HT to Chris Esget for finding and passing this on...
Many folks attend church to atone for sins and ask for forgiveness, but
few expect to be called out and insulted in front of the entire
congregation. Members of the Immanuel Baptist Church in Skiatook, Okla.,
found themselves the subject of a mid-sermon tirade by preacher Jim
Standridge. Caught on video, the fired-up man of God personally insulted
churchgoers for otherwise minor indiscretions like dozing off and poor
attendance, shouting at one man, "You're one of the sorriest church
members I have! You're not worth 15 cents!" Although his anger may seem
shocking, Standridge claims he's received emails and letters of support
from all over the country.
My favorite line is when he says to those embarrassed by his words and tone in the presence of many new folks or visitors: "He may never come back, well, he ain't here now!" Not far behind is when he points out the man engaged to a woman, saying "Your one of the sorriest church members I have; you're not worth 15 cents!" I could go on... The point is that this "law" preaching is not the faithful proclamation of the Law to convict and pierce the soul but the vindictive and angry law used merely as a weapon to put people in their places so that the rightness of the preacher is emphasized. The preacher thinks that they have trouble in the video room but I wonder if they might not have a little problem in the pulpit as well....
And then I remember those people who have left a Lutheran Church where the Gospel is purely preached and the sacraments rightly administered but the Pastor or somebody else looked at them askew or forgot to greet them or they were not being fed... Maybe those folks should visit Skiatook, Oklahoma. Perhaps they would enjoy it when the preacher's wrath were visited on others... until it turned on them. Why some people will sit for this and others will reject the Law and Gospel rightly distinguished and purely preached is beyond me...
How does this man have a congregation? It’s like a weird abusive relationship.
ReplyDeleteFundamentalism is a cult.
ReplyDeleteI am an ex-Fundie. I feel sorry for the children sitting in this church in the video. Imagine the fear they are experiencing while this abusive, self-righteous Pharisee berates members of the congregation. Will their mother or father be next? This kind of "Christianity" will leave psychological scars on them for years to come.
Fundamentalism is a shameful blight on the name "Christian".