it a dearer object to his bosom, to regale his hearers by the exhibition of himself, than to do, in plain earnest the work of his Master, and urge on the business of repentance and of faith, by the impressive simplicities of the gospel.

William Plumer, commenting on this, makes clear that no minister should seek to be dull, sour and morose. I do not think that either man would be against the natural use of wholesome humour in its proper place, and to some extent that is a matter of personality. Nevertheless, says Plumer, the preacher should not be "a buffoon, not a jester, not a trifler" (37). Ted Donnelly, in his outstanding volume on heaven and hell (Banner), warns that   Continue at Jeremy Walker

The Evangelical Freakshow

Carl Trueman has for ages been writing eloquent critiques about American evangelicalism, pointing out the folly of our big-conference market-driven culture, and the cults of celebrity we have spawned and now revel in. The past two weeks have furnished plenty of proof that his concerns are not utterly far-fetched, and it's no surprise that Dr. Trueman himself has noticed this.

If you haven't read "Fixing the Indemnity," go read it. Trueman is one of those rare, candid voices of relentless sanity in the madhouse of the religious blogosphere. Here's a sample:

"To be blunt: why so much noise about Jakes when Furtick and Noble have already apparently been established in this Elephant Room circle for some time? Frankly, they hardly seem any closer to Paul's description of what an elder or overseer should be than the Bishop. Why all the hoohah and handwringing now about TD?"

Exactly!

Trueman goes on to describe how the prevailing style among our youngest American evangelical celebrities is a cheap knockoff of Comedy-Club culture. Who can disagree with that? By their own admission Chris Rock rather than Lloyd-Jones embodies the style they have sought to imitate. Trueman stops short of calling these jesters clowns. (He's nicer than me.)   Keep Reading...

Clowns and Hypocrites; Serpents and Vipers