Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

The Ghetto Preacher

Everyone had something to say about Willy Ramos’ sermon. Obviously, being called the “Ghetto Preacher,” some issues were going to arise. While many students really enjoyed his high-energy sermon, others thought his methods were a little out there. They complained that he sounded as if he was speaking at a comedy club rather than at a vespers service, that he hadn’t used enough scriptural references, and that his actual message was unclear until the very end. I’ll admit that even I had a few problems with his sermon. I winced every time he made a grammatical error – especially when he started using the word “distant” when he meant “distance.”

Regardless of whatever slight issues I may have had with his grammar, however, one thing was very clear: Ramos was doing God’s work. It was never said that one must be articulate and eloquent in speech to do God’s work – in fact, the Bible says just the opposite. One of Moses’ many excuses for not being fit to free the Israelites was that he was “slow of speech, and of a slow tongue” (Exodus 4:10). God promised to be with Moses’ mouth and teach him what to say (Exodus 4:12), but Moses still refused. Though Moses’ ultimately had his brother speak for him, God’s promise to teach us what to say holds true – even if we aren’t the most persuasive speaker or are physically unable to speak up around large groups of people.

As for Ramos, all I can say is that no matter how much his message was complained about, he was preaching from the pulpit while we were sitting in the pews. His unique method of preaching has brought many to God, and allows him to easily share the message in places that we would think twice (and thrice) about going. Ramos has allowed God to work within him and through him, and we should all do the same. If it starts here, maybe others will realize that they don’t have to be able to give a speech like Barak Obama or Doug Bachelor or Moses’ brother Aaron to share God’s words – all they need is God, who has promised to be with them and teach them what to say.