(workingonmyredneck file photo)
For those of you who may not have watched the Nationwide race Saturday night from Nashville, you may have missed the most creative and entertaining invocation in NASCAR history!
The invocation was given by Pastor Joe Nelms from the Family Baptist Church in Lebanon, TN. It started out as your ordinary invocation. However, shortly after beginning to give thanks the prayer made a very different, creative, and entertaining left turn!
Pastor Nelms started out by quoting some Biblical scripture, as most invocations begin. Pastor Nelms specifically quoted the phrase that states that “in all things give thanks”.
Pastor Nelms then breaks with the traditional invocation and begins to give some rather unusual thanks. His invocation now sounds more like a commercial for all the entities that are involved within the NASCAR racing community. He begins to give thanks “for these mighty racing machines”. He goes on to elaborate and gives thanks to the Fords, the Dodges, The Chevrolets, and the Toyotas, He then goes on to thank Roush and Yates, Jack Roush and Doug Yates, for partnering in producing these engines with “the mighty horsepower”. He thanked GM for producing those R07 engines. He also took time to thank Goodyear for producing those fine racing tires. He also wished to give thanks to Sunoco for mixing up that fine racing fuel. The latter two partnering in great performance.
But most importantly, and extremely personal to Pastor Nelms, he expressed to God his heart-felt thanks “for his smokin’ hot wife, Lisa”! That reference was reminiscent of the movie, Talladega Nights!
Now if this wasn’t entertaining and creative enough, he concluded his prayer in a totally unconventional way! He concluded his invocation with,” In Jesus’ name, boggity. boggity, AMEN”! (ol DW, Darrell Waltrip, would have been very proud!)
Now the analysis by workingonmyredneck of this prayer is, that it was totally creative and not blasphemous in any means! What Pastor Nelms did accomplish, however, was to get the undivided attention of all the race fans, the drivers, and the TV viewers last Saturday night. There was no doubt that he was giving thanks from the bottom of his heart. Additionally, there was no doubt that he was a die-hard NASCAR race fan, exhibiting his knowledge of all the components that make up a successful NASCAR racing event.
Notwithstanding the commercialism of the invocation, what Pastor Nelms did accomplish was to get the race fans, the sports writers, and the news media discussing his creative, and rather unconventional pre-race invocation that was delivered last Saturday night! If enough people hear about, view it, and discuss it, then just maybe he was doing his job as a pastor. After all, isn’t his job to teach, enlighten, and recruit people for God?
He is my kind of Baptist minister!
What is your thoughts on Pastor Nelms, and the job he did last Saturday night?
Check out the video!
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbDIzJ-CnqY
