Distracting sermons?
March 7th, 2008 by Stuart
Apparently a lot of pastors are using weddings and funerals as opportunities to preach evangelistic sermons and offer altar calls. Now, maybe I’m a heathen, but I don’t like that idea.
A lot of the reasoning is because, since church attendance is down, weddings and funerals are a great time to preach to a crowd that might otherwise not be in church (although, if preachers are pulling things like this then I wouldn’t show up there either, but that’s just me). According to pastors who take advantage of such occasions, “the emotionally charged atmosphere of bidding adieu to the deceased or celebrating a couple’s new start in matrimony can put people in a spiritual mood.” Well of course it can! Both ceremonies are sacred, emotional events–all the more reason not to exploit them. Not all pastors think delivering a “come to Jesus” sermon at people’s family ceremonies is the best idea, thank goodness, and refer to the practice as an “ecclesiastical bait-and-switch.” Well said.
At me and my wife’s wedding, we wrote out the whole ceremony ourselves (mainly because we’re control freaks). To us it was a holy occasion, and we wanted it to feel like worship since we were thanking each other, our friends & family, and God for the opportunity to get married. It was also a ceremony for us to dedicate ourselves to each other, and I think it was a great service. But if the minister had stopped at one point and started giving a sermon, it really would have distracted from the purpose. (He wouldn’t have, ’cause he’s a super nice guy.)
One of the preachers who favors sermons at weddings and funerals says he always gives a full sermon because “sermonettes make Christianettes.” Well that’s clever and all, but it’s not appropriate for the service, and it’s still distracting. He disagrees and thinks, “For those left behind…’Life demands a perfect explanation.’” Hmm, maybe that’s why we disagree. I don’t think there is a perfect explanation for life. In fact, that’s what life’s about: continually seeking understanding; it’s a life-long process. I suppose if you couldn’t live without the safety blanket of everything having a “perfect explanation,” you’d feel differently. I suppose you would expect such an explanation at every service you went to. No wonder they preach so much.
Then again, maybe I’m just a heathen for feeling that way. What do you think?
I think that your post made me stop and say, “Huh?”
I come from a Lutheran tradition. Weddings and funerals are worship services so, of course, there is a sermon included. To me, it would be extremely uncomfortable to attend a wedding or funeral that did not include a sermon or homily. The idea is that such occasions are a time when the attendees need to hear the message as much if not more than on Sunday morning.
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I think weddings and funerals are a form of worship too, so I don’t have a problem with a short homily about the occasion or the people involved. But the article I read talked about preachers who have altar calls during such ceremonies, which I think is inappropriate. I just don’t think it’s the right time for them to detour away from the reason for the ceremony and say “You’re all sinners and you all need Jesus.” Granted, that might be true, but I wouldn’t want somebody talking about that at my wedding or relative’s funeral. But again, maybe I’m being weird about it.