| Evidently, anybody who is somebody in the ministry in 2004 will have
uttered words similar to these: "When I was at a private pre-screening
of the Passion with Mel Gibson," or "I spoke with Mel before
the premiere of the Passion, and..." SermonTrac, a pulpit-mounted
homily-tracking device used in over 2,500 churches across America has recorded
sermons from a broad scope of denominational and independent churches through
the first half of the year.
SermonTrac founder and CEO Don Price says the results indicate a striking
upsurge in both egomania and insecurity among American clergy. "Why
these guys feel the need to mention Gibson in every other sermon is baffling.
That said, the data clearly shows that a Gibson name drop separates successful
pastors from the marginal ministers. If you weren't invited to a
sneak preview of the Passion, then who are you?" This year alone,
Pastor Greg Laurie of 15,000-member Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside,
California has mentioned Gibson's name a record 103 times on his
daily radio broadcast "A New Beginning". Says the popular
preacher and evangelist, "A personal Gibson anecdote pretty much
impresses everyone. And when a sermon is lagging, Gibson is to preaching
like fix-a-flat is to a tire. His name always snaps 'em back to
attention. If I wanted to, I could go up there totally unprepared for
weeks on end, mention that Mel and I ride Harleys together and the tapes
would be flying off the duplicators."
Unfortunately, the Gibson phenomenon has had ill effects as well. Price
told THO staffers that many preachers have fibbed about hanging out with
Mel in order to gain street cred. "This one E.V. Free preacher in
Iowa was out of control. They only pull about 70, so obviously Gibson
wouldn't give him a call. But we have him on MP3 telling the folks
that he and Mel are accountability partners. It's sad, but it's
happening."
Price noted that Gibson knocked Billy Graham out of second place, who
had previously held that spot for 17 years. "Regrettably, with Billy
Graham's illness this year he hasn't been able to do many
crusades. Thus, the pastors haven't had much opportunity to get
out there and rub elbows with him and then talk about it on Sundays. Still,
lots of them told their congregations that they, 'had spoken with
Ruth, and Billy is doing okay. Please keep him in prayer.'"
Price also mentioned that Jesus has a stranglehold on SermonTrac's
list due to the fact that all preachers have mentioned something that
the Lord "had spoken to their hearts."
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