×

I Can’t Imagine Being a Liberal Preacher on Good Friday

It is the Thursday before Good Friday. I can’t wait to preach tomorrow night and then Sunday morning. I love preaching Christ every week, but there is something about the Resurrection weekend that is particularly special.

However, when I woke up this morning I was drawn to think about someone I don’t often think about: the liberal pastor. By liberal I am not referring to political affiliation but theological conviction. In particular, I am talking about those who either deny the reality of or diminish the priority of the cross of Christ and his resurrection.

How would you like to be a liberal “preacher” tomorrow? Some of these guys will moralize, emotionalize, sensationalize, or trivialize the work of Christ. They gloss over the wrath, sacrifice, blood, sin and guilt. Instead the focus is on us and the hopefulness of humanity.

I remember growing up attending the Roman Catholic Church. They would actually read a lengthy portion of the gospel narrative. I listened to the priest read the Scripture and many times I was glued to it. I could picture in my mind the scene described and the horrible events that ensued. I was always moved by it. I remember thinking about how awful this was and I never knew why. Sure I was told it was because Jesus is so good and loves us so much, but the whole thing seemed like a nice gesture that went horribly bad. It was a humanitarian mission that kind of went out of control. This was reinforced by the priest’s pathetic homily. He would get up and start talking about anything from the environment to Mary to reasons why we needed to love people. I would check back out.

I am disturbed and provoked as I think about all of the priests, ministers, and pastors who will get up in a pulpit tomorrow. They will read some of the most gripping words ever penned–and then they will open their mouths to talk! My prayer and burden is that they would see the rusty bottom of their homiletical boat. I pray that they would see that they are just up there knitting pillows for uneasy sinners to go back to sleep upon. I pray that God would cause them to be arrested by the convergence of holiness, love, mercy and wrath. And that upon seeing it they would be so affected by it that they proclaim it!

Oh, may God shred the liberal playbook and put the gospel tongue in these men’s mouths!

LOAD MORE
Loading