Florida pastor preaches longest sermon ever, no 'Eutychus events' reported

MOUNT DORA, Fla. (Christian Examiner) -- Pastor Zack Zehnder preached for 53 hours and 18 minutes to break the longest speech documented by the Guinness Book of World Records. The previous record was 48 hours and 31 minutes.

There are no records kept for the longest sermon in the Bible, but Paul's message in Troas was reported to last from dinner to midnight, nowhere near as long as Zehnder's, although Paul's involved a "death and life" situation.

There were no such "Eutychus events" during Zehnder's record-breaking performance, but the results of his speech-making activity will be new life for recovering addicts.

Zehnder undertook the effort, according to his website, for the cause of addiction recovery, and the $92,000 raised so far will go to support a new not-for-profit formed for that purpose by his church, theCross, in Mount Dora, Fla. The Powerhouse Addiction Recovery Program will address all issues of addiction including alcohol, drug and sex among other forms of dependence.

The previous champion was Vickrant Mahajan in Kashmir, India. On Sept. 19-21, 2014, he talked on 392 different topics with a focus on the importance of thanksgiving.

Zehnder's record-breaking sermon began at 7 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7 and continued until 12:21 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9. He covered the whole Bible using extensive notes and a PowerPoint presentation.

The church is hoping to raise another $8,000 to reach the $100,000 goal for funding their new addiction recovery ministry.