ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Pastor Paul Duncan captured his Gen Z youth group's attention this week by delivering a powerful, poignant sermon on "Joseph And His Many Colored Bussin' Drip."
"Joseph had rizz, – his coat was boujee for real, for real. Now it's our weekly ‘Simp for Scripture' time – you finna pull up to Genesis 37-50 for a review? Facts." In the most recent livestream recording, Pastor Duncan blends a summary of the relevant story beats in the Joseph narrative with their theological implications, all with Gen Z terminology sprinkled in throughout the retelling.
"Low key, you remember Joseph's glo-up, but then how he bragged to his brothers and parents that his dreams meant they would bow to him? High-key cringe…he misunderstood the assignment." Pastor Duncan gives generous pauses throughout his lesson to "check the vibe" from his students, and student voices can be heard with scattered "amen"-type affirmations like "facts," "bet," and "that slaps."
Duncan's recounting emphasizes how Joseph acted "extra" in his "Gucci" coat, signifying his father's favoritism ("a total Joseph stan"). In the retelling, this prompted Joseph's brothers to sell him into slavery in Egypt: "He took a major L, fam. Before he ended up advising Pharoah, he was imprisoned after he straight ghosted Potiphar's wife for being sus in his DMs..."
At publishing time, Ascend Church posted an announcement promoting the final message in the series: "What man meant for sus, God meant for dank."
Citing concerns about stiff competition from Amazon and an impossible-to-please Gen Z, Santa has announced he's hanging up the hat for good.
