Entertaining Ourselves ... To Death

Below is an article written by John MacArthur entitled "Give Me That Show Time Religion". It explains why capitulating to the demand for entertainment in our church services is wrong and dangerous. Here it is ...

Can the church fight apathy and materialism by feeding people's appetite for entertainment? Evidently many in the church believe the answer is yes, as church after church jumps on the show-business bandwagon. It is a troubling trend that is luring many otherwise orthodox churches away from biblical priorities.

Church buildings are being constructed like theatres. Instead of a pulpit, the focus is a stage. Some feature massive platforms that revolve or raise and lower, with colored lights and huge sound boards. Shepherds are giving way to media specialists, programming consultants, stage directors, special effects experts, and choreographers.

The idea is to give the audience what they want. Tailor the church service to whatever will draw a crowd. As a result, pastors are more like politicians than shepherds, looking to appeal to the public rather than leading and building the flock God gave them. The congregation is served a slick, professional show, where drama, pop music, and maybe a soft-sell sermon constitute the worship service. But the emphasis isn't on worship, it's on entertainment.

Underlying this trend is the notion that the church must sell the gospel to unbelievers. Churches thus compete for the consumer on the same level as the latest TV reality show or a major motion picture. More and more churches are relying on marketing strategy to sell the church.

That philosophy is the result of bad theology. It assumes that if you package the gospel right, people will get saved. The whole approach is rooted in Arminian theology. It views conversion as fundamentally dependent on an act of the human will. Its goal is an instantaneous, superficial decision rather than a radical change of the heart.

Moreover, this whole Madison-Avenue corruption of Christianity presumes that church services are primarily for recruiting unbelievers. Many have abandoned worship as such. Others have relegated conventional preaching to some small-group setting on a weeknight. But that misses the point of Hebrews 10:24-25: "Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together."

Acts 2:42 shows us the pattern the early church followed when they met: "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Note that the early church's priorities clearly were to worship God and to edify the brethren. The church came together for worship and edification; it scattered to evangelize the world.

Our Lord commissioned His disciples for evangelism in this way: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" (Matt. 28:19). Christ makes it clear that the church is not to wait for or invite the world to come to its meetings, but to GO to the world. That is a responsibility for every believer. I fear that an approach emphasizing a palatable gospel presentation within the walls of the church excuses the individual believer from his personal obligation to be a light in the world (Matt. 5:16).

We have a society filled with people who want what they want when they want it. They are into their own lifestyle, recreation, and entertainment. When churches appeal to those selfish desires, they only fuel that fire and hinder true godliness. Some of these churches are growing exponentially while others that don't entertain are struggling. Many church leaders want numerical growth in their churches, so they are buying into the entertainment-first philosophy.

Consider what this philosophy does to the gospel message itself. Some will maintain that if biblical principles are presented, the medium doesn't matter. That is nonsense. Why not have a real carnival? A tattooed knife thrower who juggles chain saws could do his thing while a barker shouts Bible verses. That would draw a crowd. It's a bizarre scenario, but one that illustrates how the medium can cheapen and corrupt the message.

And sadly, it's not terribly different from what is actually being done in some churches. Punk-rockers, ventriloquists' dummies, clowns, magicians, and show-business celebrities have taken the place of the preacher--and they are depreciating the gospel. I do believe we can be innovative and creative in how we present the gospel, but we have to be careful to harmonize our methods with the profound spiritual truth we are trying to convey. It is too easy to trivialize the sacred message.

Don't be quick to embrace the trends of the high-tech superchurches. And don't sneer at conventional worship and preaching. We don't need clever approaches to get people saved (1 Cor. 1:21). We simply need to get back to preaching the truth and planting the seed. If we're faithful in that, the soil God has prepared will bear fruit.

Thank You

I just wanted to thank everyone who was involved with Sunday's "after service surprise". Laura and I were humbled and deeply moved by everyone's generosity and love. For those of you who weren't there, the church presented us with $100 in cash, two tickets to the Fireside dinner and theater, a firepit (which we've been wanting), a free round of golf, and ... last but not least: a trip to Israel. Amazing. Totally didn't see that one coming. I was like, "Um, the firepit was sufficient, really!" But that totally blew us away and we're more thankful than we could ever say. I'm not so sure we're deserving, but we are thankful. We love you all and look foward to another five years of ministry together.

Celebrating John Calvin

This year marks the 500th anniversary of John Calvin, one of Christianity's most influential leaders. There isn't enough space or time to try and show you how important and influential God's work through John Calvin has been. It's unparalleled and indescribable. When I encountered John Calvin's teachings in Bible college, they transformed my whole Christian walk. I went from thinking that I deserved heaven because of my good choices to realizing I deserve nothing because my right choices were empowered by God's Spirit in the first place. As Jesus said, "You did not choose me, I chose you" (John 15:16). The verse that completely got me was 2 Timothy 1:9 which says that God "has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time..." When were we born again? In one sense, we were born again before we were born the first time. (Pause. Think.) And there are countless verses like this in the Bible - verses which show us God's sovereign control in saving us.

Do we really think we would have chosen God if left to ourselves? Absolutely not. Trust me: you don't want your (or anyone else's) salvation dependent upon your own free will. Let me ask you this: Do you want your children's salvation to be dependent upon their free will? The answer to that question is, "No". Some may stubbornly still say, "Yes!" These are the same people who get angry with God for not violating the free will of wicked men who cause suffering in the world. But you can't have it both ways. You can't maintain that God doesn't violate our free will, yet, at the same time, demand that God stop evil men from doing evil things. Nor can you ask God to protect your children when they choose to act foolishly driving down the highway at 65 mph. It's just nonsense.

Every mature believer needs to come to the realization that if it weren't for God choosing to save them, they wouldn't be saved. For some Christians this doctrine is the delight of their souls. It's what sets them free. For other Christians, this doctrine is utterly contemptable. They hate it. This, however, is the result of rebellion. How do I know it's the result of rebellion? Because Romans 9:18-20 says this: "Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: 'Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?' (Sounds like a familiar complaint to me) But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?" Do you know what that verse tells me? It tells me that it's pure rebellion to despise this precious truth of God's sovereign choice. When we continue to complain about this doctrine, or mock it, or refuse to accept it, we are, in essence, talking back to God. Just like when our children talk back to us, that's what we're doing to God.

So, what should we say then? How can I possibly accept this biblical doctrine which was merely highlighted - not started - by John Calvin? For me, I simply rest in this one fact: God's decision to choose some and not others was done in wisdom (Ephesians 1:8). For some of us, this is simply a trust issue. Can we trust that God is good and fair even though he's sovereign over our salvation? Can you trust that? My prayer is that you will. My prayer is also that, in light of this doctrine, you would never again go back to the silly, empty life of half-hearted devotion. Instead, we should say, "Therefore, in view of God's mercy, I will offer my body as a living sacrifice".