# Pastor's NASCAR Prayer?



## DMcFadden (Jul 24, 2011)

Pastor Joe Nelms of the Family Baptist Church in Lebanon, Tennessee, certainly knows his audience. Tonight at the Nationwide Series Federated Auto Parts 300 race in Nashville Tennessee, Pastor Nelms delivered the invocation.

Not only did Pastor Nelms thank God for the various manufacturers and suppliers("the Dodges and the Fords"), all the way down to the "Sunoco Racing Fuel," he even took time to thank the Lord for Lisa "my smoking' hot wife."

One can only hope that the prayer was an _homage_ to the 2006 Will Farrell movie, _Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby_. But, then, it would not be a prayer so much as a SNL parody. As it stands, Pastor Nelms did much to set the bar of secular understanding of the Christian faith at the Ricky Bobby level. Hmmmmm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCiJIZ7zzto


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## nicnap (Jul 24, 2011)

DMcFadden said:


> Hmmmmm.


 Not quite how I'd put it, but not far from it either.


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## Bill The Baptist (Jul 24, 2011)

I think Billy Sunday said it best when he said, " A church full of make-believers will beget a generation of non-believers."


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## Marrow Man (Jul 24, 2011)

Maybe Pastor Bobby was also praying to the Baby Jesus.


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## LawrenceU (Jul 24, 2011)

Blasphemy.


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## jfschultz (Jul 24, 2011)

Sure shows what are their gods!


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## kodos (Jul 24, 2011)

I find that scene in Talladega Nights to be an excellent illustration of how the Baby Jesus in the Nativity is the golden calf to "Christmas Christians". He's cute, cuddly and non-threatening. Just like a calf.


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## he beholds (Jul 24, 2011)

What came after "In Jesus Name" and before Amen?
I was, honestly, expecting to approve of the prayer, thinking that it's a good thing to thank God for the materials that give you joy/make your living, etc (the dodges and fords, etc.). And I thought, before hearing the inflection, that thanking God for a smokin' hot wife could also be OK. Thinking it's probably some little old lady and I'm glad he still thinks she's smokin'. But when watching it, I do think it was a little too entertaining for me. 
If I knew what in the world he said in between Jesus' Name and Amen, my opinion might be even a little stronger. 

BUT, I don't know if his prayer would offend God.


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## Andres (Jul 24, 2011)

That was just plain stupid. That man had quite an opportunity to talk about Christ Jesus and the salvation found only in Him, but instead he chose to sound like a commercial or an endorsement as he was throwing so many brand names out there. Quite a shame that a "pastor" would take prayer to the holy God of heaven to be a joke.


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## TimV (Jul 24, 2011)

{Link removed - contained inappropriate content}

There's a pic of the couple above. Personally I'm good with the Toyota, but a Dodge?


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## Sviata Nich (Jul 24, 2011)

"_*We want everything we do, from the singing to the sermon, to glorify GM Performance Technology*. If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, we desire to reveal *God's simple plan of salvation: Roush & Yates partnering up*. The world is full of troubles and trials. We pray that this church will be a place where Dodges, Toyotas, and Fords can be revived and restored. We long for *a better understanding of the Word of Goodyear* and their instructions for our lives. But Lord, most of all, I want to thank you for my smokin' hot wife Lisa_!"

Idolizes cars, demeans women, makes a mockery of the cross, God's word, and prayer. I don't care if this was intended to be a joke. To pray this in front of tens of thousands of people is an absolute travesty and inexcusable.


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## Curt (Jul 24, 2011)

Am I the only one on the board who has not seen Talledega Nights?


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## Andres (Jul 24, 2011)

Curt said:


> Am I the only one on the board who has not seen Talledega Nights?



No, I've never seen it either and based on the short clips/previews I've seen, we aren't missing anything.


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## jfschultz (Jul 24, 2011)

Curt said:


> Am I the only one on the board who has not seen Talledega Nights?



Same here. There are at least two others here that have not bowed the knee to NASCAR!


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## LawrenceU (Jul 24, 2011)

jfschultz said:


> Curt said:
> 
> 
> > Am I the only one on the board who has not seen Talledega Nights?
> ...



Never watched it. Never watched clips of it. Don't care to either. I see enough NASCAR and Roll Tide idolatry in a week to make me sick all year; and I like auto racing and football. It goes WAY over the line around here, way over the line.


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## he beholds (Jul 24, 2011)

Sviata Nich said:


> "_*We want everything we do, from the singing to the sermon, to glorify GM Performance Technology*. If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, we desire to reveal *God's simple plan of salvation: Roush & Yates partnering up*. The world is full of troubles and trials. We pray that this church will be a place where Dodges, Toyotas, and Fords can be revived and restored. We long for *a better understanding of the Word of Goodyear* and their instructions for our lives. But Lord, most of all, I want to thank you for my smokin' hot wife Lisa_!"
> 
> Idolizes cars, demeans women, makes a mockery of the cross, God's word, and prayer. I don't care if this was intended to be a joke. To pray this in front of tens of thousands of people is an absolute travesty and inexcusable.



That transcript was a satire of his prayer, FYI.


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## Sviata Nich (Jul 24, 2011)

Ah, I see that now. My mistake. However I still find his actual "prayer" inappropriate...


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## Jeffriesw (Jul 24, 2011)

Andres said:


> That was just plain stupid. That man had quite an opportunity to talk about Christ Jesus and the salvation found only in Him, but instead he chose to sound like a commercial or an endorsement as he was throwing so many brand names out there. Quite a shame that a "pastor" would take prayer to the holy God of heaven to be a joke.



I agree, quite a shame when you have no more respect for our Lord than that.



Curt said:


> Am I the only one on the board who has not seen Talledega Nights?



I have not seen it either, nor plan too.


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## ChariotsofFire (Jul 24, 2011)

Hebrews 12:28-29



> 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.


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## Michael Doyle (Jul 24, 2011)

This post is linked on the page under the heading "Surprisingly folks had a problem with this."


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## Zenas (Jul 24, 2011)

He's got to be kidding, that or he needs to put in to change his name to Ricky Bobby.


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## nicnap (Jul 25, 2011)

Curt said:


> Am I the only one on the board who has not seen Talledega Nights?



No, I haven't either.


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## Josh Williamson (Jul 25, 2011)

That was certainly redeeming the time... That "pastor" had an opportunity to lift Jesus high, instead he was seeking the praise of men.


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## PuritanCovenanter (Jul 25, 2011)

Am I wrong to assume that this guy knows more about the sponsorship of Nascar than his Bible. LOL. Now you all know I am a big drag racing fan. I could tear down and rering a 327 with my Dad by the age of 12. And we could do it overnight and still get a few hours of sleep. Especially if the motor didn't seal up right after a rebuild for the US Nationals. I am all for racing. And you all know I love a good laugh and love being jovial. But this poor guy doesn't seem to know whom he is addressing. He does know about whom he is addressing this higher power (supposedly Jesus) before. But I am not sure he knows whom he is addressing this petition to. Maybe he does because he invented his own Jesus who is his buddy. But I am only guessing here. 

But his pattern of prayer surely wasn't taught to him by the scriptures was it? After all God did say that he wanted us to revere his Holy name. Now I might be wrong but watching the video made me wonder what those guys were laughing at as the so called Pastor was praying. It sure wasn't at the sacredness of God I hope. I didn't see anything in the prayer that would indicate God was sacred or being revered. Prayer is a drawing near to God and should inspire our hearts toward heavenliness and bring some of the heavenly down to us. This prayer definitely didn't help me see God any better nor did it draw my attention toward heaven. What were those guys laughing at? Maybe they were laughing because this man thought his wife was smokin hot. That is great this guy thinks that. 

BTW, I couldn't stomach Talladega Nights because it was blasphemous and made Nascar people look incredibly stupid. I am all for poking fun at ourselves but the way Talladega nights did it was incredibly defaming and blasphemous. Maybe the caricature of Talladega Nights is more spot on than I wanted it to be. We are a people who should be most pitied for our ignorance of the Holy. I include myself in that assessment.


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## Notthemama1984 (Jul 25, 2011)

Pastor Defends Calling Wife 'Smokin' Hot' in Prayer Before NASCAR Race - FoxNews.com

The pastor says he did it on purpose to be memorable. In other words, his theology did not go into the making of it. He was having fun. Distasteful fun, but an attempt at fun nonetheless.


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## Berean (Jul 25, 2011)

Curt said:


> Am I the only one on the board who has not seen Talledega Nights?



Nope. I don't follow NASCAR either.


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## PuritanCovenanter (Jul 25, 2011)

Chaplainintraining said:


> Pastor Defends Calling Wife 'Smokin' Hot' in Prayer Before NASCAR Race - FoxNews.com
> 
> The pastor says he did it on purpose to be memorable. In other words, his theology did not the making of it. He was having fun. Distasteful fun, but an attempt at fun nonetheless.



So he admits to invoking the Lord in vain? Wow, most racers I know won't even do that. And this guy is a Pastor? No wonder America is such a mess. God is toymaker to us and he is our Santa Claus.


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## PuritanCovenanter (Jul 25, 2011)

> “I don’t rehearse it, so she was hearing it for the first time. She said my daughter laid on the floor laughing. *She didn’t even hear me say her name for laughing at me saying smokin’ hot wife*,” Nelms said.



Point made in my prior post is relevant.


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## Pilgrim (Jul 25, 2011)

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God


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## Filipe Luiz C. Machado (Jul 30, 2011)

Great word, Bill.

I think that prayer would be valid in his house, with his wife - not to all the people, because what is the christianity value that it shows to the non-belivers except the christian life is absolute identical of all the world? Certainly that was made to please listeners.


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## Marrow Man (Jul 30, 2011)

Josh Williamson said:


> That was certainly redeeming the time... That "pastor" had an opportunity to lift Jesus high, instead he was seeking the praise of men.



Everyone laughed, and he has his 15 minutes of fame. He has his reward. He will have to answer for it.

This is a microcosm of the multitude of problems with what passes for Christianity in this country. May we be brought to repentance. I do hope this pastor repents and confesses his sin.


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## SolaScriptura (Jul 30, 2011)

In my opinion, he dishonored God and dishonored his wife.

The reasons why he dishonored God have been elaborated in great detail, but here's why I believe he was inconsiderate of his wife. He called her "smoking hot." Now, I'm all for a man thinking that his wife is gorgeous. But a person should be able to distinguish between "smoking hot" and "smoking hot _to me._" While in his opinion his wife may be good looking, the pictures of her indicate that she is far from what most men would consider to be "smoking hot." As a result of his label in a very public context he has brought ridicule and mockery upon his wife as many have looked up her picture and come away laughing.


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