That Time I Preached a Sermon That Made People Very Uncomfortable

I’m a lifelong People Pleaser. Through the years, though, I’ve learned that it’s foolish to be more afraid of my congregation than God.

When I was a 20-something pastor in a small rural congregation, our church was preparing for a garage sale-type fundraiser. People had donated gently used clothing, including boots and coats, and the church ladies took the whole week to set everything up for the big sale on Saturday.

Around midnight on Friday, I got a call from the Volunteer Fire Chief asking for help. There had been a fire in one of the rental homes in our community and the family inside had escaped with only the clothes they were wearing. Two adults and two young children were wearing their pjs in the middle of winter, and the fire chief said that he knew our church was selling used clothes the next day. Would it be possible for the Mom to come in a grab a change of clothes for her children? “Of course,” I said.

I met Mom in the church basement while the kids and Mom’s boyfriend waited in the car. I helped her pick out a couple of outfits including cold weather clothes for both children and both adults. Items were to be sold on Saturday for $1 – $2 per piece. I didn’t charge her because that would be evil. She had just lost everything and we’re talking about less than $15.

The next morning – Saturday – word had gotten around that I – the pastor – had let this family get “all the best clothes” and had not even charged them. And they were not a deserving family. The Mom was unemployed and the man at her home that night was not her husband, nor was he the father of the two children.

The ladies were not happy with me even after I offered to put $15 in the coffers. Fun fact: the proceeds from this fundraiser were “going to mission.”

For the first time in my professional ministry – but not the last – I rewrote my sermon early Sunday morning after a sleepless night. I’m not one to spew anger from the pulpit even when I’m angry, but I was firm with a Southern accent.

What about grace had we missed? (i.e. None of us deserves it. That’s what makes it grace.)

What had we missed about helping those in need? (Especially when it costs so little.)

How did we miss that handing clothes directly to people with no clothes is mission just like collecting money and then giving it away to strangers?

Please don’t get the wrong idea: I am still more afraid of my congregation than God sometimes. I’m mindful of the variety of political perspectives in congregations. What might be an obvious Word to one side of the aisle could sound “too liberal” to the other side of the aisle. I so I try to be careful. Sometimes carefulness feels like being “lukewarm” though.

A pastor asked me today, “What can we do to resist what some of us consider to be cruel government policies that especially hurt “the least of these“? Is there a denomination statement? Is there some training on resistance in our Presbytery?”

Denominational statements are often hollow. And while training can be helpful, the best thing we can do as preachers is Preach the Honest Word of God – even if it makes people uncomfortable. Grapple with the Scripture. Don’t equivocate. Remember who God is and who we are.

Also remember: Jesus was executed after he stepped on the toes of the politically powerful. Being “political” in the pulpit doesn’t mean being “partisan.” The Bible is an equal opportunity offender in terms of political parties. But some people will not like it. Some will accuse us of meddling.

Nevertheless we must preach the Gospel with courage and steadfast faith.

It’s what we signed up for and – as we can read in the Scriptures – God’s Truth changes lives. (But first it might make us miserable.)

Image source. In my second church outside Our Nation’s Capital, we had members who moved to Addis to serve USAID in Ethiopia. From the U.S. AID webpage: “For 120 years, the United States and Ethiopia have partnered in health and education, agriculture and food security, science and the environment, and many other areas to improve the lives of all Ethiopians.” To cut humanitarian aid to those in need is the opposite of the Gospel of Jesus.