CALGARY (ANS) -- The concept of the Lord speaking through heavy metal is a hard one for many Christians to swallow.

But that’s the contention of a Canadian preacher whose book tying popular culture to the will of God is reportedly drawing attention from Christians worldwide.

According to a story by Bill Kaufmann of the Calgary Sun, John Van Sloten admits, however, the preaching that eventually led to his book, “The Day Metallica Came to Church,” cut his Calgary flock’s numbers in half.

“They thought I was going too far, throwing out the Bible completely,” said Van Sloten, 49, pastor of New Hope Church, to the Calgary Sun.

He added, “In most other denominations, I’d be defrocked.”

His congregation fell from 400 to 200 but Van Sloten kept to his sermons that linked the divine to the most unlikely of human experience.

“One of them dealt with God’s gift of drink — in a lot of Christian circles that’d never fly,” the Calgary Sun reported he said.

In 2004, the Calgary Sun said, Van Sloten told his flock how the heavy metal band Metallica’s music embodied God’s message of conquering injustice.

The band was playing a concert in Calgary at the time and, fascinated when told of the sermon but unable to attend, had a video crew record it.

Since then, the Calgary Sun said, Van Sloten has compiled his thoughts on pop culture ranging from the Calgary Flames to films like Crash. He has aligned them with Biblical passages into a book that he says has been widely praised.

Clerics from Australia to the UK have been inspired by his insights, the Calgary Sun reported Van Sloten said, which have also resulted in mention on CNN’s Belief Blog.

“I’ve got church leaders from all over North America saying ‘this is resonating’ — they never really had the theology to back it up,” the Calgary Sun reported he said.

Profits from the book, he says, won’t go to him but towards the activities of his church, which holds Sunday services at West Hillhurst Community hall, 1940 6 Ave. N.W.

Even so, the former real estate developer said he knows skepticism over his intentions will abound.

“Time will tell if this is a fad or if I’m another huckster,” the Calgary Sun reported Van Sloten said.

Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer and the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Now You See Me." Additional details on some of Reynalds' previous books are available at http://www.HomelessBook.com. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net. Tel: (505) 400-7145.