I emailed Blake Bergstrom, the youth minister who had the little Freudian slip, jokingly asking him to come speak sometime. Surprisingly he emailed me back and included a VIDEO of his little mistake!!! It’s stinking hilarious!
Here’s a copy of his email:
BTW–I’m not Blake.
—–Original Message—–
From: Blake Bergstrom
Sent: Wed 9/14/2005 9:31 AM
Subject: if you thought the audio was funny..wait till you see my face on the video!!
Hi there,
Wow…I never knew that I’d be famous for my theology on
“TENTS and how to PITCH them”!! If you ever need a speaker for your
camps or retreats, my specialties are subjects that most people “feel
uncomfortable with”…I’m the kind of guy that just speaks what really
“needs to be heard”…I really get to the “heart of the matter”…”what
everybody’s thinkin’ but nobody will say”!! HEHEHE
My name is Blake and I am a High School Pastor at an awesome church in
Parker, Colorado, even though they don’t claim me anymore. I recently
sent out an email about a sermon I was preaching and I explained that I
was going through a series called, “Ignite”, which was a series from
Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX. However, the way that I tackled the
account of Lot was probably a little different slant than the way that
Ed Young preached it!!!! In fact, he didn’t hold a candle to the way
that I “undressed that passage”…I threw him under the table!! (I’m
sure he’ll read this, so let me say this publicly…”I did a much better
job of preaching your sermon than you could ever dream!!!)
So, in case you didn’t get the first audio clip that circled the globe
over night, then you’ll need a little explaining. I was doing a quick
recap of the series and I was explaining to my students that bad company
corrupts good character and that we shouldn’t “pitch our tents” to close
to evil. Let me warn you though, that my version of the Bible might not
read quite like yours. Dude, you try and say it out loud…it’s hard to
say, alright…so get off me!!! It’s amazing how switching around one
letter like an “N” can change the entire phrase!!! The look on my face
after I said it is absolutely priceless. Push pause after I “let it
fly” and look at the horror in my eyes…my left eye actually
crosses…funny stuff!!!!!!!
So, since there have been hundreds of requests for the video, here it
is!!! Now, while I’ve got you here, I just want to thank you for all
your emails confirming the fact that I’m an idiot!! I’m going down in a
blaze of glory on this one…I’ll forever be known as the pinching ____
guy!! I’m trying to embrace this new identity, but to be honest I’m not
real sure I’m diggin’ it! What’s become of me…my parents,
grandparents, my children, and my poor wife will have to carry this
legacy for years to come. They had such incredible dreams for my
life…they wanted me to be a well-polished and dignified–“Prince of
all Preachers”…well, maybe I did become that in my own way…I don’t
know!! All I know to say is…”Thank God for His GRACE!!!” After
talking with God about this whole thing, He let me know that when it
happened… all of heaven fell to their side, they started beating the
ground, with tears streaming down their face, and Lot was running around
pinching himself, and all the heavenly hosts roared with laughter…just
like you did!!!!
God’s favorite character,
Blake Bergstrom
High School Pastor
Southeast Christian Church
I have seen some of the most refined preachers mispronounce words before. God Loves our wonderful imperfect selves. Their will always be criticism on the road to the kingdom the Word even states that in some cases friends and family my fall by the way side or even turn against you during your journey. My only prescription for you is the one I gave to my very own husband in the time of trouble LOVE is the key.
(L)etting —(O)nly GOD—-(V)alidate Your—(E)xistence
—God Inspired–
[…] And Blake Bergstrom has been good enough to actually release the video, which Kevin Rossen promptly posted on his blog along with a bonus, an email response from the beleagured youth pastor himself. Here’s an excerpt: […]
That is such an impressive response from Blake Bergstrom.
The look on Bergstrom’s face is absolutely PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!! Not certain when I have laughed so hard. This is one of those cases where you most definitely want to prefer your brother.
[…] If you’ve ever spoken in public, especially in church, you’ll empathize with this poor guy. I’m glad there are no videos of some of my preaching Faux Pas. […]
Fear not, Blake. John Ortberg beat you to it in his now infamous “modern paraphrase” of Psalm 150.
http://mikecope.blogspot.com/2004_12_01_mikecope_archive.html
(Scroll down to “A unique call to worship (from John Ortberg):”)
At least you are in great company!
preachers r people to….now try saying that 3 times
Wow…what a sermon.. But I can tell you that I’m sure everyone that day was paying attention! I’m sure that many out there are proud to be Christians but not many take the heart to stand in front of others and speak about their faith and are willing to take this error in such a good manner. I’d invite him to my church any time. Who knows he may have a new sermon to rave about…
Make the most of this Mr. Blake. I think you should start looking for endorsement offers. I’m not sure who you could be a spokes person for, but someone has got to be willing to pay big money for your fame. Don’t give up your job as a spokesman for God.
Darrin
Vision Magazine had the privilege of meeting and interviewing Blake and the rest of the ministry staff at Southeast Christian Church in Parker, CO the week before this famous incident. As the video shows, Blake is one of those infectious student ministers who attracts attention by sheer volume if nothing else. We got to spend enough time with him to learn what a great guy he is and what an intense passion he has for seeing students walk with Christ. This is the first forum I’ve seen where people have posted feedback, and I’m glad to see that it is all positive.
Jim
hi! just wanted to let you know that i am a graduate student at hte university of illinois and working with a campus ministry..
i watched your video at least 10x! laughing until my stomach hurt. press on, brother!!
Looking good Blake! I had the honor (horror?) of knowing Blake when he was living here in Owensboro, KY.That was back before he became famous (infamous?). I was also lucky enough to see this little jewel early on because his wife sent it to my mother. We all sat around laughing about it for about twenty minutes. After taking a short break allow our stomach muscles to unclench we watched it again and laughed for another ten minutes. Trust me, it is even more hilarious if you know Blake. “Ally, I hope this isn’t on videotape!”
Anyway, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. I hear that America’s Funniest Home videos is calling…
Blake was our high school minister at Owensboro Christian Church in KY prior to his move to CO and we miss him and his family very much, for what should be obvious reasons. He is infectious. His love of God and his enthusiasm in speaking His word is amazingly real and fresh…which could be what gets him into these messes. I’m so glad to see that a little bit of Blake goes such a long way! Love you, brother!
I just retuned from a wedding for my best friend in sedalia, Co. It was at Cherokee Ranch, extravagant wedding. None the less, me, the best man, and the groom were a little nervous before it began. Thank goodness we had a laptop with this hallarious video to calm our nerves. In fact, we brought it up just for that…to get a laugh one last time. We must have played it 50 times over and over, pausing it and laughing till our stomachs hurt. Thanks Blake..it tuned out to be a blessing for us.
Blake is a great friend of mine. He is such a good sport about this obviously embarrassing mistake. Isn’t it great when you can laugh at yourself. Blake you rock bro. The facial expression is the best ive ever seen. Blake is a phenomenal youth pastor. Best I’ve ever seen.
thats awesome. i bet ur a good pastor. i like ur since of humor…. and i bet the kids do to.. and also its good for them to see that even pastors can screw-up sometimes… its just what you do with that mistake that counts. haha but hilarious!!!
Until we learn to laugh at ourselves we can’t expect anyone to take us seriously. Blake, you’ve had us rolling in the aisles at this most blessed of blunders – consequently we’re ready to listen to what you have to say on issues with real gravitas.
We salute you. Feel free to pitch whatever you like over here in the UK, anytime.
I wish I was half as classy in the attitude department – great response…great laughs- I guarantee the real message will make it’s way in while the laughter rolls out. Keep On Keepin ON!
Hilarious! Has me in mind of an old pastor of mine who was trying to recite Eph 6:12-18 from memort when preaching….except that when he came to “the fiery darts of the Enemy” for some reason it came out as “the diery farts…”
LOL!
You e-mail and video were sent to my office, which incidently, is a law firm in New Brunswick, Canada. Needless to say, when co-workers heard my laughter and wondered the cause, I HAD to forward the clip along to a couple of them …………. . Canadians (at least those I know) believe the Lord has a sense of humor, too; otherwise, he wouldn’t have created us as humans. I’m certain laughter was heard throughout heaven, and indeed both the US and Canada. God bless (actually, I’m certain he already has)!
That was so funny to watch your face after you’d realized what you had said… thanks for the laugh! 🙂
I THINK YOUR VIDEO IS SO FUNNY!!!!!! LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LO L
Blake…WOW!! That’s all I can say. Not only am I in tears with laughter…but I can also think back about how you would always screw up for us. I love your little ADD self. Thanks for the laugh bro! Man…I just love you! If Colorado fires you, come back to Owensboro. We like pastors that speak of female anatomy in their sermons. ROCKIN’
BLAKE!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! i love your messups. we all here in o’boro miss you soooo much. we miss you’re enthusiasm. theres no1 else out there like you. you’re such a great individual. i have sat here and watched this video over and over at least 20 or more times. i’ve shown my entire family and posted it on my myspace for all my friends to see! we miss you blake, please come back and visit us soon!
Blake………I am 44 years old and could not stop laughing. The joy of the Lord is great!!!! My husband was a youth pastor and had few problems with words, which always brought so much fun and laughter into the group. The teenagers loved him for that!
Your humbleness touched my heart and I only have great respect for you. Keep up the good words and the funny ones too. You are truly a blessing!!!! Great is the Lord!
Blake,
Man, you are great! How funny! God will use this hysterical slip of the tongue to draw kids to your youth ministry. You can be a light to the world with your sense of humor, drawing in people who may not even be interested in hearing the Gospel. Humor breaks down defenses and walls. You seem like a great guy, to be able to laugh at yourself and have fun with this. I think you rock!!
TJ
What makes this video great is not the slip–that was good, but every pastor has said something silly. It’s his reaction, and the way he just deals with it and runs with it. He may look embarassed, and he was, but he handled it like a champ!
Hey, Blake. This EXACT SAME THING happened in a sermon witnessed by my dad and sister a few years ago. It’s a story that now comes up a lot when the family is together. In this case, the pastor moved on as if nothing had happened. However, my dad and sister (and one lady in the choir) had to struggle to control their laughter. To make matters worse, my dad leaned over to my sister and said — in a louder-than-acceptable West Texas accent — “Lot ought not’ve done that!”
This broke my sister up.
Sorry. You’re still not Blake.
Where can I download this?
Dude – You are hilarious !! My husband is also a youth pastor and his kids would have made him pay for a very LOOOOONG time. I laughed HARD…OUTLOUD…WITH MY HEAD THROWED BACK…you know, the kind of laugh that makes your stomach hurt/eyes water/dry throat…you get the picture. Thanks for that awesome moment!
Hysterical. I put a link to your site on my blog. Thanks for this.
[…] To explain: in a moment I’m sure he will regret forever our Covenant Brother –Keith by name confessed that there are times when he just thinks “I’m better than….”. We’re all about supporting those we love and so a regular feature of this blog will be a little thing we like to call “Keith is better than…” and our first winner is this guy. Just click on the highlighted link play the video and enjoy (for extra fun watch his left eye right after he makes his “pitch”. […]
Blake- Hey that video is halarious. You put on a good class for
all of us youth kids at NYR thanx a bunch so do you think you
might come to NYR next year I’d like to meet you. This was my first year at NYR it was so amazing I like you you’re real
funny. You’re right god is so amazing well NYR loved you !
I hope you come to NYR next year pls… Hey- email me if you could I would love to hear more about god from you..
your love for god is so passionate and random acts of kindness. WOw your amazing showing gods love to others at NYR.
Well
Blake:) Email me when you can…
This reminds me of the time my friend was leading worship in church, and he began to say, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!”, but instead blurted out, “Let everything that has breasts…”
I knew a worship leader friend who was trying to get the congregation to clap after a piece of music, and asked them to give the performer a big “hand job.”
In my first year of teaching music (and after recently getting married) I wanted to express how much I enjoyed having a saxophone player in our band. My exact words were, “It was great to have sax this year.” To which a wise parent responded, “You said it.”
It happens to the best of us…
[…] Click here to see a great letter that Blake writes in response to his blunder. He really seems like a […]
this video is a riot! He has a sense of humor about his mistake. I am so impressed with his response. I might come to see one of his sermons if only to witness another slip of the tongue if nothing else. Go titpincher!!
Is this about the guy who meant to say “Pitch his Tents?’ I declare that a tongue twister. When I say it, i end up saying pinch his tits
Hey Kevin,
I am 13 years old, and just went into the “teenager stage” (You know… sleeping in, puberty and all that junk). I was raised in a loving church in Harrisburg, Illinois. I am in the youth group, and my church is one of the most important things in my life. I think that it’s intresting the way that you put the bible into a sermon teaching kids to be careful who your friends are (way better that ed young’s, he-he). You have a GREAT sense of humor! Keep seeking the lord, and let him be the light of your path!
God Bless!
Isaac A.
i miss blake so much! i want him to come back to southeast and at least visit! man o man, did i love that pastor. i’m so honored that he was actually MY pastor. lemme tell you, 10 hours to durango, colorado sitting next to blake is one fun ride! funny stuff man.
omg i can't believe this is real