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Missouri based James River Church is facing immense backlash on social media after clips of their recent Stronger Men’s Conference went viral. Attendees of the event could experience a rock performance, guest speeches and strangely a monster truck tank running over cars. Republican senator Josh Hawley also spoke during the group prayer and his talk left several netizens confused. Internet users were concerned about the church’s extravagant celebration and were not pleased by the seemingly consistent encouragement of violence and rage.
Clips of the James River Church event have gone viral across social media platforms. In one of the clips, one can see a rock band performing on a stage with the American flag in the background. A machine tank also makes its way through the stadium, with a person sitting inside it using a fake firearm. The tank runs past four cars with fireworks placed in the background.
The video left netizens immensely disturbed. Many could not believe that a church was encouraging and celebrating such violence. Twitter user @prideforMO noted that the number one cause of death of kids is by gun violence. They also wrote online:
“When we have 13k kids in foster care. This is the moment Jesus would flip the tables in the temple…”
Internet users were also concerned about Josh Hawley’s speech who incoherently spoke about a man’s purpose. He said at the Jakes River Church function:
“There are few things more important in a man’s life than purpose. Purpose it tells us who we are. It tells us what we’re here for. It tells us where we’re going. Purpose gives a man a sense of identity, it gives him a sense of momentum in his life, a sense of direction. There are a few things that a man with purpose cannot do.”
He went on to add:
“Your life is a life of influence. Your life is a life of significance and God want to use you to do something that he won’t use nobody else for. He has something for you that he does not have for anybody else. He has called you for a specific task of purpose in this day and in this hour.”
In another clip, Hawley went on to speak about what it means to be a “mighty man of valour.”
Netizens react to viral James River Church event
Internet users could not believe that such an event was organized by a church. Many were disturbed to see so much fire and exaggerated performances at the prayer event. Some people also felt like the James River Church was conducting cult-like activities. Several people noted how the church’s beliefs were neither spiritual or Christian. A few reactions to the event read:
This is not the first time James River Church is making headlines. In March, they claimed that they regrew a woman’s amputated toe. However, no evidence of the same was made available. The occurrence reportedly took place during guest pastor Bill Johnson’s “creative miracles” livestream. He has also alleged that his friend regrew a kidney as a result of attending the aforementioned praying meeting.
John and Debbie Lindell are the lead pastors of James River Church.
