Matt Maddix
 

Re: Matt Maddix
 

I didn't watch the video but I am not a MM fan. I have watched his antics online (somersaults, flips, etc at random during his screaming...er...preaching) and it made me embarrassed to be considered Pentecostal. No one person could epitomize more what I don't like about old time Pentecost than this person in the pulpit. He may be the finest person in the world so please don't think I am impuning him personally.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

Well, you didn't mention anything personal that he did or that involved him so you are good. I can tell you that I agree with you. Part of the "old" me that liked that kind of stuff looks and is like "yeah man you go!" but the now, notice I didn't say old :icecream , looks and says, "yeah, man, you go and do that and I'll turn off the video..." I don't mind his sermons, if I am listening to them, but watching him is another animal. He isn't not my favorite that screams a lot....

Re: Matt Maddix
 

I appreciate the work the did in their city and I appreciate his zeal...but I agree with CC1, the nutjob behavior is a turn off

Re: Matt Maddix
 

Prax, I also have heard he has done a lot of good things in his city which I applaud. Of course Roman Catholic charities also do a lot of good in their cities and that doesn't mean I approve of them when it comes to church!

Re: Matt Maddix
 

MM's personality is over the top, that's for sure. However, there's quite a distinction between having an annoying (or even offensive) preaching style and being doctrinally incorrect.

I followed MM on twitter for awhile, but he posted so much I finally "unfollowed." He's passionate and doesn't understand why everyone else isn't doing everything that he's doing. LOL!!!! My husband attended one of his boot camps a few years ago and found it life changing. I understand the frustration, too. When you're giving 150% of yourself to a cause, it can be hard to accept other people giving only 10%. (speaking of time and energy here; not money)

One thing I deeply respect: His ideas about churches getting out of their walls, getting their hands dirty and giving back to the community. For a lot of people who are accustomed to trying to win more tithes-payers, MM's methods are quite the culture shock, and I think it's a much needed jolt.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

I have never subscribed to the idea that the end justifies the means.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

Sure you do. An innocent man died for the forgiveness of your sins. Did the end there justify the means?

Re: Matt Maddix
 

You are completely missing the point. What I said has nothing to do with the example you gave. Jesus being the perfect sacrifice for our sins was something that was necessary for our salvation and logical. MM doing somersaults in the middle of his screaming sermons is not necessary or desired by anybody other than some OP's who seem to revel in those type of antics and attach spirituality to them. I find it a sad situation.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

How can you be soo sure that it wasn't necessary in order to grab some poor lost soul's attention and bring him to God? Don't get me wrong, I dislike the crazy antics myself. But I also remember a passage where Paul wrote that we should not judge another's servant.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

:thumbsup

Re: Matt Maddix
 

With your logic you could justify any behavior. I can "be sure" because God gave me a brain. There is nothing you can say that will make me think his "style" is a good or worthwhile thing.

(hey, maybe he could wear a clown suit with a big horn attached to it that he could honk for emphasis when he makes a good point in his sermons! I mean that might appeal to somebody in the world and get some "poor lost soul's attention and bring him to God"!)

Re: Matt Maddix
 

I wasn't referring to his preaching style when I referenced his "methods." The "culture shock" comes from his "out-of-the-walls-church" and emphasis on no-strings-attached outreach to the community. For a lot of Christians, THAT is shocking--and they need to be shocked out of their comfort zones.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

Which methods are you referencing?

Re: Matt Maddix
 

Edited my post. :D

Also, I should have said, "For a lot of Apostolic Christians...." Other denominations have had charity and outreach as a top priority for many years. The Catholic church is a prime example.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

LOL!!! I believe I agreed with you that I have heard he has done a lot of good things in his community (like giving out a bazillion turkeys at Thanksgiving, etc).

Re: Matt Maddix
 

I find your assessment interesting. I doubt MM or others of us who sometimes go beyond what is deemed "necessary or desired" will ever change our unseemly behaviors to assuage the Michals who look down from their windows with disdain at the ridiculous actions of the Davids out in the streets.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

:thumbsup Now you are gettin the idea! My questions to you is: if dressing up as a clown worked for reaching some of the lost and if no one else was doing that and if no other ways were reaching them would you dress up as a clown?

Re: Matt Maddix
 

We probably agree completely, then. I've been in service with him, and as with other ministers who get a little crazy or loud, I tend to wince when they go Native American Indian War cry. However, I stop there and don't attribute it as a character flaw. I do believe it limits their effectiveness, and some self-discipline would help their ministry; not hurt it.

I have men in my family who preach that way (loudly--not jumping on top of pulpits). One guy does this little war-cry whoop thing when he's made a good point, and I think it's funny--I actually like it. Another one does a funny sound in between his lines. They're wonderful people and getting loud during a sermon doesn't mean anything bad. At all. It just means that 1. they're excited about their message, and 2. it's what they're used to doing. No one ever told them they shouldn't when they were learning to preach, and frankly, I wouldn't want to change them one iota.

There's room for all types. That doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy certain people, but there's still room for their personalities in the body of Christ. We shouldn't underestimate their ability to reach people, especially in certain niches of our culture. There are some people who respond well to overly-exuberant preaching, because all they've ever heard is boring, liturgical church and it's new and exciting and they're going to sit up and pay attention. On the flip side, some of us who have heard screaming all our lives find the quiet stuff refreshing and may even prefer it as we get older. ;)

Personally, I can handle it either way, as long as I can understand what's being said. If the screaming is such that I can't even make out the words of the speaker, then I'm annoyed and may just skip the preaching altogether. Okla. youth camp had a screamer one year, and he screamed so loudly into the mic that you couldn't possibly understand what was being said. It was pointless.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

Again I am saying with your logic all behavior is correct in preaching if there is one mentally handicapped person in the world who will respond to some absurdity. No I do not think preachers should resort to idiocy in the pulpit to somehow reach some wacko it will appeal to. Common sense has to prevail and common sense tells me there is no logical or biblical precedent for turning somersaults and screaming during a sermon. Absolutely no Biblical precedent for that. I don't recall Jesus doing that during the sermon on the mount or any other time during his ministry nor do we have any record in Acts or the epistles of the Apostles acting like idiots.

Have you considered how many people would be turned off by stupid behavior and perhaps never darken the door of a pentecostal church again? I bet there are a lot more of those than the wackos who would be "reached" by those somersaults.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

I don't know MM, so this is a simple observation with some clinical knowledge, he looks like he has ADHD, which is not a knock, some of the most successful people do.

It means that he will be more amped up, energetic and loose around the edges. But more power to him, we need some cutting edge people in the Spirit Filled Movement.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

In some areas of the country these things are more accepted than in other areas though. I am not all for doing the "nutty" things in a service though I have done some in the past. I know whatever I say won't make it stop or anything, but... I will say that I think many-a-preacher do crazy things to get a reaction and not because they feel God told them to hop onto the pulpit. I have been in some services that the preacher didn't raise his voice in a scream and didn't jump on pulpits, because there weren't any pulpits around, that have done more good in my life than those that have. I'm ok with emotional preaching when there is something to be said, but I am not for it when it is just emotions. ****I am not saying MM preaches just for an emotional response and doesn't have anything to say, he does have good things to say. I was using that as an example only.****

Re: Matt Maddix
 

And the sentiments in your post has been used for ages to justify the unjustifiable. It is laughable to try and sanction any and everything based on David dancing naked in the street. How about addressing my points about Jesus' ministry and that of the New Testament Apostles? Have any instances there of somersaults and other absurd behavior? Not in my Bible my friend.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

I sure have considered those. Christianity is big enough to have some churches who distance themselves from those antics enough so that both types of people will be appealed to.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

For those of you MM fans who may not know about it here is a link to his blog;

http://mattmaddixblogs.blogspot.com/

I was very impressed with his blog where he talks about how husbands and wives should treat each other and he gets personal about his relationship with his ex wife and how important it is to their son that they speak kindly about each other and get along for the sake of their son. Some good wisdom shown there.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

Is this the ooooooolong tea video?

Re: Matt Maddix
 

LOL!!!! He is REALLY into health food. :heeheehee

Re: Matt Maddix
 

Well, it is the foolishness of preaching that................

Re: Matt Maddix
 

Do a little study and I think you will find that scripture doesn't refer to the preacher being a buffoon.:thumbsup

Re: Matt Maddix
 

I sprained my ankle once when I was preaching. Jumped off the alter because I was so pumped with adrenalin. lol I don't do that anymore.:highfive

Re: Matt Maddix
 

We had an "evangelist" come to church, climb the pulpit and leap off..I had a hard time taking him seriouslhy after that. He came back and we changed pulpits, so this time he could not do his leaping act. So he chose instead to speak in tongues a lot and do little "spirit fillled" jigs from time to time...although a lot of people buy that baloney I take it as an insult to my intelligence. Marjoe had a better schtick than that

Re: Matt Maddix
 

I believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be the power of God unto salvation and it doesn't need my "help" or a performance or a gimmick to do the job its designed to do. I just need to declare it, communicate it in love and humility and leave the saving to the only One who can redeem.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

With thoughts like that no wonder you didn't feel at home and left the Mothership!:happydance

Re: Matt Maddix
 

Ouch!

Re: Matt Maddix
 

I have seen enough funny stuff happen in church while nothing emotional was happening...but this is interesting. Did you stop preaching? My pastor in TN once picked up a mic stand to bang against the platform to make a sound while making a point. The mic stand pinched his hand bad and it started bleeding bad, but like the trooper he is he kept preaching.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

I do think Balance is a good word...

Re: Matt Maddix
 

foolishness OF preaching... not FOOLISH preaching :foottap

Re: Matt Maddix
 

Particularly if you are doing somersaults!

Re: Matt Maddix
 

LOL! Well, I limped back to the pulpit as inconspicuous as I could and kept on preaching. I didn't move around after that. My ankle was the size of a softball that night. That was the first and the last time I jumped off any alters.

Re: Matt Maddix
 

Your right; however the end result is what matters most. MM has led alot of people to Christ.