Charles Spurgeon once warned that when the church abandons reverence and doctrine, it eventually trades the pulpit for a stage—clowns entertaining goats. He meant it metaphorically, of course. He was talking about spectacle replacing substance, amusement displacing worship.
What he likely didn’t anticipate was how literal the circus would become, or that the animals might eventually start injuring the audience in the process.
Which brings us to Champion Forest Baptist Church, where a Christmas performance featuring live animals included a camel being led down the sanctuary aisle—close enough to audience to make contact inevitable.
During the production, the camel kicked a woman seated nearby, injuring her. No persecution. No hostility. Just a church so committed to “wow-factor” “authenticity” that it introduced a large, unpredictable animal into a crowded worship space.
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At this point, Spurgeon’s metaphor barely needs explaining. Watch the clip above and decide for yourself whether this is reverence—or just clowns, goats, and now camels.
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