I am sure that there have always been preachers and pastors who made a habit of using coarse or crude language. Maybe they even outright cussed. I suspect most, if not all of these preachers were somewhere out on the fringe. I remember Gene Scott used to sit in his recliner smoking cigars, drinking scotch, and cussing as he "taught" and "preached".
In 2003, Thomas Neslon published Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. About half way through the book, he introduces us to Mark. Mark pastors a church in Seattle and says a lot of cuss words. Mark is Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. In Driscoll's defense, he doesn't cuss anymore. He does a really good job, I think, of watching his language. He can be a little coarse or crude sometimes, but he doesn't really cuss.
Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, recently posted this video about preachers who cuss. I think it is a wise admonition to those who speak the truth of the Gospel. Warning: Young demonstrates some of the language he warns about.
What do you think about Young's take on this? How far should preachers go with their language in trying to relate to their audience?
