New post at My Obama Year Project: In Sickness and In Health.
Yelling Down People In The Audience
So much for people who were hoping the “tone” would change at FBC Hammond now that John Wilkerson is their new pastor. Apparently he’s on board with this kind of perverse “preaching” continuing or else is powerless to actually stop it.
Update 1: I apologize for my hasty comment about John Wilkerson. I misunderstood the date he will start at the church and believed he had already taken his position there. Apparently he will not be starting his role until the 17th of February.
It will be interesting to see whether or not these types of incidents continue under John’s leadership. We will be watching.
The Big Questions
At what point on a woman’s ankle, shin, or knee does a dress go from “modest” to “street walker”? There must be an absolute to this. God is not the author of confusion.
How much percussion is too much? Can we clap on the beat? May we use the timpani as long as we don’t call them “kettle drums”? How pronounced does the back beat have to become before the devil gets in you?
How pure must my KJV remain? If I spilled hot chocolate on a page and now the lineage of Mikloth the father of Shimeam is mostly a blur do I need to dispose of it entirely for fear of having corrupted the text? If so is it ok if I use the same procedure that I do for the American flag in dealing with the remains?
Am I responsible for the souls of every person I meet or just the ones I meet on Thursday evenings between 6 and 9 p.m.? If it’s the former, what is the best way to keep three or four hundred tracts on hand at all times? (Walmart is busy this time of year).
Is the preacher ever wrong? What’s the divine punishment for evil questioning? I hope it’s not as bad as the one for skipping Sunday School but if so could I speak to someone about breaking the other leg this time?
Updated About Page
When this site first started I quickly wrote an “About” page to describe the general gist of what was going on here.
However, as the audience has grown and an increasing number of readers have surfed in who wouldn’t know an MOG from a GOH, I’ve found it necessary to revise the “About” page to make it a little more informative and a lot more wordy.
You can read the new one here: http://www.stufffundieslike.com/about-2/
SFL Flashback: A Small World
This post was originally featured on SFL in February of 2011.
Although Baptist fundamentalists make up less than 1% of the overall population of America, you’d never know it to hear them talk. How many pastors have we heard introduced as “one of the most influential men in America”? How many times have we been told that some church of 300 or 500 people is at the forefront of the battle to bring the entire nation back to God? Yet somehow with all this influence, the powerful fundy church with its amazing pastor can’t even manage to get the liquor store down the street to go out of business.
The accolades of power and prestige that both fundy churches and pastors heap to themselves range from the ridiculous to the outright hilarious.
– “Adviser to the Governor and State Legislature” (He met them once at a fundraiser along with 632 other members of the clergy.)
– “Books and Tracts have influenced Christianity greatly” (Except that nobody who doesn’t shop at the church bookstore has ever bought a copy of any of them. The missionaries who received complementary copies in lieu of Christmas presents have long since used them for kindling.)
– “One of the most dynamic and powerful churches on the West Coast.” (Also one of the most oblong and unceremonious. I mean if we’re just going to throw around meaningless adjectives let’s go for broke.)
– “Reclaiming their town for Christ.” (And they’re doing it one zoning board battle at a time. Take that, heathen politicians!)
Most fundamentalists just seem to have no clue that the average non-fundy has never heard of their church, its pastor, his alma mater, and their preacher’s fellowship. And as long as they are refusing to have any meaningful relationship with non-fundamentalists, it’s going to stay that way in perpetuity. Delusions of grandeur would seem to be a requirement to be a somebody in fundyland.