Church, Preachers

NASCAR Redux

74 Comments

The man in this video is pastor Joe Nelms who apparently ministers at the Family Baptist Church in Lebanon, TN. He apparently is also a fan of Ricky Bobby.

The church website contains a lot of interesting things not the least of which is this tidbit from the missions page

We currently have five missionaries that we are only able to prayer support at this time. Our desire it to be able to financially support them as we have in the past. Once we are able to meet all the needs of our pastor and our local church, we will prepare to assist these missionaries and others around the world. We want to be a part of their ministry that the Lord called them. However, we must first take care of our Man of God.

Joe Nelms is quite a colorful fundamentalist character to say the least.

74 thoughts on “NASCAR Redux”

  2. This guy is way funny. He is definintly a race fan, the way he gets all those names in the prayer, just like a driver in Victory Lane get all his sponsers in the couple of minutes of interview time on camera. Some may think it was a little irrevrent for a prayer, but I think it is ment in good fun.

    Gotta love the tip of the hat to Darrel Waltrip at the end with the “boggity-boggity” line. 😀

  5. I hate this. Not just because it is just more fodder for unbelievers to poke fun and mock Christians but because I despise NASCAR. A grown ass man shouldn’t be on TV saying boogity or whatever that crap is. Wow. I doubt very seriously that this dude is even Fundy. He would have had to have prayed for God to smite the cars that have beer logos on the hood.

  6. Not sure how fundy the church is, but then there weren’t any giveaways that the church is SBC, either. An SBC church certainly wouldn’t support five missionaries through prayer. But there wasn’t a “We Believe” page with a long list of oddly specific doctrines and beliefs, and there wasn’t a “Road to Heaven” link, either, both of which all fundy church Web sites have. The site’s design screams 1998 even though the church was founded in 2004.

    1. True that it wasn’t an in-your-face fundy site, but I poked around a bit and found a list of unsaved/away from the Lord people, listed by name. THAT screams fundy. Just sayin’.

  7. I hear ya! When I saw that prayer Sunday AM I thought “no way this guy is a fundy”. Googled their website and thought “actually they probably are fundies”. It’s hard to imagine what that church is like (they aren’t that informative), but they do seem pretty fundy. CNN said yest one of the youtube comments was he was “putting the fun back in fundamentalism”. I have my doubts. A little fund surrounded by tons of abuse would justify the means, IMO. I do wanna like that Pastor, but I’m skeptical.

  8. Q for the NASCAR fans. I’ve always thought that “boogity boogity boogity” was a Ray Stevens invention that NASCAR ran with. CNN said yest that it was invented by “a famous NASCAR announcer”. Was curious if anyone knew which it was?

    1. The boogity stuff comes from Darrell Waltrip, an announcer that used to be a racer. I believe he says, “Boogity, boogity, boogity, Let’s go racin’ boys!” at the beginning of each race.

      ***Disclaimer**** What I know about NASCAR would fill a thimble and my education comes from folks in my Sunday School class who love NASCAR, especially “Little E,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

      1. Waltrip didn’t start announcing till the late 90s or early 2000’s right? Ray Stevens had that in a song sometimes in the 80s or maybe 70s. I knew Waltrip (couldn’t recall his name) did it, I thought maybe there was someone saying that before him in NASCAR, cause I think that’s just attributing it to the latest person to say it, which is what CNN does a lot on topics they don’t know about.

  9. C’mon people we all know that there are different stripes of fundys. They have several fundy characteristics…. From the web page we can see:
    1. MOG reference
    2. American Flag displayed
    3. KJB focus
    4. Bus Ministry

    These ought to count for something 😛

  10. I would love nothing more than to tear into the theological implications, the doctrinal statements and what-not.

    But anyone who can get a field-full of people to smile at anything remotely associated with God, has my heart-felt thanks.

    Humor is woefully lacking in our fundy lives. That is why so many of our Fundy friends do not like SFL. Not because of the Doctrinal content of this site, but because we laugh at ourselves.

    1. It’s called pandering. I am sure every NASCAR fan has seen the movie, so someone who uses quotes from it around NASCAR fans seems like “one of them”.

  13. Well, I’m a college-educated WOMAN who loves NASCAR. My dad drove a race car when I was in HS; it was what he worked on to take his mind off being terminally ill. And I’ve never watched the Ricky Bobby movie. Not everyone who likes NASCAR is a redneck idiot. 😉

    I don’t know if people enjoyed the prayer or if this guy made a mockery of praying. I don’t think I could go to his church. But I’d rather hear someone lighthearted than some dirge-y pastor.

    Darrell Waltrip is a moron, btw.

    1. I’ve always found DW to be a decent human being, and no more a moron than anyone else I’ve run across. A bit harsh, T.

    2. For what it’s worth, Michael Card dedicated one of his albums, I think it was “Present Reality,” to Darrell Waltrip.

    3. It’s my personal opinion. Along the line, he’s said he’s a Christian. That being said, he often acts like he’s 12. He’s not my favorite person, that’s all. Sheesh. 🙄

  14. I think I went to HAC with him and his brother YEARS ago. (Only he has put on some weight and aged a little since then.) Of course, I haven’t. LOL

  15. “We must first take care of our Man of God.”

    This is the creed of a number of churches I know of.

  16. NASCAR fans, I have an honest question:

    What’s interesting about NASCAR?

    OK, I’m a city guy, so maybe I’m foreign to the culture. But setting up a chair by the freeway and watching cars zoom past is not my idea of fun. Yes, there’s a bit of terror in there as the drivers flirt with death. But I get the same thrill, more directly, when I have to drive on the highway.

    I’m not trying to make fun of people here; I honestly just don’t get it.

    1. I’m not a NASCAR fan, but I come from a racing family and have been to a few dirt-track, flat-track, boat, boat-drag, drag, motorcycle drag and stock car races. Maybe more than a few. I have practically zero interest in the race or the winners but find the engineering involved fascinating. The math required to determine how to get tires to last EXACTLY x-number of laps, how much fuel, the aerodynamics…that stuff is just way cool to me.

      However, I can’t name today’s racers, and if you asked me for a name the first that come to mind are Junior Johnson and Richard Petty.

    2. The wrecks are what most people want to see. Sad, but true. And the party scene that goes on around the tracks puts football tailgating to shame. I just wish NASCAR would embrace their Southern heritage more and quit watering it down just so they can attract more Yankees.

    3. I think with us, we have our favorite drivers, and we like to see how well they can finish. My husband favors Fords, so we pick our favorite drivers from the Ford teams. (I guess it’s like watching horse racing without the betting.)

      1. For my brother, who watches NASCAR, it’s the sponsors. He works for Caterpillar, so he always roots for the CAT car.

  17. That pastor no more talks to God than my dog does.

    I know some people think it’s in good fun and harmless to pray this way, but this is partly why I have found Christianity to be nothing more than a farce.

    If this guy really knew the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, who sent His only son to die for, of whom this pastor is to love, worship, fear, live for, and be willing to die for, then I have a hard time believing this is type of prayer (which sounded more like a commercial) he would even dare to utter in His presence.

    I actually know some Christians would defend this pastor’s prayer by saying “God has a sense of humor” etc. and finding nothing wrong in it, but then again I know other Christians who would never, ever find this kind of flippancy and jest appropriate for the entity that created the universe and demands their reverence and all the respect they could ever muster. Yet both groups of Christians claim to know and worship the exact same God…?

    Further proof that people people make gods in their own image, even gods that come “pre-packaged” like Jesus, Yahweh, Allah etc.

    Either the Christian god is okay with this type of prayer or he is not. So either this guy and thousands and thousands of christians like him (the majority living in the southern area of America) are all totally blind to the fact that their God does not find this appropriate, or perhaps they think it’s okay because they simply make their god “okay with it” due to the fact that he is no more than a product of their of their cultural makeup and biases.

    2. David you are right.
      Too often we Christians are CNO’s and we do project the god of our imagination. If two groups project as god, and their projection of god are polar opposites of each other then either one or both of them can be wrong but they both cannot be right.

      Our failure to emulate and live as Christ followers as we ought does not take away from the Creator God of the Universe who “IS.” If you look at me (or any person); I/we will fail, I/we will disappoint, and I/we will at times not look like a Christ follower. But though my failures cast a bad light on my life and my presentation of Christ,it does not change God one iota. He is still God inspite of my failures and poor showing.

    3. David, I’m curious what exactly you found offensive about the prayer. You make it clear that you don’t believe God would find it honorable, but you don’t say much about why, other than that it sounded more like a commercial.

      I’m one that don’t think there was anything wrong with it. The only thing I’m not ok with is the fact that it seems like Pastor Nelms is getting more attention out of it than God. But whether that was his intent or not isn’t for me to judge.

      1. “I’m one that don’t think…”

        I’m not a NASCAR fan, but I sure sound like one there. 😀

  18. I am 62 years old. Have been born again since my nine year old cousin led me to Christ at the age of ten while in the back yard of our house. I love Indycar racing the most, but very much enjoy Nascar. I have never seen the movie by Ricky Bobby. I enjoy Darrel’s words at the beginning of each race he helps announce.
    In Holy Scripture, our Heavenly Father requires we come before Him with awesome respect. He does have a wonderful sense of humor for sure. We must however seek to glorify Him in our prayer, even when we are on the public stage.
    I am a Bible believing “fundy”, who has an incredible sense of humor and I do enjoy living.
    The thing that bothers me most about the prayers before the races is that, other than Joe Gibbs’s prayer, there is never mention about the saving grace provided for us by our Holy Redeemer. Opportunity missed big time!
    I do appreciate the networks putting the prayer on, unlike the Indycar pre race.

  20. This Nelms cat and NASCAR are perfect for each other, if you know what I mean.

    🙄

  22. A “sport” invented by moonshine runners, sponsored by beer (and once tobacco) companies, where hookers and pushers often operate in the mobile homes that populate the fairgrounds surrounding the race track. Yes, Jesus loves NASCAR. Jesus even killed Dale Sr., because he needed a new driver! Dale Sr. was #3, just like the Trinity.
    I have friend who attended the NASCAR races at Dover Downs. Not for the race, but the freak show that surrounds it.

  24. Can we get rid of the term “smokin hot wife”? Please??? If she is, we already know it. If she isn’t we know you’re lying . . . again. Besides, there’s a line between announcing your affection for your wife and praising her beauty and a line of narcissism that seems to be “I’ve got what you want and can’t get.”

    Just my opinion. (And I do think my wife is beautiful)

    1. My wife is beautiful, but talking about how “smokin’ hot” she is belongs more to trying to sell your woman on a street corner, which I have no plans to do.

  25. “Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.'” (Heb. 12:28-29)

    Sounds like this guy forgot to whom he was praying. Only a Pharisee prays to be seen of men or “get attention,” which was his stated goal of this prayer.

  26. Seriously, the movie Talledega Nights, the Ballad of Ricky Bobby doesn’t appear to be a fundy-approved movie. So, I’m really shocked a fundy would imitate it (should we not imitate Christ?). When I saw this, I seriously didn’t think he was a Fundy. But, then…

    KJV reference and old school hymns touted on his church site? That says Fundy to me. Oh, and the “Man of God” reference on the missions page. And the BIMI missionaries they pray support.

    Perhaps he did this in order to get attention to him, then his church, and then fill the pews with Nascar fans, increase his offerings, hence increasing his salary… Oh, wait… of course, so that they can afford to support missionaries. 🙄

  27. C’mon, people! Stop getting so uppity about this! “But it’s irreverent! He’s a fundie! Na-na-na!” So what? It’s nice to see someone in the fundie community who doesn’t take themselves too seriously. If we keep nit-picking everything the fundamentalists do, constantly looking for things we don’t agree with and chewing them out for it, we are no better than they. I say enjoy the Ricky Bobby-ness of the speech, and end all your prayers with “boogity-boogity-boogity amen.”

  28. Wouldn’t you just love to have your name listed as a backslider on the church web site so that all America can read it??? Also what about that carved pumpkin ( jack-o-latern) ??? I though that was evil??

  29. Who care if the guy is a fundy? He at least shows some personality instead of taking the opportunity to beat on the crowd for being Godless heathens like most fundies would.

  30. I’m thinking the prayer was sponsored. I half expected a “brought to you by Carl’s Jr.” at the end of it.

  31. I find public displays of Christianity at sporting events offensive. Whether it’st he John 3:16 guy or the prayers in the end zone, or pre-race prayers.

    They don’t do Christians any favours.

    2. “I find public displays of Christianity at sporting events offensive”

      I do too especially when they were held at the Coliseum Of Rome

  32. I find myself asking this question: Is it prayer at all if we even have to debate whether what he says or how he says it is proper, of God, or effective? My meaning is this…

    For me participating in prayer, corporately or privately, is meant to feed our soul(s), allow God to change hearts and to draw people together in humility that we even get the chance to communicate with Creator God. Prayer is power in the sense that it is an act of supplication which is entered into willingly. Prayers for show, which in my opinion is what many traditional and public prayers are, seem to fall a little short of the mark anyway. Did this guy do anything to harm believers? No. Did he convert non-believers? Who knows. They probably didn’t pay that much attention.

    Mostly, I wish superficial issues around prayer, ie Whether it is done right in the public forum or not, would transform into issues centered on how we as believers can humble ourselves and start listening rather than talking. Kinda got on a rant but it is a sensitive subject with me lately. That’s what this forum is all about, eh?

    God bless.

    1. Here, here! Things are never going to change if we don’t take the time to listen. And in the end, aren’t we all worshipping the same God, even though we all interpret Him differently? I say let God do the judging, b/c none of us have it right, anyway.

    2. If we prayed as Jesus taught us (i.e., the Lord’s Prayer), these controversies about show-off prayer styles would never come up.

  33. To throw my own two cents on top of the every expanding pile:

    I think what this guy did was fine. It made me smile. It made his audience smile and maybe actual hear what he was saying.

    I don’t want to sound like a “If you make it entertaining, they will come” groupie, but there is something to making a presentation unique and personal enough so that your audience will actually listen to it rather than stand around politely waiting for you to finish.

  34. What I don’t like about this is the memories it gives me of preachers just like him. I find this amusing in its own way but I can’t help but think what it must be like to have to listen to that week after week.
    Prayers like that make me think of pastors who use the prayer as an opportunity to keep on preaching to the congregation….praying that everybody will be on time…praising the guest speaker….reminding everybody to turn off their cell phones….to make time for the coming week of camp meetings.
    He seems very whimsical in this venue….NASCAR (sports…ie: one of the few pleasures fundies allow themselves)…but I wouldn’t darken the door of his church.

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