I listened to a sermon from a pastor this evening who comes from a line of liberation theology. In the 30 minutes of listening, I felt much of what he was saying was accurate, and resonated with my soul in where God was calling me and all believers to be. He was preaching a wonderful message of reconciliation, and in the midst of all of that, he took a political shot, questioning the intelligence of a prominent politician, for no real apparent reason. This politician is a follower of Christ, a believer in the same ministry of reconciliation that this pastor was espousing; why did he feel it was all right, or even necessary, to tear down somebody for no reason, other than to make a joke? His message was powerful, but a senseless comment made in a few seconds does a lot to negate the positives from his message.

As I write this, I am convicted. I too, have been guilty of saying something that was deemed offensive by a member of the audience. It is for this reason that I preach a scripted sermon. Every single thing I say from the pulpit has been written out; it has been practiced, and it has been preached to an empty room. I want to make sure that when I stand in the pulpit, I do nothing but lift up the great name of our Lord, and share his message of love and reconciliation. The only time I have ever regretted saying something was when I said something I had no plan of saying. I have to make sure that I show myself study approved, and off the cuff marks will not help in the venture, even to get a laugh.