http://potw.news.**********/s/potw/20253/jesus-laughed
Jesus Laughed
Preacher Dan Smith turned a rap song about babes with booty into a spoof Internet hit, and used it to help create a new church for people who hate church.
By KEVIN SITES, FRI JUL 6, 6:00 PM PDT
"I like big Bibles and I cannot lie... You Christian brothers can't deny." — Pastor Dan Smith from his Internet video, "Baby Got Book"
Dan Smith thinks Christians take themselves too seriously.
Pastor Dan Smith's 'Baby Got Book' video, a big hit online, helped him start his Momentum Church.
"We can be dorks," he says after Sunday service in suburban Cleveland. "We can be Ned Flanders and basically speak jargon that nobody understands."
The 33-year-old pastor has made it his mission to turn the notion of earnest, boring, humorless Christianity on its head — and tickle its feet until it laughs.
He did just that when, as a creative arts minister for a church outside Washington, D.C., he made a video parody of rapper Sir-Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back," an ode to women with generous behinds.
Smith's version was called "Baby Got Book," and its praise was reserved for "Christian sisters" who carry big bibles.
"It's worn and it's torn," go the lyrics, "and I know that girl's reborn."
At the suggestion of parishioners, he posted the video on the Web, and viewers streamed it millions of times.
Smith isn't the only preacher to find success on the Web. One of the hottest names in religion online today is none other than former "Growing Pains" star Kirk Cameron, who spreads the gospel online via wayofthemaster.com.
Smith used the publicity from "Baby Got Book" to help sell his comedy DVDs. Then he used that money and his newfound fame to start a church "for people who don't like church."
He should know. He says he's one of them.
"Some people don't like church because it's boring, full of hypocrites and often led by greedy dudes who only care about cash flow," Smith writes in a promotional flyer for his church, Momentum Christian Church. "And church is really boring, too. Did I mention that a lot of people hate church because it's boring? I usually do."
"People just feel welcome here and they can just be themselves." — church attendee Cindy Lu
Worshippers say you won't be bored at Momentum. You may not even feel like you're in a church — because technically you're not. Momentum holds its services in a multiplex movie theatre in a suburban shopping center.
Salvation and Popcorn Buckets
On a cool spring Sunday morning, people are filling the lobby of the Cinemark in Valley View, Ohio, warming up with coffee and hot chocolate and munching on donuts and bagels. It is boisterous and full of laughter and excited chat. It feels more like a family holiday gathering than church.
A crowd gathers around television monitors where Smith's "Baby Got Book" video plays on a loop along with other comedy videos he's made, and videotapes of past services.
"I said ladies, yeah, ladies," Smith's voice is heard on the video, "Do you wanna save people from Hades? Yeah!"
The smell of popcorn fills the air and large, framed posters of classic movie stars like Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne hang on the walls.
Smith is running around with a Starbucks coffee in his hand.
"My salvation," he tells me, motioning to the coffee, after explaining that his wife Shannon just gave birth to their third child yesterday and he was up most of the rest of the night writing today's sermon.
A steady stream of people line up to give him congratulatory hugs and handshakes.
The service is as complex as a Broadway show, with comedy skits, stories and a multi-piece band. Like a professional stage show, the service has its own rundown sheet with lighting, audio and video cues.
And then there is Smith's sermon, "Superhero Parables," in which he encourages attendees to use their own special gifts to serve others and God.
"If one day you wake up and realize you've been bitten by a radioactive spider and you've got something new in your repertoire," he tells them, "there's this unspoken code among superheroes that says, you know what, your life is not your own anymore."
Smith electrifies his services with a blend of music and comedy.
At the end of the service, the collection is taken up in popcorn buckets.
"I grew up going to Catholic church, so this is very different for me," says 25-year-old Cindy Lu after the service. "But it's just more relaxed. People just feel welcome here and they can just be themselves."
Finding a Way
Smith himself didn't grow up in a religious household, but came to the faith, he says, through the help of a neighbor. That outsider attitude, he believes, helps him to round up the "unchurched," just like Jesus did.
He says about 200 people attend each week, but admits his unorthodox approach has also drawn critics.
A posting about his Internet video warns viewers "to beware of false prophets."
Smith shrugs it off.
"We're not trying to reach other Christians," Smith says, "If you love your church, stay at your church. That's awesome. But for people who haven't gone in ten years — or all of their lives — I think there's a lot of people who might need to hear the message of 'maybe this might be the church that I can go to.'"
The same church, Smith says, that welcomes people who cuss, watch R-rated movies and smell like cigarettes; the church where "Baby Got Book" is always in rotation and whose services are available by Podcast if you just happen to sleep in some Sunday.
