MCLEODS, New Brunswick, February 29, 2024 – I had the misfortune a few years ago of attending a church service where the minister screamed the Word. He didn’t just raise his voice out of courtesy for the people sitting in the back row; he hollered himself hoarse. It was my first (and only) time attending that church, and I’d unwittingly taken a seat near the front. Everything was fine for the first half-hour or so, as the minister just made some general church announcements, led a few hymns, and did a reading from the Gospel. But when he started preaching, it quickly turned into screeching, and I felt like I was sitting next to a speaker that was turned up too high and couldn’t be turned down.

I had to get away from him, and fast.

As unobtrusively as possible, I shifted a few rows back. But the screeching continued and even seemed to go up an octave, so I scooted as quickly as I could to the far end of the room. Still no good. Desperate for relief, I stuck balled-up Kleenex in my ears and put earmuffs on, but the sound tsunami only increased. I found the only way I could tolerate the excruciating pitch of the minister’s tirade was to stand next to the door, and then to stand outside the door, and then to start walking… all the way down the street.

Ahhh – much better!

I found out later that the yelling I’d experienced during the church service is actually a style of preaching common in some southern US denominations. The ear-splitting, larynx-destroying delivery is an affectation to convey the impression of passion rather than actual passion itself. The purpose of this style of preaching, I’ve since learned, is to demonstrate zeal, emphasize the urgency of the Gospel, and wake people up to the fact that God means business. Well, as a born-again believer, I certainly know that God means business, but he’s never had to yell at me and split my eardrums to convey that message.

We do a disservice to God when we deliver his Word in such a way that it becomes physically painful to listen to it, especially when all that yelling and screaming is just for show. Spiritual discomfort we should aim for at times, when it’s called for, but never physical discomfort. My enduring memory from that church visit is how painful it was to be there, not how uplifting or convicting it was. I would much rather have left that place spiritually convicted in some way than aurally assaulted.

I recalled this experience today when I unwittingly clicked on a YouTube video featuring a minister who preached in the same assault-style method. I had to immediately hit the mute button and get him off my screen. Never again!

Here’s a funnier version of what I heard at that church. Frankly, I’d rather listen to the goat than the preacher.

Just a heads up, though – you might want to turn the volume waaaay down: