Cussing Pastors...

I was 17 years old the first time I ever heard an adult Christian leader purposely say the word "f*ck."

I was sitting in a musty college classroom at Eastern University in Pennsylvania and listened to a man named Tony Campolo talk. Somehow, our youth pastor had managed to secure an audience with this man, who was (and is) a leading evangelical pastor, thinker and activist.

Campolo's primary message to us wasn't what you'd think. He told us how we were all just a bunch of suburban, comfortable white kids and how if we were ever really going to know the heart of God and build His Kingdom, we'd have to climb out of our convenient, comfortable lives and go to places where real people were really hurting, and then do something about it.

He told us a story about going to Haiti, and as he was leaving on a prop plane from a small airstrip, a woman who was dying of AIDS ran onto the tarmac, desperate and screaming. He attempted to hand her baby to Campolo because she knew he was American, and his ties to this nation and its health care was her child's only chance at life. She then threw herself into the plane's propeller, instantly killing herself. She did this to force Mr. Campolo to take her child.

A stunned silence fell over all of us.

He told us about working in inner-city Philadelphia, and how the toughest task of that job was convincing young men and women that their lives - lives filled with drugs and abuse and abandonment and hurt - were *easy* compared to some people's on this planet. And then convincing them that the way to get past their hurt was to help others who were less fortunate.

At one point, while he was talking, Campolo got worked up. He said something to the effect of "The problem is, most Christians don't care about injustice or the fact that millions of kids die. They don't give a flying f*ck about any of it."

We sat in stunned silence. Did this guy just say...

Mr. Campolo got irritated instantly (perhaps at himself). He stammered. "Great," he said. "Now the only thing you'll remember about this visit is that I said the word f*ck. And you won't remember anything else!"

Tony was wrong.

I remember a lot more than just the mere fact that an adult leader who was a Christian swore. I remember his passion for justice and how for Campolo, that demanded - DEMANDED - action on the part of those who want to honor God with their lives.

But.

I do remember the fact that he swore.

Ed Young's Definition of Cussing


Looking to the Bible, we don’t find a list of "naughty" words to stay away from. In Ephesians 4:29, Paul admonishes us to watch the way we talk. This doesn’t refer to specific words, but to the character of what we say.

That's why I was interested in this video by Ed Young, who is a great guy and pastor of one of the 5 biggest churches in the nation.

Ed is speaking specifically to pastors, here, but the application is interesting for anyone who is a follower of Jesus. Ed says that we shouldn't cuss, but his definition is a bit broader than you might expect. Young includes the following words:

• That sucks.


• I'm screwed.


• I'm pissed off
.

• Crap.

Young says that young leaders should avoid such talk. He says it's filthy and scatological and not creative in the least sense.

Not all Christians necessarily agree. This article at ChurchMarketingSucks.com has some insightful hings to say about the cultural and linguistic contexts that define what's offensive and what isn't. They say:

Taking offense at another Christian's actions doesn't automatically mean they're in the wrong. It also doesn't mean everything is admissible (this isn't relativism 101). It's a tough line to walk."

Some Final Personal Reflections
This whole thing has made me really do some introspection. I talk a lot. Too much, frankly. In the words of one of my mentors, "Dave, you talk when you should be quiet, and are quiet when you should talk." In general, I think I'm learning to submit more of my speech to the Holy Spirit and to err on the side of caution. Why risk offending someone over mere words that I can just as easily not say? That's the general council I hear from the Apostle Paul, anyway.

I don't always do a good job. This morning, while serving my children breakfast, I stepped barefoot on one of my son's toys and said, "Freakin' A, that hurt."

Not cussing. But not clean and honoring to God, either. I'm a work in progress. And I will work to let the Lord renovate me.

That being said, in the end, I'm pretty sure God will be far less mad at Tony Campolo for cussing in front of me than he will be at the scores of other Christians who see the world broken and in need, and ignore the voice of God who is shouting "If you love me, please...do something!"

God can look past our words, which are merely the attempt of the human heart to express itself, and see the person behind them. There's something to be said for "being real" and "authentic" with God, I think. There's also something to be said for not sinning in our speech. That's the tension, isn't it.

What do you think?