At a Christian men’s convention, a pastor, Mark Driscoll, got kicked off stage for criticizing a sword-swallowing act and making a suggestion that it looked like something from a strip club.
The event went down during the Stronger Men’s Conference, which was hosted at Springfield, Missouri’s Great Southern Bank Arena. The event is devoted to “helping men to become all that God has created them to be.”
As Driscoll took the stage, he started to criticize sword swallower Alex Magala’s previous performance at the conference.
Magala removed his shirt, scaled a pole on stage, and swallowed a sword during the performance.
Videos uploaded online show Driscoll informing the audience, “I’ve been up since 1 o’clock in the morning. I have been praying and my heart is heavy for you, which is why I’m hoarse. The Jezebel spirit has already arrived, and although it’s not what I want to say, I want to proceed with extreme caution.”
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He continued: “Our event was opened by the Jezebel spirit. This is not a criticism or a correction of anyone. This is a statement of observation. There was a podium in front of the word of God. It was an elevation. There was an Asherah pole on it, the same kind of pole used in strip clubs by women with the Jezebel spirit to entice males”.
“In front of that was a man, who ripped his shirt off like a woman does in front of a pole at a strip club. and that’s how that man “ascended” the pole, then he swallowed a sword and Jesus cried,” he continued.
Following the chastisement, senior pastor of the James River Church in Missouri, John Lindell, who organized the event, was heard yelling Driscoll’s name and told him he was “out of line.”
Driscoll responded, “Alright, Pastor John, I’ll take that,” as he turned to walk off stage. “Thank you.”
Following Driscoll’s exit, the crowd erupted in loud applause, with many yelling, “Bring him back!” as Lindell took the stage.
He then cited Matthew 18 as an example from the Bible – “Go to your brother in private if he offends you.”
