Posted by:
mr. mike
(
)
Date: July 03, 2013 12:38AM
You have to understand that the "calling out" and recording sermons is a part of Fundamentalist Christianity. Many pastors use certain Biblical verses to claim that they are the spiritual dictators of their churches [my terminology not theirs] and thanks to that, we get to see fiascos like Jack Schaap* and all sorts of abusive behavior passed off as tough love. Yelling at people for not being attentive enough is a long-running tradition; here is Jack Hyles yelling at a church he was INVITED to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwUCwC6I2tIRecording sermons is a modern version of printing them and the Fundamentalists were big on doing both; you can still find records from the `60s-`70s of some long-dead preacher down at the 25 cent bin of the thrift store. When it wasn't LPs and pamphlets, it was cassette tapes, or VCR recordings off public access. Today they do podcasts, YouTube videos, streaming video, DVDs (sold in the lobby.) It's not just about the message, it's about all the ticks, stunts, decibel levels of each preacherman, and that's why they let themselves be visually recorded. Just know that for every Jim Standridge, there are hundreds of unrecorded pulpit-bangers in the poorer churches.
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* Schaap (pron. "Skop") was convicted of taking a teenager across state lines for sex. Schaap ran the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana which was the church Jack Hyles founded. Hyles had his own issues of marital infidelity and a cult of personality.