Last week, ABC’s “Nightline” program aired a story about yet another parent who is grooming their child for future employment in a particular vocation. The video below depicts yet another soccer/little league mom and dad pushing their kid to fulfill a fantasy that they could not fulfill for themselves. The only difference is that these guardians are pimping their kid to peddle the Gospel:
There’s not much to be said after that display – the footage says enough. While some will accuse the bedeviled “mainstream media” for “blowing this out of proportion”, you can’t deny that these nutty guardians provided the wood for the fire – an innocent child, a child that is clearly adept at mimicking the stage craft he’s seen most of his life.
Sadly, at this age, Terry Durham has no idea about how to soberly preach or teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ – instead, he has an idea of how to put on a religious show. Even sadder, young Terry (who doesn’t want to perform for his handlers for the rest of his life, by the way) will probably be handed off to a high-profile pulpit pimp for further grooming.
Sick indeed…
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It’s straight-up child labour and the darn parent/grandma pimping him should get locked up.
I saw this some time ago via a link on Apostasy Watch (I’m surprised you just now picked up on this). I agree Douglas, it is a child labor law issue, but it is so much more than that.
As the title of this post suggests this boy, along with many others by viewing this mess, is being groomed for future pimping and exploitation by the wider “body” (the family is already doing that). Anyone with an ounce of biblical discernment will see that a child has no capacity for “teaching”; they are only capable of mimicking what they see and hear-http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/us/01preach.html. It’s also quite clear the people fawning over this child are w/o discernment and wisdom. Otherwise, they would have condemned this mess from the giddy up and would have put this to bed.
I have nothing against little Terry (he and his brother are cute in their suits), but we have to stop this arbitrary handling of something that is so sacred! God, His Word and all that is associated with Him are clearly not esteemed here, and has been mocked by a child, all in the name of “the spirit moving.”
Terry would be better off being groomed for politics than the pulpit.
Ugh. How disgusting. And how sad that pagans can see right through it but Christians can’t.
I think it’s because most of them may not be Christians. What say you?
It’s a crying shame as well as an insult to me to shove such a novice as these to stand before me unless I’m bound and gagged. They haven’t experienced any of life’s woes or ills in effort to help me overcome and help equip me for what’s ahead in life.
Preaching is effective when proclaiming “The Gospel”, Equipping of the Saints is secondary to the proclamation, but we live in a day an age where sometimes neither is going on i.e…. The gospel (false gospel of) of your ship is coming in or your breakthrough is coming through.
Terry is in for a hard road ahead, because he is blind to the fact, that those called are called to serve, without doing it with hoopla and fanfare that the T.V. Evangelist covet so much.
Hopefully he can read and study the book that he is preaching out of, as well as get a revelation from The Lord as to what his word calls for him (Terry) to preach.
I’m really not impressed with these empty wagon, non-experience having type ought to be on the playgroung type preachers!
Isn’t it cute? NO, NEVER & NOT AT ALL
Unfortunately, I saw this report last week and couldn’t believe how his parents/guardian were parading this young boy around.
Clearly the boy doesn’t want to disappoint his family, but a boy should be a boy. His guardians need to be in jail!! His work schedule alone is something that most adults couldn’t handle.
This is definietly a shame.
shame, shame, shame!
HE preaches 14 to 16 times a weeks during the summer???
Jesus is a product? (He got that from T.D. Jakes)
Marketing his child with T-shirts, posters, and sermons for sale more than promoting Jesus Christ?
Grand Ma Ma says she knows nothing about HER OWN CONVICTION IN COURT???
Forgive me if I am wrong, but at what age did Jesus start preaching? ( and he was God’s Son )
If Terry some how survives his Grand ma and fathers instructions, once he is old enough to make his own choices I dont think it will take him long to either burnout, leave the ministry and go to medical school, if he has that option.
Lord I pray for Terry’s future and that he can decide what HE wants to do instead of the dollar signs in Grand ma and his fathers eyes.
Child ‘Prechers’ + Child Labour + Parents/Guardian + pimping him = Child Abuse!!!!! This is sad.
This is pathetic. But i do wonder if this passage means anything to these people in regards to the young man’s qualifications.
1 Tim 3:1-7
“1This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
2A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
4One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
5(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
6Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
7Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
Reminds me of those sick mothers that parade their little girls around in “beauty pagants”. Dragging them from state to state, selling their little bodies. This boy is being paraded around the same way, wearing a pimp suit and being used to raise money. I’m shocked that churches support this foolishness-how embrassing. This is being passed off as preaching and the sheeple are gladly laying money at his feet. Grown women crying and bucking because he laid hands on them? May God have mercy.
Advice to grandmother and dad, get a job and stop pipmping this child. Jesus is not a product to be sold. To the grandmother, how can you not remember being convicted of a serious crime and spending 3 yrs on probation?
And to the dad, I like to see the paperwork on the “trust fund”.
Just a bit of a side note.
Who ever does this childs web-site might want to retire and let someone else take over.
Ever heard of spell check?
His Grand mother went to Orlando Christian College. I may have to do some research, but I don’t believe that school exist.
Child abuse, profiteering, ignorance of the Word -so much is going on in this story. The child is a victim, the grandmother and father are predators and oppressors and the sheeple are aiding and abetting (although maybe unwittingly).
In short, these people are making commerce of God’s Word.
This is so shameful. This poor little boy. I hope that this doesn’t in the future turn him totally away from GOD. GOD is not a racket, HIS gospel is nothing at all to be “bought into.” HE is not a pyramid scheme, Grandma. Young Terry may already know what he is doing is not right, but how does she stop? He has his own father and grandmother living off him, how does he tell them and the thousands of people he has preached to that he doesn’t want to anymore? He said he wanted to be a pediatrician, I hope and pray that he gets to do that instead of be a pawn, pimped out by his own father for money. Scary thought: How many of today’s alpha pimps in the pulpit actually started out the way Terry is now?!?
Dante has a special section in hell for people like that father and grandma.
Unbelievable! He is exploting this child! Where is his mother? I would like to listen to one of terry’s sermons to see if there is any biblical truth outside of all of the shouting and hollering he does.