The Limerick Laden Church—Limerick Laden Pastors

Edward Lear was famous for what? He invented the Lear Jet. No, I lied; that was Bill Lear. Edward Lear was an accomplished artist; his art work hangs in the Louve. He painted birds as well as Audubon, was a poet, and was an instructor to the Royal Children in England. But he was most famous for the limerick much to his chagrin. A limerick is a humorous five line ditty which is not very demanding. Light hearted fluff, it is literary junk food, but it made Lear rich. Late in life Lear called limericks “awful and noxious distractions.” Limericks require little if any effort; they come cheaply and we should beware of such things.

We in the church in these times have become “limerick laden”. We don’t want worship to be too demanding. We don’t want doctrine that challenges us. We want “our kind of music.” The preaching must assure not challenge. We want preaching that affords a sense of serenity. We want our services to be serious but not too much because we don’t want to come off as Christian sticks in the mud.

We want Christianity to be reduced to a simple formula. We want the five easy steps to victorious Christian living; meanwhile our children are asking who am I? Why am I here and where am I going? We remain distracted practicing false intellectualism, pondering how many angels dance on a pin head and all the while our children are leaving the church searching for people in the world with the “real answers”. How sad.

I’ve seen a change occurring in the last month, people are telling me they want to be challenged, and yes, even offended by Truth, if need be. Pastors love Christian limericks also but people want to hear the truth of Christ and they want to be pointed toward the vision of a Christ-ruled world and future. We, the Pastors (or Shepherds) have failed our people. They want spiritual food not spiritual limericks. We have not carried out Christ’s command to “feed my sheep”. It’s time we quit being inoffensive, clever and politically correct and do some serious sheep feeding. The following limerick summarizes Limerick Laden Christianity best.

There were three little birds in a wood
Who always sang hymns when they could
What the words were about
They could never make out
But they felt it was doing them good.

Will this limerick-level faith and discipleship be adequate in these days?
I think not. God help us.


Politically Incorrect Verse of the Week:
Romans 16:18: "For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people."