Is this guy the new General Sedgwick?

There are tired sermon illustrations which we've all heard before and then there's General Sedgewick! 3 times in 2011 we had guest preachers who began their sermons with his famous last words. The story goes if you don't know it but I'm sure you do, that General Sedgewick who was a general in the American civil war looked over the battlefield at the enemy before uttering his last words ......'they couldn't hit an elephant at this distance' he was promptly shot in the eye.

 

The first time the congregation heard it there was a laugh, or that sound a congregation makes that is nearly a laugh. The second time a grimace on the face of those listening, the third time an audible groan!

 

Our Assistant Minister Iain Clements has been preaching through 1 Samuel and managed to dig up the life of COUNT Robert de La Rochefoucauld and use it as a brilliant opening illustration for 2 sermons on the same day, both times the congregation loving it, sadly the telegraph obituary is no longer available but there's a few obituaries (NY Times, the Age, the Independent) out there as well as the never failing Wikipedia. You may not know about COUNT Robert de La Rochefoucauld now but I'd be sure you'll be hearing about him in a sermon pretty soon.