If “smoking hot” connotes enthusiasm (a word which was originally equated with divine inspiration), then Pastor Joe Nelm’s spirit seems “smoking hot.”When Pastor Nelm isn’t gracing Nascar with his unique style of prayer, he’s generally found stoking up his own congregation at the Family Baptist Church in Lebanon, Tennessee. A trip to their website yields an instant blast of musical vigor. The visitor’s ears are greeted with a
rousing rendition of “Let’s Go to Church” that includes lyrics such as these: Load up in the car, there’s no time to spare, Daddy would say as Mom fixed her hair… Let’s go to Church to worship and pray, for we want to be thankful come that Judgment Day.
This ear-catching juxtaposition of the worldly with the otherworldly seems to really work for Pastor Joe Nelms and his spiritually-defined family. (See website proclamation:
Not just a church, we’re a family.) During his recent Nascar invocation, he thanked God for such things as “Sunoco Racing Fuel and Goodyear tires” – as well as for his “smokin’ hot wife” and “Little E’s” (children Eli and Emma). This “sundae sermon” was topped with a delicious “boogity, boogity, boogity - Amen.”
And what is beneath all this boogalicious froth and frosting? Just some “old time religion” that was “tried in the fiery furnace” and “will take us all to heaven” – that is, all of us who believe in the following Family Baptist Church tenents: Exalt the Saviour, Expose the Sinner, Encourage the Saint, Experience the Spirit, and Expound the Scriptures.
Experiencing the Spirit is further defined like this: We do not operate in plans or programs, but on the principle of the Holy Spirit leading us in all things. Christian history tells us that the Holy Spirit leads with “tongues of fire” – and can just as easily bring us joy as solemnity. Those people who most emphasize the crucified Jesus will tend to experience prayer as a serious-type intimacy. Those who also identify with the
Laughing Jesus will tend to experience prayer as a spontaneous, and sometimes humorous, conversation.
As the good pastor explained about his sizzling Nascar prayer: Our whole goal was to open doors that would not otherwise be open… When I accepted Christ, that’s when I really learned what joy was.
Resources
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/25/us-nascar-prayer-idUSTRE76O6B420110725
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecost
http://familybaptistchurchlebanon.com/
http://toneway.com/songs/old-time-religion
http://www.christianpost.com/news/pastors-nascar-prayer-for-smokin-hot-wife-attracts-interest-in-church-52810/
Copyright July 28, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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