You can certainly file this one under “Is this for real?” I’ll copy from the site, MyNakedPastor.com, here.
The lead pastor, Troy Gramling, at Flamingo Road Church is getting naked! No … not that kind of naked, a new kind of naked. A nakedness that isn’t embarrassing; a nakedness that God would say is cool.
On 9-9 @ 9PM, Troy will be on a 24-hour webcam for five weeks in four locations: house, car, hotel, and office. Every day, all day, we will see his life in a fishbowl – the good, the bad, the great, the ugly.
That’s right, he’ll be on a webcam, 24 hours a day. Don’t catch anyone at this church saying, “I just don’t feel like I know what goes on in the pastor’s private life.”
To go along with the series, they’ve got billboards, the web site, and even car magnets. If nothing else, they’ve just done something new and crazy in the world of church marketing. Hopefully, in 11 days, you can even watch the video of the pastor commenting on this post.
It’ll be interesting to see what they’ll do with the inevitable buzz this is going to generate. Anyone think this has gone too far? Do you think it’s brilliant? Or has it been done before and I just missed it?
Michiel
August 29, 2007
hmm… Don’t know about you guys, but I have to think about this one…
:-)
nathan
August 29, 2007
sounds cool to me…
But you don’t mention anything about how they use this to relate to the Bible.
Is the purpose just to be cool and flashy? that’s not so cool…
is it just about a personality? that’s not so cool either.
I would like more information before an opinion can be processed.
brad
August 29, 2007
This is like having a Jesus-fish bumper-sticker…on steroids!
The next step: we get to hear his internal monologue the whole time. After all, I still feel like I don’t know what’s going on in my pastor’s thought life.
My take on this: If anyone’s life is interesting enough to garner 24/7 attention, he probably shouldn’t be calling himself a pastor! :-)
JenS
August 29, 2007
Not cool. Tony need to get “naked” or “transparent” or “real” on his own time.
Rocky
August 29, 2007
And they say we’ve become obsessed with ourselves. . .
Heather Palacios
August 29, 2007
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” Hebrews 4:13
MArcella Ribeiro & H
August 29, 2007
According to the “Naked PAstor’s” blog …. (www.troygramling.com) he will be traveling during the series as well … he has a great post describing it a bit more detail what it will be like and why the need to be naked (authentic as he puts it)…. i think this is great … and will break stereotypes of pastors. I just saw some of his teachings on is church site ..
Looking forward to the stream
MArcella Ribeiro & H
August 29, 2007
According to the “Naked PAstor’s” blog …. (www.troygramling.com) he will be traveling during the series as well … he has a great post describing it a bit more detail what it will be like and why the need to be naked (authentic as he puts it)…. i think this is great … and will break stereotypes of pastors. I just saw some of his teachings on is church site ..
Looking forward to the stream
MArcella Ribeiro & H
August 29, 2007
According to the “Naked PAstor’s” blog …. (www.troygramling.com) he will be traveling during the series as well … he has a great post describing it a bit more detail what it will be like and why the need to be naked (authentic as he puts it)…. i think this is great … and will break stereotypes of pastors. I just saw some of his teachings on is church site ..
Looking forward to the stream
MArcella Ribeiro & H
August 29, 2007
According to the “Naked PAstor’s” blog …. (www.troygramling.com) he will be traveling during the series as well … he has a great post describing it a bit more detail what it will be like and why the need to be naked (authentic as he puts it)…. i think this is great … and will break stereotypes of pastors. I just saw some of his teachings on is church site ..
Looking forward to the stream
MArcella Ribeiro & H
August 29, 2007
According to the “Naked PAstor’s” blog …. (www.troygramling.com) he will be traveling during the series as well … he has a great post describing it a bit more detail what it will be like and why the need to be naked (authentic as he puts it)…. i think this is great … and will break stereotypes of pastors. I just saw some of his teachings on is church site ..
Looking forward to the stream
Steve K.
August 29, 2007
This is really just a copycat of things like Justin.tv. So not really that original, but still on the “cutting edge” of what’s being done right now on the Web. My real question/hesitation is: Why?
The “Naked Pastor” concept seems to imply transparency and openness, but the fact that this is being staged as a one-time promotional event for the church just rings hollow. This is “rock star pastor” syndrome on steroids. What will the next evangelical mega-church pastor have to do next to one-up this guy? That’s a serious question. There are at least a few of them reading this right now thinking about this very question. Possible answers: Skydive into the church parking lot? Get shot out of a cannon? Eat only McDonald’s food for a month? (oh wait, that’s already been done …)
This is what is really troubling to me: The Why Question. Why do pastors (and their churches) feel so compelled to do these kinds of stunts? And what effect do these stunts have on how people are formed spiritually?
MArcella Ribeiro & H
August 29, 2007
According to the “Naked PAstor’s” blog …. (www.troygramling.com) he will be traveling during the series as well … he has a great post describing it a bit more detail what it will be like and why the need to be naked (authentic as he puts it)…. i think this is great … and will break stereotypes of pastors. I just saw some of his teachings on is church site ..
Looking forward to the stream
Lex
August 30, 2007
The website gives some more insight:
“… to realize with him, that we are all fish in a bowl. The more transparent we get, the more God can do amazing things through us. We weren’t created to be people in hiding, concealment, or shame, we were created to be real, naked and unashamed.”
nakedpastor
August 30, 2007
Now the original nakedpastor feels fully clothed, and slightly ripped off. whatever.
allen distefano
August 31, 2007
Wow-I wonder how many other people, especially pastors, would be cool with being under the microscope for 5 weeks-yikes!
Gail
September 6, 2007
This won’t be ho-hum or traditional. I think it will be a way to show that being a Christian isn’t just a Sunday morning thing. It’s a 24/7 way of life. If this pastor is willing to use himself as an example, then more power to him!
Sherri
September 6, 2007
Where is God in all of this? How does this series help bring those closer to a personal relationship with Christ. 5 Weeks of focusing on “me” not “Him” is a slippery slope. How does this look to non-Christians, weak Christians, and those who have sexual struggles? I’m sorry but the first image that pops to mind is not transparency to God. Jesus lived his life in accordance to God’s plan and he didn’t have to be flashy or “naked” to do it. He cared for people’s hearts. Also, anyone who knows anything about reality tv knows that the way you act on camera and the way that it is edited is anything but “real”. Who are we trying to fool? Having a bit more insight into the “real” situation going on at Flamingo Road this pastor is anything but “naked.”
ted
September 8, 2007
Wow.
I thought evangelicals were all about the direct tie between the believer and Jesus, all against the human mediators.
Please don’t drill the Catholics for honoring saints who poured out their lives for the poor when evangelicals are watching a pastor on a webcam for 4 weeks.
It’s nuts.
Compare and contrast the “approach” of the Naked Pastor with this guy who preached on Saturday
Making a pilgrimage means setting out in a particular direction, travelling towards a destination. This gives a beauty of its own even to the journey and to the effort involved. Among the pilgrims of Jesus’s genealogy there were many who forgot the goal and wanted to make themselves the goal. Again and again, though, the Lord called forth people whose longing for the goal drove them forward, people who directed their whole lives towards it. The awakening of the Christian faith, the dawning of the Church of Jesus Christ was made possible, because there were people in Israel whose hearts were searching – people who did not rest content with custom, but who looked further ahead, in search of something greater: Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, Anna, Mary and Joseph, the Twelve and many others. Because their hearts were expectant, they were able to recognize in Jesus the one whom God had sent, and thus they could become the beginning of his worldwide family. The Church of the Gentiles was made possible, because both in the Mediterranean area and in those parts of Asia to which the messengers of Jesus Christ travelled, there were expectant people who were not satisfied by what everyone around them was doing and thinking, but who were seeking the star which could show them the way towards Truth itself, towards the living God.
We too need an open and restless heart like theirs. This is what pilgrimage is all about. Today as in the past, it is not enough to be more or less like everyone else and to think like everyone else. Our lives have a deeper purpose. We need God, the God who has shown us his face and opened his heart to us: Jesus Christ.
Honestly, who’s more centered on Christ?
DLC
September 9, 2007
How can you comment when it has not even started? You have not even heard his message. Yeah, it is flashy, but if that is what it takes to reach people with God’s message than it is worth it. Besides after hearing Troy’s first teaching and seeing his “smile” in all its naked glory, I can tell you that most of you would not be willing to be that authentic! Check it out on the web or on iTunes. Once you get past the flash, you will see the depth of Pastor Troy’s commitment to bring the God’s message to everyone—anyway he can. Keep an open mind and you just might hear God speaking to you!
Heather
September 10, 2007
First of all, His name is Pastor Troy not Tony. I am a member of FRC and mynakedpastor.com is about getting the un-churched and lost souls (90 % of South Florida) to be open to hearing the word of God. If it takes using a taboo word to get everyone talking about it and get them to come to church, Why not?
Given the actions of public pastors recently, I believe Troy will set the record straight that more often than not our pastors are being real by God’s standards. Let’s not let the corrupted few form our view of all pastors. As christians, we should uplift and pray for him. He must be passionate about his God potential to show his private life to us!
Art
September 11, 2007
“Given the actions of public pastors recently, I believe Troy will set the record straight that more often than not our pastors are being real by God’s standards. Let’s not let the corrupted few form our view of all pastors.”
–Excellent point! Troy is unlike some other Florida pastors (Whites) who were not transparent and “naked” with their congregation. Unfortunately they are the standard now that many unchurched people will look at when they think of pastors.
Way to go Troy.
Nate Elarton
September 11, 2007
Awesome Idea
nate
Lance
September 15, 2007
Does anyone truly think that we will get a true picture of this pastor’s godliness through the webcam? Come on, people! No one can see the intent of his heart. The impression will be that sin is only that which could be caught on camera. What about the part Jesus cares the most about, THE HEART!!Will true heart change come from outward compliance to the law of God? I’m not saying Troy is a Pharisee; he’s probably a great guy, I don’t know him, but anyone of us could “play for the camera.” The problem with it is that it minimizes the sin that lurks beneath our facades, the sin Jesus is really after.
Nick
September 16, 2007
If you’re taking a 2 minute look and see Troy sitting on his couch – you’ll definitely not see godliness; just a guy sitting on the couch. However, it you actually pay attention to this site and watch the devotion time (5am M-F), Naked Couch time, watch troy answer blog posts from those watching, etc, you’ll begin to see how he is trying to reach out to the global community and do his best to openly represent Christ.
Peggy Hammond
September 23, 2007
If this advertising brings to the church people who would never enter the church, I think it is brilliant! Maybe more pastors need to be “naked”. It might make them seem more real and people may not be so turned off by religion.
Lee
February 24, 2008
What happened to trusting in God?
Seems to be more concerned with what the people think than God. When people know they are being watched they will always try and do the right thing.