Thinking on my feet

One of the things my hermeneutics prof drills into us is that we must think on our feet in the pulpit. We don't go in over-burdened with notes/scripts/etc so that we can think on our feet, preach freely.

Well there’s a danger in some of us doing that. Part of the sermon this evening was a consideration of Paul’s exhortation to "Aspire to live quietly." To Have that as an ambition. To Strive for a quiet, normal life. Now as soon as I phrase it that way in my mind, I cannot help but think of the great Reformed theolgian, Warren Zevon. His Greatest Hits CD was entitled A Quiet Normal Life.

His songs are the nothing if not a commentary on the current Evangelical mess:

• "Werewolves of London" is obviously a parable about TV preachers. C’mon think about it...what's he say about them? Little Old Ladies are the victims, "better not let them in," "I'd like to meet his tailor," and the kicker: "His hair was...PERFECT!" (that emphasis comes from Learning to Flinch, the live acoustic album)
• "Johnny Strikes up the Band" is clearly a celebration of CCM and/or a charismatic service
• "Lawyers, Guns and Money" is all about Swaggart and Bakker
• "Looking for the Next Best Thing"—this one’s too easy...think WWJD, FROG, Prayer of Jabez, Purpose-Driven *.*
• lastly, "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" has to be an allegory about something...just not sure what. Maybe Ravi Zacharias can tell me...

Now part of that line of thought occurred to me while in preparation, not in the pulpit, so I was able to concentrate very hard on not going off in that direction, but I'll be honest with you…it was tough. And if it had occurred to me while "thinking on my feet", well, I shudder to think what would've happened.


Cake, Warren Zevon…maybe I should give up on seminary and get a job at Rolling Stone?