Pastor Behind Weed-Themed Easter Promo Blasts Critics In Sunday Sermon: ‘We Don’t Engage With Religious A**holes”
The pastor behind the viral marijuana-themed Easter promo blasted his critics during his church service today, telling his congregants that “we don’t engage with religious assholes.”
Gary Lamb is the lead pastor of Action Church in Canton, GA, which, according to their About Page, “exists to redefine your definition of church!” because “we think it is a sin for church to be boring!”
He went viral last week after, in celebration of Easter falling on April 20 this year (4/20), filmed a promo where, to the tune of a Snoop-Dog song, emerged from an SVU filled with ‘marijuana’ smoke before telling folks, ‘WE’ED like to have you as our personal guest on Easter Sunday
.Lamb addressed it both on Facebook and in his Sunday sermon, first posting to social media that it was ironic he was teaching on addiction during the Good Friday weekend and that “can’t make this s*** up sometimes.”
During his Sunday message he shared:
We are who we are. I am who I am. To quote the great theologian Dusty Rhodes, “I’ve ate with kings and queens and I’ve dined in alleyways on pork and beans.”
Here’s the deal. I’ve done this church thing for a long time. The biggest church in this city I started. When I lost that church going into our fifth year, (Editors note, after having an affair with his assistant) it was the 16th fastest growing church in America. There’s no place I’d rather be than right here. 13 years in, 12 years in, whatever it is. I gave up the opinions of the religious a long time ago.
So here’s the deal, we’re going to laugh around here, we’re going to crack jokes around here, and the person you see on stage on Sunday is going to be the same person you see Monday through Saturday.
So if me making a video making fun of or laughing about the fact that Easter is on 420 this year, offends people, that’s their issue.
And I said all that to say this. Let me remind you, we don’t engage with religious assholes.You take the high road. Do not get online and argue. All they want is for you to argue with them. Most of those people are living in their mom’s basement, sitting on their phone, looking to argue about theology that they know nothing about and they sure as hell don’t live out.
They want you to engage with them. Here’s what we do. We love God and we love people. We started this church for those who don’t do church. We don’t apologize for that. We will never apologize for that. And 13 years in, we will never change that.
Lamb later scoffed at the idea that they were doing it just to make money, saying “Shut the hell up. Good God, people are stupid.”
Decades ago, Lamb founded Ridge Stone Church (later named Revolution Church), which grew to over 1000 people. He resigned from leadership in 2009 after admitting to an affair with his assistant. Within a few months of the news, however, he announced that he was starting a new church- which became his current iteration.
Not without his controversies, he took some heat in 2018 after he proposed the idea that his church spearhead a needle exchange program where drug addicts can come to church and exchange tainted needles with clean ones. He’s also known for his ‘His Give Canton the Bird’ campaign, which provides Thanksgiving turkeys for needy families but also intentionally plays on the double entendre.