Without further ado, what do you think about Perry Noble's comments in this clip, especially related to youth ministry?
(note: yep, bad aspect ratio on this, but I couldn't find a good copy of this clip.)
My 2 cents: 1) I follow Perry and listen to a lot of his sermons (because I think he's a gifted preacher); 2) He does receive a lot of (unfair in my opinion) criticism, but perhaps silence would have been a better response to critics than this response; 3) Lives being transformed by Jesus is a really good thing, even if the methods are non-traditional--assuming the methods are within the bounds of scripture.
Thoughts?
7 comments:
it is kind of hard to make a thought for me cause I don't want to criticize what might be working for them and I have no idea what the people in green shirts were doing.
Jay:
I also don't have an idea about the green shirts. What drew me to the video was his referring to the "scoreboard" in response to critics, and whether that's an attitude we should have as youth workers. On one hand, it strikes me as an unwise way to respond to criticism, but on the other hand, if Jesus is in the business of transforming lives, then when it happens it's certainly something to celebrate.
Benjer, one thing that comes to mind as I watch the video (and I've watched others of his) is that, and I'm not kidding here, he seems to be slyly implying another harsher word other than "scoreboard" when he says it right into the camera. His final comment makes me think that even more. He can be quite confrontational with those, even in his church, who don't agree with him and I just can't imagine a preacher in my tradition speaking in that way from the "pulpit."
Brian: Thanks for your comment! Perry certainly has a different style, and it's intentional as well. I can't speak for him, but the purpose of his style is partly to shock people out of complacency, which is a huge problem for the American church. So, whether a person agrees with that style or not, it is on purpose, and I think it accomplishes that purpose. As I said, I do like listening to him and I respect his passion for seeing lives transformed by Jesus, but in this case, perhaps not addressing critics from the pulpit would be a bit more prudent.
Note: The previous comment (about a paragraph long) had to be deleted because of only one careless borderline ad hominem sentence. Great discussion is encouraged, but personal attacks will not stay on this blog for long.
Also, please leave a name when commenting. Trolling blogs and anonymously leaving criticism about a public figure is poor form. Thank you!
You hear people say it is not about numbers, but Perry here is suggesting it is all about numbers. Now I will tell you now that he has much more experience than I do, as do you. But what I think he is doing is putting the attention on himself and not on the Grace. May I be so bold to say that he is taking credit for the grace, in a very broad sense. By saying scoreboard a lot he is referring to himself and what the "scoreboard" for his church says.
In addition, I think he is neglecting the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of his "numbers", what we call human beings, on his virtual scoreboard. Is it about numbers? We can debate both ways, however, I believe that he could have chosen a better way to broach this subject.
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