It’s funny how people take to different styles of preaching. Some folks view the loud preachers as condemnatory and mean. Not my daughter Moriah.
Recently we enjoyed a vacation in Tennessee with my in-laws. On Sunday we visited a Baptist church in the area (Pigeon Forge). The preacher there was one of those (as I call them) “wind-suckers.” They scream every word and gasp for breath between every eight or so. Moriah (5 years) was astonished at that style of preaching, having never been subjected to it before.
Later she confided in me: “Daddy, that preacher sure loves God A LOT!”
“What makes you say that? ”
“Because when he talks about Jesus, he does it really, really loud! That means he loves God a lot.”
So, for all you wind-suckin’, leather-lunged, barn-stormin’ pulpiteers out there, you’ve got at least one person who appreciates your sermonizing style.
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About the picture: this was an illustration I drew for a soon-to-be-released Baptist history coloring book available at prairiefirepress.com. Pictured is J. R. Graves, a Baptist preacher from the 19th century. You can read a little about him at wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Robinson_Graves
Joe Cassada 