Michael Scott as Pastor

The following comment was posted by Tom Chantry (pastor of Christ Reformed Baptist Church in Milwaukee) a couple of days ago in response to a Pyromaniacs article called "The Gospel as Performance Art"). I thought that it expressed an idea worth re-sharing here.

When I read this this morning I couldn't help but think about what it would be to have Michael Scott for your pastor. The boss on The Office tried to be a stand-up comedian, a hip-hop artist, an awards show emcee, and on and on it went. Of course, he wasn't particularly good at any of these things, but even that wasn't the point. The sheer impropriety of it all was staggering. The office needed a boss - someone with sufficient gravity to lead, and instead they had something worse than a clown: they had a wanna-be clown that wasn't all that funny. Stunningly uncomfortable moments ensued.


And yet, this is precisely the model for many evangelical pastors. They imagine themselves to be entertainers: and the consequences are disastrous. For one thing, they usually aren't quite as funny or entertaining as they imagine. For another, they entirely lack the sobriety and self-control which the Apostle said is a requirement for office. The resulting shenanigans are worse than uncomfortable - they are blasphemous.