Why I Don’t Trust Pastors Who Never Swear

What Paul, the Prophets, and Jesus Teach Us About Unfiltered Speech

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There are moments in church that never leave you.

I once heard the late, great preacher Tony Campolo speak at a youth conference I attended as a teenager. It was one of those big Christian events — lights, loud music, hyped-up energy, and a carefully curated lineup of safe, inspiring speakers.

At one point, they got Tony up to do a plug for child sponsorship through World Vision. He walked on stage holding one of those little laminated cards with the photo of a kid — big eyes, thin arms, living in a place most of us couldn’t find on a map. The room quieted. People expected a gentle plea, a few touching stats, and a call to “prayerfully consider” donating.

But Tony just stood there. Quiet for a beat. And then said into the mic: “I think the fact that there are starving children in the world is really shit.”

Silence. One thousand evangelical sphincters clenched at once.

He let it hang there.

Then he leaned in and dropped the hammer: “And you know what I think is more shit? The fact that there are people here more upset that I just said the word ‘shit’ than they are about the fact that there are starving children…