Music

O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E (The TonyMel Remix)

90 Comments

It’s time again for the Tony Mel Sunday School Children’s Choir. Today they’re sharing with us an updated version of the grand old song Obedience. I hope it’s a blessing to your heart.

Many thanks to Natalie for the lyrics.

90 thoughts on “O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E (The TonyMel Remix)”

  3. I hereby award you the giant “I Love My Pastor” button to wear proudly on your best Sunday go-to-meetin’ outfit. We know you’ll wear it, ’cause if you don’t, you’re obviously some kind of liberal communist apostate heathen.

  4. “Doing exactly what Pastor demands . . . ”
    I love it!!

    BTW – I’m sure the little nippers wouldn’t be wearing cassocks and surplices in an IFB church. 😉 (Why, next thing ya know, they’ll be wantin’ to wear dresses and will be turnin’ gay!)

  5. The most awful pastor adoration I saw was something that happened after the pastor did something that was blatantly illegal, not to mention unethical. He stood up in front of the church congregation and basically said he would do the same thing again. Some nut in the congregation stood up and started clapping for him, and others followed suit. Pretty soon most everyone was on their feet. The pastor told everyone standing to look around them for anyone still sitting, and he said if they saw anyone like that, to tell them, “Get it straight, or get out!!!!” This was the first “standing vote of support”, as it came to be called, and there were many after that.

    And what had the pastor done that was so worthy of support? He had tapped the home phone of one of the staff members. He had heard this lady and one of her friends talking about cooking, joking about “hot” and “spicy”, and decided they were in a lesbian affair. He had called both women to the church office and fired them from their jobs in the Christian school. And the church members decided this was worthy of support.

    1. So if I’m sharing a recipe for a spicy dish, I should watch my language?

      Goodness. Big Brother is watching.

    2. I just put hot sauce on my eggs. Earlier I put pepper. They’re now hot and spicy. Is there any hope for my soul?

      1. Easy, Emily. You and I are both women. I’m not sure we should even be discussing such a thing. 😉

    3. “Hello, Police? Yes, I would like to report an illegal wire-tap, and invasion of privacy.”

      Oh to see Dr. Big Brother Prig frog marched out of his house on the 6 o’clock news (and again at 11).

      1. Just asked HF, he said that you want to do it whenever you discover it. Otherwise, there might be a question of why there was a wait to report it.

      2. For every type of crime, there’s a statute of limitation – agter the prescribed time has passed, no one may be indicted or tried for that offense. OTOH, the case law for torts is much fuzzier; it’s likely possible to sue the pastor for this long after he cannot be indicted. But Natalie’s husband HF is correct: the longer you wait before taking action, the less likely it is that you will win.

        1. Some crimes have no statute of limitation. Murder seldom does, for example. In most cases, though, you’re right, Der Berater. Usually the statutory limit is a few years, but that varies a lot.

          For a tort (a civil lawsuit), there’s not necessarily a time limit, but if you knew someone was invading your privacy and didn’t do anything about it for five or ten years, it would be hard to convince a jury that you suffered great harm.

          In cases where workers have protections against arbitrary dismissal, they would have a cause of action for (1) being fired without any real evidence against them (Hot and spicy food? Oh, please!); and (2) being fired for alleged sexual relations between consenting adults on their own time and away from the workplace (which is not illegal and probably doesn’t affect their ability to do their jobs); but churches are exempt from most of those employment laws.

      1. Nope, no exaggeration. If you think that’s bad, wait till I tell you about the time the state troopers had to be called into the church business meeting. Again, because of obeying the pastor at all costs.

        1. WOW…most of our business meetings were pointless. “All in favor, say ‘Amen’…All opposed the same” Then they moved on so fast that no one could say anything if they dared.

    6. I do not doubt your story…Nothing surprises me anymore about fundies….But how does one go about tapping the private line at someone elses house?

      He must have had some help in this.

      ❓

      1. Oops! I see this question was already addressed in an earlier post that was not connected to yours.

        Nevermind. 🙂

  6. Wow! I recognize a lot of the kids in this picture. The kid in the center looking down was a preacher boy and hall monitor at BJU and is now the assistant pastor at the church where his father-in-law pastors. The kid at the bottom looking up was kicked out of BJU the first year. The kid top right smiling was the head deacon’s son, but he never got into trouble because his father was the church’s biggest tither. The kid middle left next to the conductor’s arm is now an evangelist and uses a lot of his classmates from elementary school as sermon illustrations. The kid at the bottom right now runs a sight called “Stuff Fundies Like.”

    1. It sure does look like that knappy headed uni-browed freak! 🙂

      Got to get it on! Mandate, get it on!

  8. So, if the pastor tapped the phones, he would have had to broken into (or had someone else) their house right? How can people be ok with this unless they really ARE brainwashed??
    And the women who got fired I’m assuming never reported it because they too were brainwashed.

    1. One of the women and her husband had been having problems and they were getting counseling from the pastor and his wife. The pastor is the one that persuaded the husband to tap the phone so he could listen to his wife’s conversations. So the husband technically committed the felony of recording somebody else’s conversation. However, the pastor and his wife also committed felonies by listening to the conversation themselves and playing it for other people. All of this came out when the whole case went to court because yes, the two women did sue the pastor, after trying unsuccessfully to resolve it with him privately.

      3. Personally . . . if I found out that my husband had been wiretapping the phone to listen to my conversations (pastor-advised or not) my next phone conversation would be with a lawyer to discuss divorce and alimony.

      4. G2L, I’m curious about how that lawsuit came out? Was it settled? Did the court award damages? Or did they come up with some insane jury or judge who found in favor of the criminal pastor and the sicko husband?

        BTW, you can eavesdrop on cordless phones with a radio receiver. You don’t have to tresspass on the premises at all. I assume the same thing is true of cell phones, since they are also radio receivers and transmitters.

    2. Actually it can be done from the outside of your house at the terminal devise where the phone company hands off to your house.
      Of course this is a federal offense as well.

        3. “You talkin’ to me?
          You talkin’ to me?
          You talkin’ to me?
          Then who the hell-o else are you talkin’ to?
          You talkin’ to me?
          Well I’m the only one here.”

  9. I HATED the Obedience song growing up. I remember in elementary school (Christian school) that one of the kids wrote a parody called “Disobedience.” I don’t remember all the lyrics but the first line was “Disobedience is the very best way to make your mother mad.” The song wasn’t very subversive–the main idea was that disobedience wasn’t a good idea, but you’d never know that was the message for the big uproar it caused among the teachers and parents. They HATED that song and quickly put a stop to it. And they branded the kid who wrote it as a troublemaker. If I remember correctly he didn’t attend the school the following year. I tried to argue in favor of the song to my Mom but got nowhere. I think she and the other parents and the teachers thought the song would give us kids ideas!

  11. My Dad stood up to the pastor in an IFB church of the Hyles variety and we were run out! The pastor needed a teacher for his christian school and he decided my Mom was the one. My Mom, only a high school grad was totally incapable of teaching but the pastor insisted it didn’t matter. My dad said NO, we were called “Bad Apples” and everyone was told to not speak to us …we headed for the large BJU church in the city.

  13. Obedience is the very best way,
    To give up your liberty.
    Doing exactly what Pastor commands,
    Doing it happily.
    Action is the key – do it immediately.
    Acceptance you might receive.
    Obedience is the very best way
    To give up your liberty.

    Chorus:
    O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E
    Obedience is the very best way
    To give up your liberty.

    We want to be accepted.
    We want to be praised.
    We want to be above the rest.
    Blindly submitting to our Pastor‘s commands,
    Leaving the church the rest.
    Faking our smiles
    Make our attitudes bright,
    Being sweet, come what may.
    For if you believe the Pastor’s word you receive
    You always will obey!

  14. I remember singing a song in children’s choir once, that legit had the lines “We love our pastor, We love our church, We love our savior, deep down in our heart.”

    ><

  15. Does anyone know the author of this song. All of the sudden I remembered that I think I took piano lessons (summer 1978)from the women who wrote this song some time earlier. She was a BJU grad …maybe named Ruth???

    1. It was Ron and Shelly Hamilton (a.k.a. Patch the Pirate and Sissy the Seagull). I think Shelly’s mother’s name was Ruth, but I’m not 100% sure about that.

      1. Thanks, I found it elsewhere. The authors were Mike and Ruth Greene…BJU approved people. Shelly Hamilton (wife of Ron) is the daughter of Frank(and Flora Jean)Garlock the music Guru of Bob Jones University. Flora Jean’s brother Bob Fox was the Music guy at my IFB church in 70’s.

      1. I’m a lurker. Used to be in an IFB church in Charleston, SC. Know several of these people from back in the day.

        Bob Fox is not in the IFB movement anymore… I don’t believe Ruth Greene is either. She and her family’s music stylings are much different now.

        1. ML….we might know each other. I was in an IFB church in Charleston, SC, too. It was the one that Mike & Ruth Greene and Bob Fox attended. We went there for 20 years. Mike & Ruth Greene did write this song. Mike has passed away. Ruth is no longer a fundy. But, she loves the Lord still. And, you are correct about Bob Fox. He is not in the IFB movement anymore. I’m not either!! Thank the Lord that I am out of that craziness!!! I have been reading this site for about a year & I like it. This is the 1st time that I have ever written on it, though. I guess you could say that I am a lurker, too. 😀

        2. Denver, Colorado….anyhow. Bob Fox’s son, Ron had been the music guy in the church for a time after graduating from BJU. There was some internal strife in the church and Ron and Beth Fox left. Bob Fox’s wife Elvira passed away shortly after and the pastor would not let Bob have Elvira’s funeral at the church. She had served as organist for many years…Bob was pretty upset…

          Greene’s had only been in Denver for a very short time…late 70’s.

        3. The Foxes moved back and forth between Denver and SC. during fundy years. Bob music man in Den. late 60’s to mid 70’s. Ron music man in Den., 90’s during which time Bob also moved back. Bob remarried Mennonite woman from Corn, Ok.

  16. I’m of two minds about the song; yes, there is certainly pastoral abuse out there (just read the comments!), but obeying the Lord Jesus Christ is the way to liberty, not giving up our liberty. This song seemed to be mocking any and all obedience.

    1. I personally have been the victim of so much abuse originating from the church and it’s false teachings that finding this site made me laugh for the first time in years. Obeying the Lord Jesus Christ gives liberty if you have the real Jesus. Yes we get “carried away” but the counterfeit Jesus of the church of my upbringing offers nothing but bondage, darkness, hopelessness and despair.

      1. Being the son of the preacher man (I truly love that song) there is an extra layer of crazy. Oddly, I got most it from my father, rather than from the congregation.

      1. And sometimes obeying Jesus means other people will accuse you of a rebellious and disobedient spirit just because you’re not walking in lock-step with everyone else.

    3. Guilt Ridden, the song lyrics, in this particular sense, is about obeying a pastor, instead of Jesus. It was written in satire for churches that believe that you should blindly obey a pastor with hopes that you will receive their blessing and acceptance.

      1. I believe in obeying Jesus Christ. I don’t believe in blindly submitting to a pastor or deacons or elders, etc.

      2. Natalie: I agree that blind obedience to the pastor isn’t right; in fact, it goes against Scripture. Maybe I’m just being too picky, but how a song starts gives a theme — and this one starts with the theme that “obedience = loss of liberty”.

        It would probably have been better to swap your second and first verse — the second verse is much clearer and gets straight to the meaning without (possibly) giving the impression that this was just a full rebellion song.

        1. Guilt Ridden, honestly, this song was written while I was in bed sick with a cold and Tony Mel and I were brainstorming on song ideas. I didn’t and wouldn’t have put that much thought into it.

          It’s really just meant to be a joke… You know, something to take with a grain of salt.

          It’s really not meant to be a big deal. If it offends you, you can ask Darrell and Tony Mel to delete it. I didn’t mean for it to be a big deal.

        2. Guilt Ridden:

          I think the message of the song parody is perfectly clear without any changes or additions whatsoever.

          The verses were written like they are because (as good parody does) it mirrors the verse structure of the original. It’s a fun, silly thing and if anybody honestly feels that their faith has been shattered by it, I’ll be happy to talk with them about it.

          A low tolerance for ambiguity or subtlety is a hallmark of the kind of thinking most of us are trying to leave. I’d like to think we have a pretty good grasp on it here.

    4. Biblically speaking, the way to demonstrate we believe is by our love for each other, not by our obedience. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for another.”

  18. This song is sending people to hell and they don’t even know it. It’s a free ticket to hell…here kids, just obey, okay? Wow, total not what the bible says at all, but okay. Obedience comes after and most of these kids who they make to sing this song aren’t even christians yet…this is crazy. Just obey. Just obey. Just be brainwashed to obey us, so we will sing this song every sunday with you in church. What tactics…crazy and Hey, I follow you like white on rice, show some love my way. You won’t regret it…
    http://freetoreallythink.blogspot.com/

    Watch the madness unfold as an IFB preacher’s daughter, PCC goer, IFB church goer finds the REAL Jesus. Get ready, share it with anyone who needs help and it won’t be for the faint.

    abuse, power, control it will all be there and FREEDOM…tune in

  20. Anyone remember the Donut Man’s “O-B-E-Y” song? My son kept singing the words as “Obey me, Mom and Dad” — sigh. In my old church — Sovereign Grace Ministries — obedience is be-all, end-all; pride the catch-all sin. Children, wives, and members are expected to obey “right way, in a happy way, and all the way”.

  23. This song’s been going through my head lately. Am I the only one who finds the tune remarkably similar to “Nobody Loves Me, Everybody Hates Me?”

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