The Judge rode into the courtroom on a unicycle followed by an entourage of jugglers, jesters, and a marching band playing kazoos. The Judge’s appearance was gaudy and comical. A big, bright orange wig set askew on his head. He had traded the dignity of the black robe for a loud and bold-stripped jumpsuit with a polka-dotted tie. His voice sounded like Alvin the Chipmunk because each time before he spoke he inhaled deeply from the helium tank propped by his chair. Nearby the bailiff and attorneys twirled about in their multicolored tutu’s while the jury practiced their platypus calls.
I stood at the defense table in disbelief. I was on trial for my very life and everyone was acting like this was a Vaudeville act. The Judge took a whiff of helium and called the proceedings to order. First, however, we were to be blessed by the Attorneys humming Kum Ba Yah as a band of tiny dancing Chihuahua came clogging down the aisle.
As my attorney stood to plead my cause, he adjusted his tutu and began to explain to the eager crowd the best way to roast a hotdog. In order to make his speech really effective, he had hired the Cast Iron Frying Pan Band to play the Ballad of Jed Clampett as he spoke. As they played the ballad, the marching band swayed in synchronization and the chihuahuas clogged. It really was a most effective strategy as the jury sat mesmerized, dabbing an occasional tear as my attorney told sentimental stories about weenie roasts when he was a boy. A favorable verdict was reached and posted to the court by the squeaky voice of the judge, “Don’t worry, be happy!”
Wow! And to think I thought all this was serious. Man, I’m glad I’ve been enlightened. I hope they’ll let me become one of the handlers for those amazing chihuahuas.
Hopefully you find the above scenario absurd. I fear, however, it is not that far from how the world (perhaps even the church) perceives the church and the message of the Gospel. Often the gospel is thought to be a tear-filled invitation given after a mostly humorous, entertaining and innovative speech or a moral story. Unlike the simple clear gospel of Christ and the Apostles, we know we must help it along a little bit, give it mass appeal by being innovative and entertaining.
Yet pastors and youth-leaders, Christians and churches lament the loss of the moral authority of the church and the weakened Gospel. I contend the world has not taken these things from us, but that we have squandered them away by the very way we proclaim the gospel and worship the one true God.
We don’t need a new Gospel, or new methods, or innovations or entertainment. Let’s quit trying to appeal to the world and be faithful in our declaring and living of the gospel. May our preaching and worship reflect the gravity and glory of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!
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