Cotton Candy Preaching

Whenever I take a bite of cotton candy I have several reactions:

  1. It tastes good. I enjoy the flavor.
  2. It feels good. I’ve always liked the feeling as it melts away in my mouth.
  3. It gives a little sugar rush.
  4. It has no lasting effect.
  5. There is an appropriate time for cotton candy.
  6. It cannot replace a meal–nor can it sustain us.

I am truly afraid that much of what is done in many pulpits among us today is simply Cotton Candy Preaching.

  1. It tastes good. It “scratches” our ears. It is easily palatable. It does not stir up to good works, or demand obedience to God’s will. It is just fluff.
  2. It feels good. We leave the sermon (or sermonette) feeling good about ourselves. It is “I’m OK, You’re OK” preaching with no real substance.
  3. It gives a little sugar rush. It may excite us for a moment, and get us fired up temporarily.
  4. It has no lasting effect. The little stories and lessons really produce no lasting effect in the hearer.
  5. There is an appropriate time for cotton candy. Sometimes these short articles are Cotton Candy articles. Sometimes there is a place for Cotton Candy speeches–just not in the pulpit!
  6. It cannot replace a meal–it cannot sustain us. Too often congregations are receiving a steady diet of Cotton Candy. This may make crowds gather, like a crowd around a Cotton Candy vendor, but it leaves them spiritually and doctrinally bankrupt.
  • PAUL SAID, “Preach the Word.”
  • PETER SPOKE OF “the sincere milk of the Word.”
  • THE HEBREW WRITER SPEAKS OF “strong meat.”

Cotton Candy Preaching provides none of these!Image

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