If Greater Second Missionary Baptist Church is like most houses of worship these days, it has trouble filling pews.
The COVID-19 pandemic kept people away from churches in Chattanooga and across the county for months in 2020, and many never came back.
But after a recent sermon by Pastor Dr. Steve Caudle, one in which his words sounded like he was advocating violence and which has blown up on social media, Greater Second Missionary Baptist may have a few lapsed members and a number of visitors who drop by to see what he says next.
After all, as P.T. Barnum is alleged to have said, “There is no such thing as bad publicity.” Or, as Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying, “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”
Caudle, for his part, is telling folks who ask that his words about violence and Elon Musk, the man tasked by President Donald Trump with eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in government, were taken out of context. And he said everyone who knows anything about preachers should know he was talking about spiritual warfare, not physical warfare.