Really? Christian fundamentalism stopped them from listening to sinful rock and roll? Granted, the attitude when rock first came out was very rigid against that type of music, and in some cases, it was very warranted because the music was not the best.
But was it Christian fundamentalism that robbed anyone of listening to the music? It was played everywhere, so just about every child and teenager at the time could hear it whenever they wanted.
So it is highly doubtful that Christian fundamentalism was the reason. It may have been the personal beliefs of the people at the time that stopped them from playing this music. It could be that those beliefs were a bit misguided, not that classic rock was great music and people were missing out, but that they did not have a solid foundation in the truth to truly evaluate the music.
In other words, I am a liar — a false allegation this disgraced preacher has hurled my way many times. This preacher wrongly thinks that there is a difference between “Christian Fundamentalism” and the “personal beliefs” of the people at the time that stopped them from playing this music.” It is theological and social beliefs that drive Christian Fundamentalism. Objection to secular music was common, and rock music in particular was the subject of frequent criticism and attack from the pulpit.
While I listened to secular music on the AM radio in my car, and heard it when attending junior high dances, outside of that, my life was inundated with Christian music, at church and home. I only owned a handful of records, but all of them were Christian. Why would I not have obeyed what my pastors were teaching? The same goes for my partner, Polly. Both of us primarily listened to Southern gospel music and mixed-group Christian music. Sure, we knew the lyrics of a few secular songs, but our minds’ catalog of music was overwhelmingly Christian. We were, in every way, true blue, Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) Christians. Maybe the preacher quoted above wasn’t a committed follower of Jesus as a Christian. If so, that’s his problem, not mine.
You see, I actually believed and trusted my pastors. I never doubted that they were telling me the truth. So, if they said rock music was evil and listening to it was sinful, I believed them. When evangelists such as Bob Larson and David Benoit decried the evils of rock and roll, I believed them. When youth camp speakers brought the wrath of God down on rock music, I believed them. Dare I not trust and obey — for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus — these men of God? Over the years, I heard scores of sermons condemning “worldly” music, and I believed every word. This approach bled into other areas of our lives. Polly and I were virgins on our wedding day. Why? We heard numerous sermons about the evil of premarital sex. Rarely did a week go by without a teacher or a pastor mentioning the importance of chastity. Many of our churchmates listened to secular music and gave in to their sexual desires. Was rock music to blame? Our pastors said it was; that rock music stirred the passions, leading to fornication.
For good or ill, Polly and I believed and practiced what we heard from the pulpit. How could it have been otherwise? Were you a devoted Christian as a teen and young adult? Did you practice what your pastors preached? Please share your experiences in the comment section.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
Yesterday, I responded to an email from an Evangelical man I’ll call Fred Flintstone. The sender took great umbrage at me using his first name, so as not to upset him further, I have given him a pseudonym, Fred Flintstone. You can read Part One here.
Today, over the course of two hours, Fred sent me seventeen emails. Evidently, my response upset him. I don’t plan to respond to every one of his emails. Thoughtful readers will see that his emails speak for themselves; just seventeen more emails added to thousands of similar emails from Evangelicals I have received over the past seventeen years. I do, however, want to address several things mentioned by Fred, in the hope that by doing so, he will see that he has careened off the runway and crashed into a fuel truck, destroying whatever chance he might have had for putting in a good word for Jesus. Instead, he comes off as just another butthurt Evangelical who isn’t used to pushback.
First, the original article about Kenny Bishop was a defense of the man and his new path in life. I wrote:
Several days ago, I had a hankering for music from The Bishops. As I was listening, I thought, “I wonder where Kenny Bishop is today?”
….
Talk about finding the unexpected — a liberal, gay Kenny Bishop. I definitely didn’t see that one coming. That said, I am happy for Kenny and his husband Mason. While I am no longer a Christian, I know that Christianity needs more Kenny Bishops. I have no doubt Kenny was eviscerated for his repudiation of Evangelical orthodoxy and their hatred of LGBTQ people. I know first-hand how it feels to be cut a thousand times by people who once loved you, people who were your family, friends, and colleagues in the ministry. Kenny, it seems, has risen above the anger and judgment and made a new life for himself. I wish him nothing but the best. He will remain my all-time favorite southern gospel tenor singer. And better yet, he is an example for people who still believe in God, but want to free themselves from Evangelical bondage. For people of faith, there are kinder, gentler expressions of Christianity. As Kenny Bishop’s life shows, one can still meaningfully believe in the Christian God without being Evangelical. While I can’t follow such a path, I don’t condemn others who do.
Kenny is a United Church of Christ (UCC) pastor. The UCC is arguably the most liberal denomination in the United States. UCC theological and social beliefs are the polar opposite of the beliefs held by most Evangelicals. Would most Southern Baptist, Assembly of God, Church of God, other Evangelical sects, and nondenominational churches welcome Kenny into their congregations to sing or preach? Of course not. Evangelicalism is the primary driving force against societal acceptance of LGBTQ people. Kenny would not be permitted to be a member of most of these churches. Why? They consider him an apostate, a reprobate — whose behavior is an affront to the Evangelical God.
Second, Fred repeatedly complained that I didn’t answer his questions. What questions, exactly? His email contained all of one question mark, and even that sentence was as much a statement as it was a question.
Here’s Fred’s original email:
I read your Kenny Bishop piece. Kenny knew his lifestyle would not fit in Southern Gospel but he still finds way to serve. He believes as I do, savior above sin! Kenny’s still working. I don’t know how you become a Former Christian that is still moved by gospel music. The fact that it still moves you is a pretty good indication that there’s something still in you. The funny thing is Christians that claim they ain’t Christians anymore. That don’t work man! You can’t take that off like a shirt! You going to mess around and die and be pissed you in Heaven?
How many questions did you find?
Third, every Evangelical who emails me is served a page that says, in part:
If you are an Evangelical Christian, please read Dear Evangelical before sending me an email. If you have a pathological need to evangelize, spread the love of Jesus, or put a good word in for the man, the myth, the legend named Jesus, please don’t. The same goes for telling me your church/pastor/Jesus is awesome. I am also not interested in reading sermonettes, testimonials, Bible verses, or your deconstruction/psychological evaluation of my life. By all means, if you feel the need to set me straight, start your own blog.
If you email me anyway — and I know you will, since scores of Evangelicals have done just that, showing me no regard or respect — I reserve the right to make your message and name public. This blog is read by thousands of people every day, so keep that in mind when you email me whatever it is you think “God/Jesus/Holy Spirit” has laid upon your heart. Do you really want your ignorance put on display for thousands of people to see? Pause before hitting send. Ask yourself, “how will my email reflect on Jesus, Christianity, and my church?”
Fred has no justified reason for being upset that I used his first name in response to him, before changing it to Fred Flintstone. For the sake of future discussions, I will call myself Barney Rubble. 🙂
Fred threatens me with legal action, as if no one has ever tried that before with me. There’s nothing in my response to him that remotely breaks the law, and my editor, who is a lawyer, would tell me if I did. Fred might want to study up on things such as the First Amendment, Fair Use, and what is permitted in public discourse. I am a public figure, as is Kenny Bishop. U.S. law sets a high bar for slander, and I am confident I have not slandered anyone. My writing typically uses news articles, public documents, and websites to justify and bolster my posts. This blog primarily features my opinions about various religious or political subjects. People are free to read or not read what I write. If Fred wants to take me to task for what I have written, I suggest he start his own blog and type away. As a warning, let me say others have tried to methodically deconstruct my life. Every one of them eventually gave up. Successful blogging is hard work. Ninety-five percent of blogs are eventually abandoned. As you will see below, I have even offered Fred the opportunity to write a rebuttal post. Much as I did with Dr. David Tee, I am more than happy to give my critics the unedited space to respond to me.
Fourth, I have met the Bishops too. We attended two of their homecomings in Berea, Kentucky, and heard them several times in concerts over the years. One thing is for certain, neither Fred nor I know Kenny Bishop well. My goal was to encourage and support Kenny. Take a gander at the comments Jesus-loving Christians left on the original post and see my responses. They will tell you everything you need to know about my motivations.
Finally, I’ll never understand Fred’s approach to me. What did he hope to accomplish by repeatedly swearing at me, calling me names, threatening my manhood, and trying to scare me with baseless threats of legal action? How does his behavior square with what Jesus said to his followers about treating their enemies? Or where can the Fruit of the Spirit be seen in Fred’s responses to me? Look, I am a big boy with thick skin. I can take abuse from God’s chosen ones all day long. However, as a man who was an Evangelical for fifty years, and a pastor for twenty-five years, I can tell you that this kind of behavior doesn’t do anything to advance the cause of Christ.
If Fred had questions, I would gladly answer them. But, slinging curse words and derogatory names my way will not elicit the desired response. Religious beliefs (or atheist beliefs, for that matter) are not off-limits on this site. Want respect? Behave respectfully.
Fred is free to comment on this post or any other post on this site. If he asks legitimate, thoughtful questions, I will gladly answer them. I don’t shy away from interaction with people who disagree with me.
Bruce
What follows are the emails I received today from Fred. They are in the order I received them. All spelling, grammar, and punctuation in the original.
Email 1
You wrote another blog to pick apart my questions to you! How can you claim not to be a Christian but take something I said in Praise of Kenny Bishop and turn me into an evangelical person that’s mad at somebody! Most Christians or professed Christians would simply tell you Kenny is going to Hell! Keep writing your one sided, hateful blogs in the hopes you’re changing people’s minds about Christianity! You’re leaving an online legacy of straight up stupidity! I simply said If you were saved, you are saved and saying you’re not does not matter to God! I said you’ll still go to Heaven and didn’t wish Hell on you! Yes I am a Christian but the hate filled type, that’s not me! You didn’t even answer any questions. You dodged them with all the anti religious rhetoric! You’re an online joke!
Email 2
Don’t have a damn thing to add to the religious debate. You try to embarrass people that try! As a blood bought child of God, Hell with You!
Email 3
Seriously though sir! You said ask questions and you’ll answer. You didn’t mention you’d write an another addition to your bullshit with someone’s name it! What I’m waiting for you do is include my last name in your Christian hate speech and I’ll sue you for slandering abs twisting my words and my name to fit your cluster Fucked agenda! Yea I’m Christian but don’t be calling me out on a online unless you want to be on a court docket line!
Email 4
I have no trouble standing against a Web Hoe who misrepresents me!
Email 5
As far as Kenny Bishop. He and his family and fellow Gospel Artists know why he left Southern Gospel music but they still love him and his family does too. I’ve Met Kenny, Mark and the Bishops on several occasions. Their story would match mine contrary to what a Web Hoe says! Savior over sin may have been wrong terminology for someone like you who has no comprehension of what a savior really is! You weren’t man enough to live up to it! You Quit! Kenny & I haven’t
Email 6
That’s the only reason I replied to piece as we called it but now since we know that you lie on your page about people you don’t personally know it looks more like a “Piece Of Shit!”
Email 7
That’s how evangelical I am dude! I’ll cuss you the fuck out in Jesus Name!
Email 8
Seriously. The language I use, the bad things I do, the bad things that other people do. That’s what your piece of shit page is! It’s a gossip rag and you put my name on it for asking questions that you request? I am from a family of attorneys. My niece specializes in the cyber parts of the law. So go ahead and include my last name on your rag page and you’ll see what it’s like to make a bullshit webpage end up putting you in a trailer park without wi fi!
Email 9
We grow up being asked to believe in things that don’t exist. Santa, Easter bunnies, tooth fairies so I can definitely completely understand how an unseen God can get thrown in that mix. Honestly I can’t put to one particular thing in this world that I can point to and say “There it is! There’s proof of God” except things that I’ve personally been through but then again for someone like you, everybody has a story. I don’t judge you based on your beliefs! That’s the beauty of Freedom! We are free to believe whatever we want! Don’t turn your non belief into making a public mockery of my belief. If we going public the I have an attorney for that! Amen
Email 10
I don’t care about the religious aspect of it anymore. If you want to put my name on your rag, talking about human beings personal sexuality then you need to be sued anyway!
Email 11
You’re not a reporter or a journalist. You’re a Keyboard Thug!
Email 12
Finally in closing let this sink in that twisted mind of yours! I sent you a private email. You chose to call me out in a very public way and totally distort and mocked me in addition to outing Kenny again too! Kenny probably wouldn’t tell you this but I will because we’re all individuals with opinions and I’m Me! You called me out so my response is Fuck You!
Email 13
And mess around never was a reference to you doing anything against your wife or doing anything wrong. You ask people to message you with questions brother. That implies that you do not object to dialogue with people with different views. That’s Cool. What is not cool is to take that discussion public and only show your views! You want to interview me? You want to know exactly where I stand? Do that and you’ll see although I’m not ashamed to be a Christian and you’re not a Christian, we probably still have more in common than not. You’ll never know because you’re content to run with Bullshit!
Email 14
And in your specific case, I don’t think he does but I hope God does in your situation feels the same as you and me. Ok we ain’t friends anymore? Go To Hell Then!
Email 15
Because you can literally see Anything online is very misleading. Celebrities would be in court forever if they went after everybody that spoke ill of them. I’m just an average every day person. I do believe in God but I do have non believer and gay family members and friends. I don’t try to be all holier than thou and force my belief system on them. If I’m asked questions I’ll answer but I don’t judge on the partying and stuff. If I’m around it. I’m involved! I don’t see my faith a list of rules and regulations at all. That’s religion. I am not involved. Not Guilty. I have a personal relationship with God. I’m not a preacher or teacher. I try to keep the 10 commandments and if that is the wrong approach then it at the very least keeps me out of a courthouse so I’ll roll with it!
Email 16
I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Don’t automatically jump to conclusions on people based on 1 email. Some of us who claim Christ, Don’t claim some that call themselves Christians! We are not Hate. We Don’t discriminate. We know everyone has problems and habits but we do too, so we love anyway! A Christian that comes at you any other way is not always the real deal!
Email 17
That’s one thing you will never hear in a current Evangelical church. 10 commandments were the law of God passed down from Moses and backed up by Jesus. Evangelicals will add every sin known to man as to why you’re going to Hell but all I remember Jesus saying was keep my commandments or laws and love one another! You take the coolest Christian’s ever in me and Kenny to try to use as click bait to further your beliefs! Dude were the closest thing to your beliefs without crossing over!
After writing this post, Fred sent me sixteen more emails.
Email 18
I have said everything I feel and have been told to cover! You referred to me on an open website and totally turned it around for evil intent. I’ve given you plenty of Ammo to write Part 2 but you better entitle “Keep The Shirt On because it might be the last one you got when I see your 67 year old, old ass in court!”
Email 19
You trying to low key bash people on your website. Let’s go big and do a podcast! Come at me with all that atheistic I’ll make an example of you by one statement attitude! You’ll be the laughing stock getting cussed out by someone who is saved! I’m not Holy bro! I’m Holy Shit! He said that!
Email 20
You are used to dealing with Christians who have been almost programmed to act a certain way. I identify as a Christian who has morals, but I was raised by a 3 times a week church mom and a former military alcoholic dad. My childhood was always in the middle of raising Hell and Amazing Grace so somehow at 50 I have kept both close to my heart! I’ll call you out on some straight up Bullshit and pray it over later!
Email 21
See I have taken all day on a Sunday replying to your bullshit post because you obviously took the time to write it. I don’t give a shit about misspelled words or proper punctuation. I’m not the one posting about people’s private lives. How you did me was shitty on I’m banking on you to do it again and include my last name like you did Bishop! You wanna be an Atheist playing God online with people! I’ll show you someone that will hit back in a more public way than a website!
Email 22
I know you don’t believe because you’ve never talked to anybody that believes but remained “Real!” If gay existed when I was growing up and when you grew up, I’m not at all shocked of it today! This ain’t new! You telling me God waited over 2000 to start picking specifically on gay people? That is also an Evangelical move to hide behind fairh to hate someone. You want to make masses believe your bullshit about people you don’t know just to make arguments against religion! I don’t come to you as religious! I didn’t come to you in disagreement about the existence of God. I made a comment about a good guy to you! You trying to pick apart every word as bad against you and Kenny! Pick apart Deez Nutz!
Email 23
So you basically got a guy that would sit down and have a drink with you and not be offended by anything you said to me in private but you chose to go public to mock me? Old Punk Ass Keyboard Thug with a website that looks like those fake ass magazines you used to see in grocery stores! Leave a Legacy Bro, not a Leech!
Email 24
I love dealing with highly intelligent people who think they have all the answers! Sometimes people aren’t questioning your beliefs or interested in arguing over religion. I was actually searching for bishops videos, clicked on your “Piece” of Shit and just gave Kenny some praise! I don’t know I had a 67 year old 1 sentence means an article Web Hoe who just waits on shit to jump on people. You jumped on the Christian in a Christian vs Atheists debate that will curse more than the Atheist! I don’t necessarily buy that salvation strips you of your rights to individuality, authentically being You! That’s the problem here man! Know your enemy before just picking unnecessary fights!
Email 25
I’m sure you love to argue with the intellectual seminary type but come down to the southern holding on by a thread sometimes people and see if you can persuade one of us to pussy out too!
Email 26
Goodnight! God Bless Hail Mary Hallelujer and all that. You yourself said you respected what Kenny did! How the fuck you going to jump on me for saying the same thing from my perspective?
Email 27
In total finality, you are a former pastor and I understand partly how you can have your beliefs change. You were a pastor on the front line. You saw firsthand how big of assholes church members are! I saw i also. I worked in a restaurant and the Sunday after church crowd were the shittiest whiners all week. I saw grown ass men still in church clothes make waitresses cry minutes after getting out of Sunday Meeting. I’m not naive or dumb. I never said you’re dead wrong or out of line for your beliefs. How did my short ass comment spark a whole new one sided post with accusations, inferences and speculation about somebody you don’t know? Webster would define you as an intelligent Dumbass.
Email I sent to Fred Flintstone:
Mr ********,
You seem to think I am interested in corresponding with you. I’m not. I’ve heard from countless people like you. I plan to put your responses into another post. Feel free to comment on the post or write a guest post detailing your grievances. Outside of that, I have no interest in hearing from you again.
I did change your name to Fred Flintstone. I hope that suits you.
Bruce Gerencser
Email 28
That is fine. I’ll respect your wishes and leave you alone. Fire away!
Email 29
I’ve unfortunately dealt with people like you before in my job in law enforcement. As long as I can lie, I’ll talk! If I’m called out on a lie, no comment! Post one post with my name on or in it and I’ll take your ass for the ride of your lifetime!
Email 30
And it’s Sgt ****** to People who hide behind screens
Email 31
I gave you credit for serving time on the front line as a pastor. You may have hit reverse but you did serve the time. I understand that you and your don’t believe anymore but I pray that if there happens to be an eternity then the work you honest to goodness put in is recognized and enough! It may be totally in the past but you’ve been there and done it! That’s way more than some do! Goodbye
Email 32
Sir I have read your page and bio. I see about your health issues. I won’t insult you with prayer but I’m sorry you have to deal with all that. Fire away at me but I’m leaving you alone. I don’t want to upset you. Be Well Sir!
If Fred sends me any more emails, I will post them here.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
Recently, I received the following email from an Evangelical man named Fred Flinstone (not his real name). My response is indented and italicized. (All spelling, grammar, and punctuation in the original.)
I read your Kenny Bishop piece.
The piece Fred is referencing can be found here: Southern Gospel Singer Kenny Bishop is Now a Gay United Church of Christ Pastor. Bishop is the former heterosexual lead singer of the Southern Gospel group, The Bishops. Kenny went through a lot of personal turmoil in his life, left Evangelicalism, came out as gay, married a man, and is now a United Church of Christ pastor in Lexington, Kentucky. Kenny remains a committed Christian, but is far from his Evangelical roots.
Kenny knew his lifestyle would not fit in Southern Gospel but he still finds way to serve.
Kenny doesn’t have a “lifestyle” any more than heterosexual Fred does. We are who we are. Kenny has chosen a path in life that is best for him, and I applaud his willingness to live openly and authentically, even if I disagree with some of his religious beliefs.
Kenny shouldn’t have to find ways to serve. He should be accepted as he is, but that’s never going to happen with many Evangelicals. Their archaic, anti-human interpretations of select Bible verses keep them from being welcoming human beings. In their minds, God and their peculiar interpretations of the allegedly inerrant, infallible Word of God trump treating people decently and with respect. LGBTQ people are abominable sinners, reprobates who have crossed the line of no return. Much of the violent rhetoric against LGBTQ people is driven by Christians holding to Evangelical (or Mormon and conservative Catholic) beliefs.
Kenny is a gifted musician. That his music is no longer received or listened to by millions of Evangelicals is unfortunate.
He believes as I do, savior above sin! Kenny’s still working.
I guarantee you Bishop does not believe as Fred does, As far as putting Savior above sin, Bishop is a gay man married to another man. According to Evangelical orthodoxy, he has most certainly NOT put Savior above sin.
I don’t know how you become a Former Christian that is still moved by gospel music.
If you want to understand my journey from Evangelicalism to atheism, please read the posts found on the WHY? page. As readers will see in a moment, Fred’s “understander” is broken.
Being moved by music is psychological in nature. I spent fifty years listening to Christian music. It would be odd for me to not find the music familiar, even though I no longer believe what most of the lyrics say. I am moved by all sorts of music. We go to numerous concerts during the year, listening to everything from hard rock to country music. We are quite eclectic musically. Last night, we attended a concert featuring Thompson Square and Walker County. Both my partner and I were “moved” by some of the songs — sometimes to tears. Neither of us is Christian, so God was not the locus of our feelings. How we feel when we hear music is driven by numerous factors, none of which require a deity or a religion.
The fact that it still moves you is a pretty good indication that there’s something still in you.
Of course, there’s still “something” in me. I am a living, breathing, flesh-and-blood human being. Of course, Fred means something different. Maybe God is still living inside of me or the Holy Spirit is still speaking to me, and sometimes he uses Southern Gospel music to “speak” to me. Sure . . . 🙂
The funny thing is Christians that claim they ain’t Christians anymore. That don’t work man! You can’t take that off like a shirt! You going to mess around and die and be pissed you in Heaven?
Here we go . . . According to Fred, I am still a Christian; that once I put on the “shirt” I can never take it off. This is akin to you still being married after you are divorced. I am a former Christian. I once was saved, and now I am not. I categorically and resolutely reject the central claims of Christianity. Jesus was a man who lived and died, end of discussion.
No, Fred is upset that he can’t square my story and that of other deconverts with his theology. That’s his problem, not mine. Perhaps he should rethink his theology or, better yet, just accept the stories of others at face value. When a person tells me he is a Christian, I believe him. I wish Evangelicals would do the same.
I don’t plan on “messing around,” whatever the Hell that means. My “messing around” days stopped in the mid-1970s. I plan on living until I die, and then it is over for me, just like it was for Jesus, the Apostles, and billions of people before me. I am confident no Heaven or Hell awaits me. And if I end up in Heaven anyway, will I be pissed? Maybe. It depends on how many Fred Flinstones live next to me. If I must choose, I prefer Hell with my fellow heathens. Much better company, music, and food. And best of all, no prostrating myself day and night before a narcissistic deity. I do hear, however, that the weather is a bit warm. 🙂
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
I am sure someone will object to the title of this post and say Christian music is not a business; it is a ministry; it’s ALL ABOUT J-E-S-U-S! It’s a ministry when the musician is willing to go anywhere for a love offering. It is a business when they have contracts, riders, and demand a certain amount of money. For the most part, the Christian music business stopped being about Jesus a long time ago.
Years ago, I contacted the booking agent for the contemporary Christian group FFH about holding a concert at our church. I had checked their calendar and noticed that they had a few off days and would be near our church in West Unity, so I thought I would see if they were willing to come and sing at our church.
Not a chance. The booking agent told me that they had a $5,000 minimum. I was astounded by this. I thought, if I promoted the concert right we would likely take in about $2,000. Surely this would be enough money for FFH, especially since it was on a weekday. The booking agent proceeded to lecture me on the Christian music business, about how groups like FFH only have a limited window of opportunity to make their money. He then asked me how would I like to preach for just a love offering. I then got to school him about how I had spent my entire life preaching with no monetary expectation in return.
All told, I preached for thirty-five years. Not one time did I say to a church or to someone who wanted me to hold a meeting, I must have X amount of dollars. I never said no, and I preached more than one meeting over the years where it cost me more to drive back and forth to the meeting than I received in the love offering. This was never a problem for me, and according to some of my friends and family, I SHOULD have made money more of an issue.
I asked the booking agent for FFH to take my request to the group. He told me that he would not do this. Why? Because, he said, they would likely say Yes! If I let them, they would sing for free.
Over the years, I booked many musicians to come to sing at the church I was pastoring at the time. As a result, I learned a lot about the “business” side of Christian music. I met a lot of wonderful people who were willing to come and sing for little more than a promise. As a small church pastor, I did my best to promote the concerts and the church usually supplemented the love offering to make sure the musician (s) were given a decent offering.
In the late 1990s, I decided to use concerts as one way to promote the church. I thought if outside people attended a concert they might be interested in our church and start attending. While the concerts did draw large crowds, not one person ever became a part of our church as a result of attending a concert.
I put on a concert at Hilltop High School in West Unity, Ohio featuring the group contemporary Christian group Sierra. I decided to sell tickets for the event, advertised it heavily, and sold 400 tickets, at $8 each. Sierra charged us $4,000 plus expenses to come sing for us. All told, the church lost $2,000.00 on the concert.
Another time, I put on a Southern Gospel concert at Hilltop Middle School, featuring The Sojourners Quartet from Kentucky and a local group called The Overcomers. This concert was well attended by what I call the blue-hair crowd. They loved the concert so much that their love worked out to about $2.00 a head when the $400 love offering was counted. Again, the church lost a substantial amount of money. I quickly learned that elderly people were of the ‘not a bad show for a buck’ giving mindset.
I pastored Our Father’s House, in West Unity for seven years. In addition to the above concerts, the following Christian groups came to our church to sing:
The Mast Brothers, a southern gospel group, were the easiest to work with and Annie Herring, by far, was the hardest. When Herring came to our church, it was quite evident that she was put out at having to sing at such a small venue, even though there were more than a hundred people crowded into our little storefront church. David Meece? Eclectic, strange, and he borrowed a Bible of mine and permanently highlighted and underlined verses in it. He didn’t ask me if he could do this, and had he asked me I would have said no. As a result, I had to buy a new Bible.
I pastored Somerset Baptist Church in southeast Ohio for eleven years. During this time, a number of Southern gospel groups came to the church and sang. One group, The Songsmen Quartet, a local group from the Lancaster area, was a church favorite, holding at least one concert a year for many years. The group broke up (and may have later restarted with different people) after two of the group members got overtly friendly with each other and committed adultery.
My favorite concert while at Somerset Baptist Church took place in the mid-1980s when Robbie Hiner came to sing for us. At the time, Hiner worked for Jerry Falwell at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. Hiner was a regular on Falwell’s nationwide TV program, The Old Time Gospel Hour.
Several hundred people from all over Southeast Ohio, came to hear Hiner sing. The building was packed. Hiner made no demands or requests, sat down at our old, beat up church piano, and just started singing. In between songs, he shared funny stories, and from start to finish, this was the best Christian concert I ever attended. After the concert, Hiner hopped into his car, I believe it was an old, high-mile Mercedes, and drove on down the road.
There is a certain group of Christians I call diesel sniffers — people who don’t support a local church, spending their weekends traveling from church to church to hear their favorite Christian singing groups. They throw a few dollars in the plate and walk out the door of the church blessed! They subscribe to the Singing News so they can find out when their favorite groups with be near where they live. Such people wouldn’t walk across the street to share their faith, but they would drive two hours to hear their favorite quartet sing.
There is a lot of fakery in the Christian music business. I suppose this is inevitable due to the fact that they travel from church to church, venue to venue. They develop a routine, a shtick. Where they get into trouble is when their shtick extends to their spirituality or their emotional responses. Years ago, I went with a church member to hear The McKamey’s sing. There was one song where one of the female singers kicked off her shoes and had an emotional, supposedly spiritual, outburst. I thought, God just touched her heart. A week later, the church member heard The McKamey’s again at a huge gospel sing. Same song, and at the exact same point in the song, the female singer kicked off her shoes and had an emotional, supposedly spiritual, outburst. The woman wasn’t being “blessed.” Her display was rehearsed and was meant to elicit an emotional response from the audience. Reason? Stirred emotions lead to open wallets. I saw this kind of rehearsed, fake, insincere, emotional manipulation countless times at Southern gospel, contemporary Christian, and Christian rock concerts. They used the same tactics and manipulations that I did as a pastor. Sincere? Perhaps, but it is still emotional manipulation and it often results in people doing things they wouldn’t normally do; things like giving large sums of money, running the aisles, or going to the altar.
Over the years, I talked to several people who were Christian music industry insiders. One man traveled for a time with The Kingsmen Quartet. He told me that I would be shocked if I knew what really went on behind the scenes at Southern gospel concerts; from musicians getting drunk before taking the stage, to Christian groupies willing to bed their favorite gospel singer. These concerts are so man-centered, hey look at me, I am singing for Jesus, that it should come as no surprise that people got caught up in all kinds of illicit behavior. In other words, they were human.
I eventually realized that Christian concerts were entertainment, no different from that in the “world.” As much as the musicians tried to sell me on their music being a “ministry,” I realized it was just religion-oriented entertainment, no different from the secular concerts Polly and I attend every year (Collective Soul and Killer Queen coming up in June.) Once I came to this conclusion, I was free to just sit back and enjoy!
Someone is going to ask who my favorite Christian groups were/are. Here is my Top Eleven List:
and Steve Camp before he turned into a first-rate, blowhard, asshole Calvinist.
This list, by the way, is a great way to view my path through Christianity, from Fundamentalism to the questions and doubts of musicians such as Derrick Webb. I still listen to Christian music from time to time. I don’t believe a word of it, but I do enjoy it, a relic from my past. Polly? She won’t touch the stuff . . . hates it! I usually wait until she is at work to play it.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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The Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) circles I ran in thought southern gospel music was God’s music. IFB churches are known for being anti-cultural, especially when it comes to music. Rock music? Contemporary Christian music (CCM)? Rap Music? Blues music? True Christians® don’t listen to such worldly, Satanic music, IFB preachers told their congregants. Yet, despite all the anti-music preaching, congregants — especially teens and college students — continued to listen to “worldly” music.
Reaction to country music was somewhat mixed. Many preachers divided country music into two categories: old style and new style. Old-style country was grudgingly permitted, but new style country was verboten — no different from rock music. Congregants were encouraged to listen to southern gospel music — country music with Jesus-y words.
As an IFB pastor, I regularly scheduled Southern gospel groups to sing at our church. Most of these groups were local/regional musicians who were willing to come sing for us for a love offering. Over the years, I had several well-known groups come to our church: Robbie Hiner and The Journeymen, to name two. In the 1990s, I went through a CCM phase, thinking that if I brought in name groups, doing so would attract people to our church. Groups who sang at our church included: David Meece, Sierra, Annie Herring (2nd Chapter of Acts), and NIA. As far as attracting new church members? A big, fat bust.
Ever the marketer, I advertised these concerts, hoping to draw large crowds. (Largest crowd? 400 for Sierra. Lowest? 20 for NIA.) Often, Ever the marketer, I advertised these concerts, hoping to draw large crowds. (Largest crowd? 400 for Sierra. Lowest? 20 for NIA.) Often, people from outside of our area would attend the concerts. Typically, these people were what I called diesel sniffers. Many of the musical groups traveled using diesel busses. Some people would follow their favorite group’s bus wherever it went. For them, southern gospel music was a drug; something that gave them a “spiritual” pick-me-up.
While IFB preachers attempt to paint southern gospel music as something that is “spiritual,” it is, in fact, entertainment. IFB preachers are known for their anti-entertainment preaching. It is well known that Fundamentalists take the fun out of everything. But, when it comes to southern gospel music, these same preachers ignore the fact that this style of music is a spiritualized form of entertainment.
I had a friend who was a devoted southern gospel fan. He and his wife attended numerous southern gospel concerts every year. His love for the music changed after he heard the McKameys sing twice in one week. What upset him, you ask? The McKameys sang their hit song, God of the Mountain. The acts were identical, right down to the lead singer gesticulating at the exact same time and kicking off her shoes. It was all a show. My friend thought these groups were spirit-led, when, in fact, they were well-paid professional entertainers.
Another friend of mine spent several years traveling with well-known southern gospel groups. He, too, thought doing so would be a spiritual endeavor for him. What he found, instead, was rampant alcohol consumption and immorality. Yes, southern gospel singers have groupies too.
I am fifteen years removed from preaching my last sermon. As I reflect on the decades I spent in the ministry, it’s hard not to conclude that entertainment played a central part in virtually every service. Whether it was my preaching or a quartet singing, the goal was to entertain people. Now, the word “entertainment” was never uttered. Such things were considered spiritual and supernatural. However, when the religious trappings are stripped away, what’s left is entertainment. People may have found my preaching helpful or profound, but make no mistake about it, they found me to be quite the entertainer. So it is with southern gospel music.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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Kenny Bishop grew up in an Evangelical home in Waco, Kentucky. As a teen, Kenny joined with his father and brother Mark to form the southern gospel group The Bishops. For the next eighteen years, The Bishops traveled the country singing at churches, concert venues, and conventions. I had the privilege of hearing The Bishops sing on several occasions, first at the Gospel Barn in Hillsdale, Michigan and then at an outdoor concert near Berea, Kentucky.
Music by The Bishops frequently wafted from our home during the 1980s and 1990s. My wife and I were raised in churches that loved southern gospel music. We’ve attended numerous southern gospel concerts, and while students at Midwestern Baptist College we attended concerts at nearby Emmanuel Baptist Church that featured The Happy Goodman Family and The Cathedral Quartet. In the late 1990s, our music tastes moved away from southern gospel as we began listening to contemporary Christian music, Christian rock, and praise and worship music. Today, I will, on occasion, listen to southern gospel music on Spotify, even though I don’t believe a word of the lyrics. There is something about the music that reaches me at an emotional level. Polly, on the other hand, prefers that the only time Christian music of any kind is played in our home is when she isn’t there. I find it interesting how each of us has a very different response to music from our past. For me, it’s not that the songs “speak” to me. I find many of songs lacking theologically and intellectually. But, there’s something about the harmonies that appeal to me. Polly? She’s definitely a secular rock aficionado. I love rock music too, but I am not willing to throw all the music away from my past. Does this mean that I am still hanging on to God and Christianity? Not at all. Music affects all of us deeply, often in ways we don’t fully understand. Southern gospel music was a part of our Christian life for over forty years. It should not surprise anyone that this music still appeals to me at some level.
Several days ago, I had a hankering for music from The Bishops. As I was listening, I thought, “I wonder where Kenny Bishop is today?” I knew he left the family group in 2001, began working for several politicians, and went through a divorce from his wife of fifteen years, but I had no idea what he was up to today. I suspected that he was still singing southern gospel music. Little did I know that Kenny had strayed far from his Fundamentalist Christian roots and was now a married gay man and a bivocational pastor at Bluegrass United Church of Christ in Lexington, Kentucky!
Talk about finding the unexpected — a liberal, gay Kenny Bishop. I definitely didn’t see that one coming. That said, I am happy for Kenny and his husband Mason. While I am no longer a Christian, I know that Christianity needs more Kenny Bishops. I have no doubt Kenny was eviscerated for his repudiation of Evangelical orthodoxy and their hatred of LGBTQ people. I know first-hand how it feels to be cut a thousand times by people who once loved you, people who were your family, friends, and colleagues in the ministry. Kenny, it seems, has risen above the anger and judgment and made a new life for himself. I wish him nothing but the best. He will remain my all-time favorite southern gospel tenor singer. And better yet, he is an example for people who still believe in God, but want to free themselves from Evangelical bondage. For people of faith, there are kinder, gentler expressions of Christianity. As Kenny Bishop’s life shows, one can still meaningfully believe in the Christian God without being Evangelical. While I can’t follow such a path, I don’t condemn others who do.
Let me conclude this post with several videos of Kenny Bishop. Enjoy!
Bruce Gerencser, 61, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 40 years. He and his wife have six grown children and twelve grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist. For more information about Bruce, please read the About page.
Bruce is a local photography business owner, operating Defiance County Photo out of his home. If you live in Northwest Ohio and would like to hire Bruce, please email him.
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What follows are the lyrics for the Southern Gospel song, We Want America Back. Written by Fundamentalist Christian Jeff Steele, this song succinctly reveals how Evangelicals view the world. It’s scary to think that anyone thinks this way, let alone tens of millions of Americans. Jeff Steele is a member of The Steeles.
Something is wrong with America.
She once held the Bible as her conscience and guide.
But we’ve allowed those who hold nothing to be sacred,
Like Sodom of old, to push morals aside.
Where are the men who once stood for right?
And the women who championed their cause?
We must return to the values we left,
Before this country we love is totally lost.
We want America back.
We want America back,
From those who have no self-control,
We want America back.
This nation is like a runaway train,
Headed down the wrong track,
It’s time for the army of God to arise,
And say we want America back.
Narrative to be used (before singing Stanza 2):
I love America. But I do not love what she has become.
Scripture has said, Blessed is a Nation whose God is the Lord,
and America has forgotten the Godly foundation upon which she was built… Something is wrong
Our children are asked to attend public schools that in many cases resemble war zones,
without even the most basic right of any soldier… the right to pray to the God of heaven.
Many times a wild-eyed, drug-addicted, gun-carrying teenager is allowed to stay in school,
while our Supreme Court decided to expel God from the classroom over thirty years ago.
Something is wrong. Television daily bombards the senses of our nation with the idea that wrong is right,
that the abnormal is normal, that the abhorrent is acceptable, and that what God calls an abomination is
nothing more than an alternate lifestyle. And it’s had an effect. Thirty years ago, the number one television
program in America was “The Andy Griffith Show.” Look what we have today. Something is wrong.
When our government can pass out contraceptives to children is school without parental consent,
and yet the Gideons can no longer pass out the Bible on campus . . . something is wrong.
When our leaders can tell your children and mine that premarital sex is alright as long as it’s safe. . . yes . . .
something is wrong. And I for one am ready for a change. I will say to my government, “I’m not raising
dogs at my house; I’m raising children . . . created in the image and likeness of almighty God.
And I’m going to teach them the Bible. If the Bible says it’s right . . . it’s right.And if the Bible says it’s wrong . . . it’s wrong.”
The only hope that America has is that Godly men and women of character
will stand together as one might army and declare to the immoral, the impure, the obscene and the foul,
“Your days of unlimited access the minds of America are over.
The army of God, that has been silent for too long, is taking America back!”
Stanza 2:
We want America back.
We want America back,
From those who have no self-control,
We want America back.
This nation is like a runaway train,
Headed down the wrong track,
It’s time for the army of God to arise,
And say we want America back.
It’s time for the army of God to arise,
And say we want America back!!
Here is a video of this song. It is being sung by Barbara Fairchild and her husband Roy Morris at a 2012 Patriotic Rally. Please take the time to view the video. Listen carefully to the ad libs that are added to the spoken part of the song. Still think religious beliefs are harmless?
This is the forty-fifth installment in The Sounds of Fundamentalism series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a video clip that shows the crazy, cantankerous, or contradictory side of Evangelical Christianity, please send me an email with the name or link to the video. Please do not leave suggestions in the comment section. Let’s have some fun!
Today’s Sound of Fundamentalism is a clip of Looking for a City by Unknown Church Soloist. Evidently, no one had the balls to stop the song and tell the man that he was off-key…I mean REALLY off key. What’s worse is that the crowd actually clapped and said amen. Perhaps their response was to the song finally being over. It is likely that the man could actually sing the song, but the pianist started in the wrong key. I always told our musicians: it is okay to stop and start over. Even professional singers have to do this from time to time.
