A Skiatook pastor continued to gain national attention this week when Christianity Today, a premier evangelical magazine, published opinions about a recent sermon in which he dressed down by name some church attendees for a variety of “sins,” including falling asleep in church.
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YouTube video of Jim Standridge's rant at Immanuel Baptist Church is nearing 600,000 hits.
He told one member: "You're one of the sorriest church members I have — you're not worth 15 cents."
In an on-line piece, the magazine let Christian leaders around the nation comment on whether a pastor should rebuke his members by name from the pulpit.
The results varied.
Will Willimon, professor of Christian ministry, Duke Divinity School, said it was almost refreshing, in this day of feel-good theology, to see a preacher get morally indignant over wrong behavior in the manner of Old Testament prophets like Amos or Nathan.
On the other end of the scale, R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said he could not imagine a situation in which it would be healthy or wise to attempt individual church discipline or exhortation in the context of preaching in a worship service.
Carl Trueman, professor, Westminster Theological Seminary, said it was unbiblical and unacceptable to use the pulpit to browbeat, humiliate and bully individuals in the congregation.
Standridge wouldn't talk to me about it at the time, but I suspect he did not anticipate that comments he made to his own congregation in the relative obscurity of his own church would cause such a furor.
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