Show(wo)manship & Emotions (kinda long)

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> IOW, if the "saints" would stop all of their "whooping and hollering" (over
> nothing of substance, that is), and being "caught up in emotions", the
> showmanship would stop, or else the "snake oil salesman" would have to
> find a new group of "customers". He can only "sell" something to those
> who are willing to "buy" it.
 
> In my experience, I have seen that the least likely to be fooled are those
> who regularly attend Sunday School and Bible Study.

While it is "normally" the case that these "energetic" type of deliveries lack
any substance, I have seen instances where these "energetic" deliveries are
chock full of the Word and are anointed messages, so I would be careful to
generalize all such messages as "showmanship".

However, it has been my experience that overall, the best messages were
delivered in a calm, deliberate, matter-of-fact way, and for ME, these are the
most effective deliveries.

case in point...my pastor's son is for the most part into the "showmanship"
type of delivery. A lot of "touch your neighbor", "say such and such to the
person behind you", "reach over the pew in front of you and slap someone",
"stand on your head", "lift on leg and say 'glory'"...you get the picture.

Generally, I don't care for his preaching, and I've indicated that to several
of
his family members when asked about it. However, one Sunday, he preached
prolly THE BEST message I've ever heard in my LIFE! It was concerning the
foolish virgins in St. Matthew. His message was calm, succinct, to the point,
well outlined, and when he was finished, there was nothing left to be said. I
was in AWE of the content and the delivery...but that sunday night, he came 
back and was climbing the choir stand again...but anyway...

And it's true...some people get carried away with the emotions of the service.
I
was sharing with someone last nite that I proved this to someone once. I was
on
the drums and another kid was playing the bass...I explained to him how
"shouting and dancing" is simply an emotional response to God's goodness, and
had nothing to do with having the Holy Ghost. Seems that people think that the
Holy Ghost makes you shout and dance...so right in church, I did an
experiment...

I told the bass player to go along with me...so when the emotions started to 
elevate, we began playing "shouting music"...they shouted as long as we
played. Then I told him stop the music...the shouting stopped...after a few
minutes I told him to start the music again, the shouting started
again....then
when we stopped, the shouting stopped...I looked at him as said "you wanna do
it again?" ...so we did it again...same response...he couldn't believe how the
people responded to "our anointing" and called it the Holy Ghost...

Emotions account for more than 75% of the Pentecostal experience (I'm not
a statitician). One of my favorite preachers (Suff. Bishop Dr. Horace E.
Smith, Chicago, IL) once stated that he's been in church long enough that he
could
fool people if he wanted to...he knows the mood to create, and how to create
it...
he said he knows how to "haka masha" (fake tongues) and shake too...but we
can't fool ourselves, nor can we fool God.