When confessional preaching goes too far
A satirical article from LarkNews.com:
NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Brentwood Community Church’s congregation has asked its pastor to stop using the pulpit as his public confessional and to set boundaries on what he’s willing to share.
“Every week he confesses another personal weakness,” says one member. “You get twitchy wondering what’s next.”
The personal confession streak started after Pastor Greg Ott attended a pastors conference in Chicago. He returned and told the church he was embracing a “new vulnerability” with them.
“That sounded great until we realized it meant he would dump his dirty laundry on us every Sunday,” says one church member.
In the rhythm of his sermon, Ott’s confession usually comes a third of the way through, his people say. On a recent Sunday morning the congregation seemed to collectively cringe as he stepped around the pulpit and said, “Let me be real transparent with you …”
“I brace myself until he spits it out,” says Jocelyn Garnet. “It makes for a tense service.”
