I found this as I entered the lobby of one church...

And then found a brochure on my pew/chair advertising an upcoming Sunday morning service called "Blessing of the Bikes" complete with a Harley-Davidson logo.  They have a special guest coming.  "Dennis Rogers:  Named pound for pound the world's strongest man" will "hold back Harleys from taking off at FULL THROTTLE!"  

To begin the service there was a 30 minute rock concert in which we were supposed to sing along, but it was distractingly loud and most people simply stood and watched.  The lyrics of one song went like this...

Count me in.

Come on count me in.

And you can count me in.

Count me in.

Ooh ooh.

Ooh ooh.

Yes, they actually flashed up on the screen the "word" ooh four times.  

On the way out I used the men's room.  (Readers know I don't usually give such detail, but I can't resist.)  Hanging over the men's urinal was this...

You may not be able to read the caption but it begins, "Excellence is never an accident...."  Over the men's urinal?  

Out of the men's room I passed "Hebrews Cafe" where I could have purchased a latte had I been so inclined, but I was anxious to get to my car.  Fortunately, the church put large speakers in the parking lot blasting Christian music to accompany me.  

Here's to EXCELLENCE!

That should not be perceived as a problem to be dreaded but as a privilege as we teach God's people.  But, let's be honest, more than a few ships have run aground on these shores.  There have been some recent high-profile examples of preaching on sex that run the gamut from unwise to unhelpful.  

So, how should talk about sex from the pulpit?  Here are my thoughts, but I'd love to get counsel from other guys (especially as I come up on Proverbs 5-7):

1. I'm comfortable being pretty frank about these things.  The Bible contains a lot of stories about and warnings against some serious sexual misconduct.  I am personally fine with being frank; in fact the church needs us to be honest about these things. 
2. On the other hand, some people will have different levels of comfort with the use of certain terms. Usually people with children between 9-14 years old are particularly sensitive to ideas being put in their kids' heads.  As a pastor I want to love those people and care for them well, even if I can't identify with their concerns.  So I assume that I am going to have to speak sensitively and euphemistically at some points. 
3. When talking about sex, we should not be graphic, crude, or casual.  
4. I've learned it's good to run these things by people who are more conservative/sensitive than I am. My policy going forward is to run it by the elders of our church before I go live on Sunday morning.     

What would you guys add?  How do we accommodate people's personal preferences without gutting the Bible of its meaning?  Schmucker, you once publicly called me out for using the "M" word from the pulpit.... what's your advice?  

Pastor Mike,

In your opinion, at what times are curse words ok or not ok?  I know of two crude phrases/curse words in the Bible ("my little finger is bigger than my father's loins" and "i consider them rubbish.").  And how would we reconcile this with verses that say that coarse joking and filthy language are off limits for believers?

You are without a doubt the best pastor in the world,

Name