By Daniel Rigney I recently came across a remarkable letter to the editor of the Houston Chronicle, submitted by a former clergyman. It read in part as follows:
In November 1989, I spoke a sermon to a Burley tobacco-farming Kentucky church and got defrocked the next Sunday, which was against the church bylaws. However, the church conference leaders quickly conducted an official meeting, and reinstated me under the mandate that the church leaders receive and read my sermons prior to delivering.
I didn't accept their "censorship" offer. That life-threatening sermon was "Tobacco Kills." No pulpit since.
The letter reminded me of the experience of an old friend of mine, a former Methodist minister who was run out of a church in South Texas during the civil rights movement for his opposition to white-Anglo discrimination against Hispanics in his community.
I began to wonder how many other clergy have been fired for preaching things their congregations didn’t want to hear.
I can imagine a few sermon titles that could have gotten religious leaders thrown out of their houses of worship, or tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail, or worse, because their prophetic messages didn’t sit well with their congregations. For instance …
“Slavery Kills.” Charleston, South Carolina, 1860
“Child Labor Kills.” Milltown, Massachusetts, 1890
“Sweatshops Kill.” New York City, 1910
“This War Is Insane.” Washington, D.C., 1918
“Lynching Is Wrong.” Birmingham, Alabama, 1925
“The Injustices of Capitalism.” Wall Street, New York, 1929-present
“Racial Discrimination Must End.” Little Rock, Arkansas, 1956
“Who Would Jesus Bomb?” Air Force Academy Chapel, Colorado, 1968
“Eve Is Adam’s Equal.” Lynchburg, Virginia, 1975
“Is Greed Good Now?” Wall Street, New York, 1985 (and 2008)
“God Loves Gays.” Topeka, Kansas, 2000
“Let’s Be Honest: The Texas Economy and the Climate Crisis.” Houston, Texas, 2014
Danagram
In November 1989, I spoke a sermon to a Burley tobacco-farming Kentucky church and got defrocked the next Sunday, which was against the church bylaws. However, the church conference leaders quickly conducted an official meeting, and reinstated me under the mandate that the church leaders receive and read my sermons prior to delivering.
I didn't accept their "censorship" offer. That life-threatening sermon was "Tobacco Kills." No pulpit since.
The letter reminded me of the experience of an old friend of mine, a former Methodist minister who was run out of a church in South Texas during the civil rights movement for his opposition to white-Anglo discrimination against Hispanics in his community.
I began to wonder how many other clergy have been fired for preaching things their congregations didn’t want to hear.
I can imagine a few sermon titles that could have gotten religious leaders thrown out of their houses of worship, or tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail, or worse, because their prophetic messages didn’t sit well with their congregations. For instance …
“Slavery Kills.” Charleston, South Carolina, 1860
“Child Labor Kills.” Milltown, Massachusetts, 1890
“Sweatshops Kill.” New York City, 1910
“This War Is Insane.” Washington, D.C., 1918
“Lynching Is Wrong.” Birmingham, Alabama, 1925
“The Injustices of Capitalism.” Wall Street, New York, 1929-present
“Racial Discrimination Must End.” Little Rock, Arkansas, 1956
“Who Would Jesus Bomb?” Air Force Academy Chapel, Colorado, 1968
“Eve Is Adam’s Equal.” Lynchburg, Virginia, 1975
“Is Greed Good Now?” Wall Street, New York, 1985 (and 2008)
“God Loves Gays.” Topeka, Kansas, 2000
“Let’s Be Honest: The Texas Economy and the Climate Crisis.” Houston, Texas, 2014
Danagram
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