In Steve Camp's song "Living Dangerously" he says that "Sunday's become a holiday, they're an empty exercise."
Is this true? For me it is often. "How could someone who was a pastor like yourself says such things?"
When I was pastoring and I had the pleasure of sitting down and listening while someone preached, I winced at the thought of the things that ran through my mind.
I watched how we as pastors would "do" church. I see that extra stanza coming at the end of a no movement invitation. I saw how pastors and music people often plan their music so that it "compliments" one another so it might give more "punch" to the service.
I saw and still see how pastors manipulate people to make "decisions." I see how pastors attempt to use illustrations, movie clips, or stories to create an emotion to sway the listeners.
In the end, we as pastors or laymen for God, in whatever position we serve, become manipulators. We manipulate to satisfy our own, and other's opinions of ourselves.
