‘Heavy Metal Church’ SADLY Announces Two New Church Plants, Expansion of Ministry
In the summer of 2011, Senior Pastor and Founder Brian Smith launched the First Heavy Metal Church of Christ. Branded with hard rock and metal messaging and ethos, it’s clear he’s targeting a very particular audience:
According to the church website, “(We are a) bible-based church for those that would probably never step foot into a traditional church building because of snooty self-righteous, judgmental, legalistic so-called “Christians”… You know, the kind that tells you that you will go to Hell for drinking a beer, but yet Jesus turned water into wine! The kind that tells you that you will burn in Hell for smoking a cigarette because it is “harming the temple” while they are 150 pounds overweight and double-fisting McDonalds every day… Please do not blame God for these imposters… They are NOT accurately representing Jesus plain and simple.”
Like many themed churches before it, there is a focus on us-vs-them mentality, along with a distinct lack of maturity and learnedness, exemplified by the casual cussing and crass humor that permeates the content and the sermons (which are based on heavy metal song titles and bands and are really bad) Worship is eclectic, but usually involves a metal band doing hard rock or metal worship.
Smith, who is part of a secular metal band, Saint Hellion, describes himself as a “Rebel Evangelist for Christ” and a “rocker” through and through. He says “I’m not your stereotypical preacher. That is not my call. I am inked up, bald and prefer an Iron Maiden tee shirt over a dress shirt any day!”
His church leans into the ‘metal’ image. Visiting the church site for the first time gets you this message:
Their Facebook page is, in a word, grotesque. Along with posting pictures of tattoos and status updates like this, it is interspersed with crude, coarse, and frankly disgusting content.
Furthermore, it regularly features pictures of nude men and women, including a series of senior citizen nuns in skimpy bikinis for no discernible purpose other than to shock and titillate.
Sadly, this ‘church’ is growing, and recently announced church plants in New Jersey and Paintsville.
What a shame.