Justing thinking...

by Gary DeMar, Aug 31, 2009

Before Jeff Foxworthy made a fortune telling redneck Jokes, Jerry Clower had developed his own brand of Southern humor. Born and raised in Liberty, Mississippi, Clower had a talent telling stories that went a long way to help him sell seed and fertilizer. Many of his comedic stories revolved around the non-fictional Ledbetter family. While the stories he told were embellished, they were based on actual events and served as informal chronicles of early 20th century rural Southern life.

Clower often told the story of a church meeting where the members were voting on the purchase of a new chandelier for the church. It seemed like it would be a routine meeting until Uncle Versie Ledbetter got word of the meeting and decided to attend so he could learn more about this new fangled chandelier. Being up there in years, he called on his grandson to take him to the meeting. As the deacons were about to vote, Uncle Versie asked to be heard. He noted “that no one among them could spell it, certainly no one among them could play it and what was [really] needed instead was lighting for the sanctuary.” I suspect that the word “worldview” carries a similar amount of ambiguity as the word chandelier did for Uncle Versie, and yet having a well-defined and comprehensive biblical worldview is necessary to shed light on the world.

Brett Andrews
Lead Minister