“You Said ‘Britches’ In Your Sermon”

The late V.P. Black related the circumstances of a preacher who came up to him and asked him for help in finding another place to preach. Brother Black was surprised since the man had not been there very long. Black asked why he felt the need to leave so soon, and the preacher cited a hypercritical attitude among the members. When asked to give an example, the preacher said, “A lady came out the door with her furs on, and she shook me by the hand and said, ‘You just embarrassed the life out of me this morning. I was never so humiliated in all my life.'” The preacher wondered what he said or did, he looked to see if he was properly dressed, and then he asked, “What in the world did I say?” She replied, “In your sermon you used the word, britches.” She said, “That’s such a common word. Don’t ever say britches in the pulpit, always say trousers.” The preacher thought, “I don’t remember saying that.” He asked the lady, “What did I say before I said britches?” “Oh,” she said, “I don’t know what you said before you said britches.” “Well,” he said, “What did I say after britches?” “Oh,” she said, “I don’t know what you said after you said britches.” The preacher said, “Well, I’m thankful I said britches or you wouldn’t have gotten anything out of my sermon” (adapted from “Back To Basics,” 13-14).

What do we get out of worship when we assemble on the Lord’s Day? Can we count the number of cell phones that go off, the number of babies that cried, the awful outfit the lady wore, how low or high the song leader led the songs, or that the services went 8 minutes long? If those are the bench marks of our worship experiences, we are in the same condition and of the same spirit as the woman in V.P. Black’s story.

I just cannot see Isaiah coming before the Great I Am with that sort of outlook in Isaiah six. Can you? Or envision Jesus entering a synagogue or the temple riveted in on the flaws of the Levites or the uneven tailoring job done modeled by a Judean brother. Or imagine a member of the early church, huddled in the catacombs, fighting irritation over a restless child or uncouth brother or sister in Christ.

Let us be sure that why we come to worship is to praise the eternal God, stimulate one another to love and good works, and soak up the fellowship of our spiritual family as we obey the Lord in worshipping in spirit and truth. Having such an approach to worship will cure a lot of the nit-picky, hypercritical ways we can too easily adopt. When our motives and intentions in worship are purified, we will notice how little we notice the minutia.

Neal Pollard