Pastor Kisses Goat
Ingrid, at Slice of Laodicea, reported yesterday about a pastor who kissed a goat .
Rev. John Weber, pastor of Solid Rock Assembly of God, laid out a challenge to the kids in his congregation. Raise $500 for missions, and I'll kiss a goat!
They raised $1270, and last Sunday morning, Pastor Weber puckered up!
It reminded me of a couple of goofy thingsI did a few years back.
My birthday was on a Sunday, and I told the congregation if we had 400 for church, I'd eat my cake on the roof. We had the 400 and I had the rooftop cake. A reporter from the newspaper showed up and snap my picture, and the next issue of the Sawyer County Record, showed me perched like Simon Stylites in an unflattering position.
My foray into zany gimmicks ended a year or so later, when I announced I'd kiss a pig if we had 300 in Sunday School.
"What on earth were you thinking?" Cathy wondered when we arrived home.
"If you end up kissing that pig, it will be a while before you kiss me again!" Apparently, the very idea of smooching a slobbery pig-breathed preacher didn't set too well with her.
The kids worked really hard during the attendance campaign -- but fortunately, not quite hard enough. It worked out pretty well. We had 299 for Sunday School, and I didn't have to kiss the pig!
I've retired from stuff like that. I see things differently now. Maybe I've grown up a little bit. It seems to me, the best way to fill a church is not to climb ladders or kiss pigs -- but rather, to preach the Gospel, win lost souls to Christ, and equip believers for ministry.
The good news is, my wife still kisses me after I've done that!
Well, I still have that little stuffed pig with the "I love Sunday School" button pinned to his chest--he's sitting on a shelf in my classroom--and it's a great reminder to me that we still haven't reached that goal! Since you've matured, maybe we should get Jeremy to do something crazy!
ReplyDeletei once shaved my head during a sermon...i was speaking on giving up everything that DEFINES you for Jesus to DEFINE you. At the time i thought of this Danielle thought i was crazy. But after i began the first seconds of shaving my head...i realized...this was stupid...but it made a great point the students remembered years after. I still get asked to do the talk again..i think they just want me to shave my head again. Great advice..and keep kissing pigs!!! Never Grow up MARK!! The Kingdom of Heaven is for the kids!!! Someday, on your tombstone (not the pizza) they will write....HE KISSED THOUSANDS OF PIGS TO GET THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE INTO HEAVEN!!! Pucker up for Jesus!!!
ReplyDeleteI love ya Mark!!! Miss you a ton!! Praise the Lord for BLOGS!!!