Posted on 11/28/2018 6:18:04 AM PST by Gamecock
A Southaven pastor is a viral sensation after descending from the rafters of his church to the pulpit during a Sunday sermon.
The video was posted Sunday afternoon and racked up over a million views on Facebook within a few hours, and over two million views by Monday morning.
Facebook comments identified the pastor as the Rev. Bartholomew Orr from Brown Missionary Church.
When contacted, Orr said that the high-flying stunt was born from a mix of simple curiosity and a desire to deliver Sunday's gospel message in an innovative way — or how to be a "digital disciple."
"How can we use the message of Jesus Christ through the internet?" the pastor asked.
'I guess I might have to fly in' As it turns out, the pastor might have answered his own question.
Orr was on the balcony of Brown's Southaven campus when staff was going through "flight school," a sort of rehearsal for the church's Singing Christmas Tree production.
The rigging for the suspension wires was already in place from previous years' performances.
"We have angels floating down during the production, and all kinds of elements," Orr said. "I was up there watching the other characters from the Christmas production go through Flight School, and something in me said, 'Hey, I want to try this.'"
Orr was rigged up and took a test flight, which was captured in a short video and posted to the church's Instagram account, just for fun.
"To my surprise," Orr said, "People started commenting, saying that they couldn't wait for the sermon on Sunday. That's when I turned to my wife and said, 'I guess I might have to fly in.'"
As planned, Orr "flew in" from the balcony Sunday morning, while delivering a message about Christ's eventual return.
As Orr's legs dangled above his congregation, he asked, "My brothers and sisters...are you ready? Are you ready for his return?"
Congregants defend Orr online Orr was not ready for the internet's response.
"It just goes to show you," Orr said, "You never know what the Lord might use to get his message out."
Among the fray of the post's comment section, a theme emerged that questioned the use of church funds for Orr's aerobatic antics.
Congregants were swift to defend their pastor, praising him for his ingenuity and thinking-out-of-the-box.
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Gee, I don't know. Maybe preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 2 Timothy 4:2
I lead a Christ centered boys outdoor program. During our troop meetings, I have the opportunity to present a short devotional type thing every week.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any rigging and suspension equipment.
I was thinking for a real change of pace, I’ll come up from the left side of the church rather than the right side. Maybe it will go viral too.
Narcissist. Hey, look at MEEEEE!
I have no words for this.
I don’t know whether to laugh and spit my milk out on my keyboard or just sit and weep at how our precious Lord is mocked.
They never did air the final, tragic episode: “Sister Bertrille Encounters Wind Shear.”
Say what you will, it’s a pretty ambitious bit of stagecraft. Although I think it could have gone smoother if they had practiced a bit more.
I may be in the minority here, but I think it’s kewl.
Yes, the Gospel speaks for itself, but an occasional wow factor isn’t beyond the pale.
He’s not trying to pass it off as a miracle, but acknowledging it’s just a special effect.
Showing a black man hanging in a church? That's racist'!!!
HOW DARE THEY???
I was wondering what happened to her. Since she obviously had harrier technology I assumed a SAM knocked her down over Cuba.
(As a kid I remember thinking that it was an incredibly stupid idea for a tv show.)
Meteor Man
This is why most Americans don’t take Christianity seriously.
Still a great movie
They could reverse the video and call it “Rapture Time”.
Wish we’d all been ready!
If you can’t wait for the next Medea movie, here’s your pastor.
The actor at the Kabuki-za does it much better. And he flew up to the balcony. Anyway, in the 60s in L.A. there was a church downtown that featured these kind of stunts. They’d advertise them in advance in the paper (remember those?) I believe it was a woman preacher and she was going to descend from the heavens to preach.
I think Firesign Theatre may have done takeoffs on it.
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