A fire and brimstone preacher.
Why would anyone go to church and not expect a man of God to set them straight?
Sometimes, we need to be told when we are wrong, when we are slipping, when we fall short of tje grace of the Lord.
Who better to do it? Your mommy and daddy? The neighbor? The cops? The government?
Those of us honest with ourselves know in our hearts we are sinners and many times very much estranged from our Creator.
The preacher spoke what likely needed to be said.
The arrogant, hypocritical and smugly selfrighteous will bitch and moan and maybe leave.
Their loss. They need a shepherd. And if the shepherd must smack his flock from time to time, he is only implementing the spare the rod spoil the child proverb.
No, the Bible itself says this is not the way to do it. We’re not arrogant, hypocritical or smugly self-righteous because we object to his self centered public rantings.
Is that how Jesus would have handled it?
It’s pretty disrespectful to fall asleep in church. Jesus whipped people behaving badly in His Father’s house.
Anyway, he’s only human and preachers put up with terrible abuse these days. He does not deserve to be disrespected by sleeping people. No one has to go to church if they want to sleep instead. That is God’s house to worship.
Growing up, there was always a tad of fear in acting badly in church. Not just fear of my parents either. The Priests, Nuns, ushers...would give you “the look” if you acted like an ass - adult or child. I knew I was in God’s house, too. At that time Catholics kept a reverent, worship atmosphere in the church. We dressed up. It could have been because I was young, but I could feel the Holy Spirit in church and I did not want to do anything but pray and soak it in.
Last time I went...a zoo. I felt badly for the Priest.