The Place of Kissing in Worship & Evangelism
You couldn’t make it up!
The Winners Church in New York City has come up with a super idea for evangelism. They have included a KISSING CONTEST as part of their Sunday Morning worship.
The New York Post carried the story, of this church where the pastor (Maurice Johnston) invites couples to come to front of the church, plays R&B music, and each couple kisses. The kisses lasted around five minutes. The contest is won by the couple who get the most applause, and the prize is a $50 voucher for a date night.
The sermon was on ‘Romance’.
Here’s a link to read more:
The New York Church Kissing Contest
So, what has this got to do with the Gospel? How far will some evangelicals go to get others into the building? And when we start introducing entertainment and non Biblical items into worship, then why just stop with kissing?
The Salty Scrivener 
You’re right Andrew, it is grim.
There are all sorts of issues here, for it wasn’t just a quick peck on the cheek. This was five minutes of what we would refer to in Northern Ireland as ‘snogging’. It was an act better reserved for a place of privacy, not for a public act of worship. If people kissed beside you in a restaurant you wouldn’t have a problem, but if a couple were involved in a five minute passionate embrace, you would be embarrassed, and at the very least would ask to be moved to another table.
What about the people watching this display of passion? Is there any possibility that they could have been sexually tempted by it, and if so was the church guilty of causing a weaker brother to stumble?
The pastor was about to preach on sex and marriage (another ‘how to’ sermon no doubt) and he probably thought this was a great idea for a visual aid. So what about the use of visual aids in preaching to adults? Surely we are to preach the word, not show illustrations. Surely the only biblically sanctioned illustrations of God’s Grace are the sacraments? (So as you can imagine, I don’t do drama, mime, dance etc!!!)
Bob
Romans 16:16 – ‘Greet one another with a holy kiss’. Legend has it that Louis Deans (one time Principal of the Irish Baptist College) was once asked by some bantering students to outline this passage into sermon headings impromptu. He was a man well known for thinking on his feet and replied:
“First of all you’d need two heads.
A short introduction.
And a long application”
In all seriousness, though, what you report here is grim! It reminds me of David Wells’ chilling chapter ‘Christianity for Sale’ in his ‘The Courage to be Protestant’. Sad indeed.