Cotton Candy Christianity

 

 

Cotton Candy Christianity

Sweet to the taste

But what is the nutritive value?

It’s more like a waste.

 

What sustaining value?

None I can see

And what’s worse I will tell you

Is its devilry.

 

It is worldly tastes

Accepted by the church

And calculated not to stand out

Appearing like a jerk.

 

Jump-up and revelry

In the name of Christ

But pretty much indistinguishable

From worldly vice.

 

 

The lyrics giving way

To loud accompaniment

Unable to make proper meaning

In the merriment.

 

Capturing attention

And drawing a following

Who without careful examination

Are simply swallowing.

 

Bigging up the pulpit

And the platform,

Less counting those in the pew

Is now the norm.

 

 

Like sponges they come

With cups turned up

But by the time they leave church

Theirs is an empty cup.

 

They dance and shout

And take over the aisle

And are taken on a spiritual high

By hype and guile.

 

The preacher is hot

Like a raging fire

And the congregation rates him

Worthy of hire.

 

 

Cotton candy sweet,

With delicious corn curls!

A spiritual sugar spike is evident

With head in a whirl.

 

Boy, wasn’t he hot

But what did he say?

Girl, I really can’t remember now

But he had his way.

 

He shared a text

And he closed the Word

And then he spoke unlike any

I’ve ever heard.

 

Many were slain,

Others spoke in tongues

And the evidence of the Holy Spirit

Was all around.

 

Not much about Jesus

Or the glorious gospel

But mostly about the good time

When the Spirit fell.

 

 

Cotton candy Christians

Along for the ride

But who from serious Bible study

Prefer to hide.

 

No depth in the Word

But quite an experience,

Much emotional hype and feeling

Form their content.

 

I end with a caution

To dig into God’s Word

And whatever answers you seek

To His Word defer.

 

Stewart Russell © August 17, 2025

The Pew the Platform the Pulpit

 

 

These three “Ps” it seems to me

Identify the levels in a church

And you don’t have to take my word

Seeing I am not an expert.

 

I was associated with two churches

Even before I was born

And during the course of my journey

I saw this as the norm.

 

Three levels of importance:

The pew, the platform, the pulpit,

The highest level is the last one

And this has become the habit.

 

Few members will reach the platform

And fewer still the pulpit

And some others who tried and failed

Will eventually find the exit.

 

It reminds me of the Jewish temple

Back in 1^st Century Judaism:

The outer courts and the inner

And then the sanctum sanctorum.

 

One had to be very special

To dare enter behind that partition

And even though Christ removed it

The pulpit holds that position.

 

 

One manner of dress for the pew

Another for the platform and pulpit

And while some have reneged on this

Some others have refused to quit.

 

The sponges sit in the pews

Since they mostly come to receive,

The other levels come with a word

Which the sponges usually believe.

 

Some pastors own the pulpit

And by extension the platform too

And they in their wisdom determine

Who gets beyond the pew.

 

You will find in any given church

The pulpit, the platform, the pew

And these three distinct levels determine

The extent to what one will do.

 

Prophesying is for the pulpit

Whether foretelling or forth telling

And nowadays there is much of the former

And quite a lot of yelling.

 

 

The worship team takes the platform

With the leader behind the pulpit

And right after they have led in worship

In a pew they will each sit.

 

Their importance is short lived

As they pave the way for the preacher

Who might be a pastor, prophet or apostle

Or a visiting or approved lay minister.

 

Three “Ps” you will find in any church:

Whether mega, big or even small,

The pew mostly makes up the listenership

But the pulpit determines the call.

 

If you want to be a valued church member

Reach for the platform or pulpit,

In the pew you are just an ordinary member

And may not be missed if you exit.

 

This may not sound very encouraging

But it is the approach many churches take,

Bear this in mind potential church goer

When you walk through a church’s gate.

 

Stewart Russell © May 23, 2022