Entertaining the Flock...?

Romans chapter 1 challenges us with its chilling words "they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man" (vs 22-23). Man has the propensity to change God and the worship of God into what he desires. Instead of doing what the Lord says, we easily and quickly do what we want, and then dub that as "honoring God."

Worship is particularly susceptible to this perversion. In the Old Testament Israel struggled to maintain fidelity to God and His structured, ordered, reverent worship. Idolatry, with its outrageous sensuality and pagan rites was much more entertaining. Time and time again Israel found they could not resist idolatry's exciting allure (Numbers 25:1-2). The Old Testament ends with Malachi's testimony that the people found God's ordained manner of worship to be, in short, boring (Malachi 1:13).

Things have not changed much. As denominational churches have drifted further and further from the Bible they have lost their place in people's lives. Why should someone go to church if there is no such thing as right and wrong, sin or righteousness, heaven or hell? As churches emptied out some “bright minded” hit upon the answer... you should come to church because it is fun.

We are now squarely in the church-as-entertainment era. Here are a few representative quotations and anecdotes that clearly describe what this is about. Barry McMurtrie is the Senior Pastor of Crossroad Church in Corona, California. Their attendance runs over 6500 on Sunday. How do they get those kind of crowds? Barry describes his ministry philosophy is to make his audiences feel elated by what they hear. Whether its laughter, or weeping, his job as he sees it, is to make people feel good about coming to church. He wants his crowd to leave feeling elated. Really?  Sadly, he like many others leading large mega churches, don’t understand the church isn't here to entertain people and make them feel elated. That is not the mission of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The job of preaching is to teach people the truth about Jesus, convict them in their hearts of sin, break them down if necessary, so they can and will repent and be saved. 

Max Lucado, preacher for Oak Hills church in San Antonio (formerly the Oak Hills church of Christ before they changed their name) said this about entertainment: "No longer can we afford the luxury of thinking that the people who are sitting in our pews are going to be there every Sunday. We have to arrest their attention. We have to use every device possible to reach them and to teach them and we need not be so apologetic about entertaining them. I mean, they’ve been entertained all week long, every time they turn around. l have no apology for putting a good singer in front of them to entertain them if they're not Christians. You've got to do something to reach them. ”What about God’s Truth... isn’t that enough?

Ed Young, pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas (a church that draws over 15,000 to its weekend services) once said... "I want people at Fellowship Church saying `What is coming next? I'm not sure what's going to happen next.' He is famous for keeping people guessing, doing everything from driving a Ferrari on stage to showing a video clip of him ordering a hamburger at McDonald's during his "sermon." Once he brought out an espresso machine and told the "parable of the coffee" while making a cup of espresso. Ed is very good at entertaining a crowd, and lots of people go to Fellowship church to see what exciting and entertaining thing will happen next.

What can we make of this thirst for entertainment that has infected worship in so many places?  Congregations once lead by ministers who preached an unvarnished gospel?

First, it's all about numbers. Lucado’s quote makes this clear: "you've got to do something to reach them." Whatever it takes is the dominant philosophy at churches all across the country. We're going to get worldly-minded people in here any way we can! Since Americans love to be entertained let's roll out the entertainment. If you entertain them, they will come.

Unfortunately, this thinking is built on the false premise that God wants big numbers. That is a distinctively American way of thinking but it is not God's way of thinking. John 6 recorded how Jesus gathered a large crowd in anticipation of a free meal, but when He discerned they were not interested in spiritual things He literally drove them away with stern teaching: "From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more" (John 6:66). This Jesus, our Lord and Savior, the founder and cornerstone of the Church, would certainly not be welcome at many churches today!  what would we ask of Him today.... “come on Jesus, make more bread, do a bigger miracle, because You've got to do something to reach me." Perhaps Jesus would respond that entertainment doesn't "reach" anybody. It just entertains. The truth is what changes people, is not fun and games (John 8:32). The idea of doing anything and everything to draw a crowd simply won't work.  Crowds that come for the wrong reason have been attracted under false pretenses and will leave as soon as the entertainment is better somewhere else. John chapter 6 proves this and today's churches that find they need an ever better show to hold their numbers confirms its truth.

Second, there is a huge amount of confusion about the purpose of worship. Worship is for God. It is not to please us but to please the Lord. "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, 0 Lord" (Psalm 19:14). 

Today,  church is about a feeling, about an emotional response. If I go to church and I don't get all excited and feel charged up then something is wrong. Church is supposed to make me feel a certain way. You certainly don’t want to be reminded of sinful thoughts and conduct and the things that alienate you from God.

The feelings people pursue are those great feelings that can best be described as an emotional high. That is precisely what people want. Ever heard someone say "I don't go to church there any more - I just didn't get anything out of it" or "Church just doesn't do anything for me?" I wonder how many people would judge a funeral service on such criteria? Saying "I don't like funerals, I just don't get anything out of them" or "I'm not going to go to that memorial service because they are so depressing" sounds simply selfish and self-seeking don't they? The purpose of funerals is to honor the one who has passed away and encourage the family by being there. It is not about what I can get out of it. Don't misunderstand... I am not suggesting worship should be as somber as a funeral. 

Worshiping God should be a joyous occasion (Psalm 9:2; 33:1). However, emotions are just not the primary purpose of worship, or our main incentive for gathering together. We worship because God commands it, and it is the right thing to do if you seek to have a rich relationship with Him. We worship because God commands it and because He deserves it. It is not about what we can get from it. It is not about being jacked up by some emotional high. Worship is for the Lord, not us.

Third, entertainment directly contradicts the biblical admonitions for worship. Worship in Scripture is to be controlled and carefully done. Ed Young boasts that he can keep his audience wondering what will happen next, but I Corinthians 14:40 positively forbids such acts. "But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.” 

There is order to worship, a quiet and reverent decorum, that excludes wild displays and uncertainty. How can worshipers fix their mind on God when they are constantly wondering what will occur next [brought on by a human]? No one is saying that the order of a worship service is fixed and can never be changed. What I am arguing is that constant change, constantly mixing it up to keep people on the edge of their seats, is unscriptural and actively fights against the very mind set needed to worship. 

People must know what they are doing, how to do it and then be constantly reminded to keep their focus on God. Then true God-honoring worship can occur. Yet that kind of thing is not very entertaining. Entertainment and worship are two very different animals, forever at odds with one another and unable to co-exist. Invariably, entertainment "eats up" worship because worshipers prefer it, find it easier and more enjoyable. God gets lost, and worshipers gratify themselves.  

No church can compete with the devil in the game of "fun" nor should it ever try to do so.  Sin is always more fun than doing the right thing. If we are appealing to people to come to church because they will enjoy it. then we are sending the wrong message about what church is.  If “enjoyment” is the goal, then people will find they enjoy sleeping in, watching the NFL pre-game show, reading the Sunday newspaper, or just doing nothing a lot more than going to church. 

When you make the wrong appeal, wrong results will follow. Instead, drop the pretense that worship is fun. It is not about fun, however it may be fulfilling, and it should be meaningful. But it cannot be entertaining and be worship. "I was glad when they said to me, `Let us go into the house of the Lord' . . . To give thanks to the name of the Lord." (Psalm 122:1, 4).

Is it really God’s Church... or Mans?

In many respects, the contemporary church in America looks more like a large corporation than like anything described in the New Testament. Even church leaders sometimes bear a closer resemblance to CEOs and corporate executives than to humble, tender shepherds. Sadly, a seeking, searching sinner may not find a clear gospel message being preached in many churches today.   

What they will likely find, is a fan-based message in support of the occasional attendee for whom sins before a holy God is not that big a deal, and learning to trust in and commit one’s whole life to Jesus Christ—is often eclipsed by “success”-oriented programs and an interest in the bottom line.

As a result, many churches have become nothing more than entertainment centers, devoid of God’s Truth, employing tactics that effectively draw people into the church, but are incapable of truly ministering to them once they come.  Converting hearts to Christ should be the mission of the Church, but it has become secondary or non-existent, given over to an atmosphere of entertainment.

God never intended the church to be like that. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.” Notice the Lord’s one condition to that great promise: “I will build My church”. Christ’s guarantee is valid only when He builds the Church His way. When you follow His blueprint, you can be sure that He is doing the work through and with you and that nothing, not even the gates of hell, can stop Him or diminish the results... saved souls. 

So, what’s the blueprint? A logical place to start is at the beginning with the first church—the church at Jerusalem. It began on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit filled 120 believers who had gathered for a prayer meeting. The Lord added 3,000 souls later that same day (Acts 2:41). Those fledgling believers didn’t know anything about building a church. They had no precedent; they didn’t have a guide-book on the church; they didn’t even have the New Testament. Yet it was built Jesus’ way, and as such, it should be the model for the church today.

Back to the Blueprint: Bible Study, Fellowship, and Prayer

Acts 2:42 gives the blueprint they followed: “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Those are the vital elements that make up the actual function and life of the church— and all of that in just one verse!

Here’s an obvious starting point: A church built to the Master’s plan will begin with the right raw material—a saved congregation. Verse 41 identifies the church as being made up of “those who had received [Peter’s spoken] word,” and “were continually devoting themselves...”  The church at Jerusalem was filled with true Christians — those who continually adhered to apostolic teaching.  Committed followers, not fair-weather fans who participated occasionally.

If the church is to be built Christ’s way, it will be redeemed and therefore empowered by the Holy Spirit. An unsaved membership, devoid of the Holy Spirit, has no capacity to overcome self will, personal agendas, and the love of sin. Only believers have divine power in the person of the indwelling Holy Spirit, to resist those things and so manifest the Spirit of God. 

While the early church didn’t have a New Testament, they had God’s Word in the form of the “apostles’ teaching.” The church at Jerusalem was committed to receiving that Word. Doctrine is the basis of the church—you can’t live out what you don’t know or understand. That’s why Paul instructed Timothy to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2-3). 

That time has come. If your church isn’t teaching the truth straight from the Bible, how will you recognize error when it comes? How will you grow? Don’t ever allow anyone to stand in the pulpit who isn’t committed to leading the congregation through a deep, penetrating study of God’s Word.  No varnish allowed... straight up truth... and nothing but the TRUTH.

The central focus of the early church’s fellowship was the breaking of bread — the Lord’s Table. It was the most fitting symbol of their fellowship since it reminded them of the basis for their unity—salvation in Christ and adherence to apostolic doctrine. If you share those things as common ground with other believers, then the Lord’s table—communion—is the most appropriate symbol of your fellowship too.

We eat and drink in remembrance of Christ’s self-sacrificing love that took Him to the cross. In your fellowship, make it your habit to practice the same kind of love Christ demonstrated toward you. Practically speaking, you can always give your life to those God brings across your path. Do you habitually pray for fellow believers? Are you encouraging them, edifying them, meeting their physical needs? Do you love them enough to confront them when they are sinning? Those are the marks of true Christian fellowship. It is church as it was meant to be.

Acts 2:42 says the believers continually devoted themselves to prayer. Sadly, the same devotion to prayer is often neglected today. Churches can pack pews by offering entertainment, but when a prayer meeting is held, only a faithful few trickle in. The early Christians remembered the Lord’s promise: “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14). As they demonstrated dependence on the Lord, the results (Acts 2:43-47) were astounding.

What happens when true believers remain under biblical teaching, in a spiritual fellowship, and in devotion to prayer?  Acts 2:43 says, “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe.” “Awe,” the Greek word for fear, speaks of a sense of reverence. It is reserved for special times when people are struck with wonder because of something divine or powerful that defies human explanation.

Your church ought to be able to instill awe in your community. That first church certainly did. Verse 43 says everyone was in awe of them because “many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.” Though the miracles and wonders of the apostolic times are no longer necessary now that God’s Word is complete, God’s power remains on display. 

What could be more miraculous than giving life to people who are dead in sin? He heals people of their hurts, puts broken homes back together, and brings people out of the bondage of sin to Christ. In short, He transforms lives. When the church follows God’s design, He will do marvelous and powerful things in individual lives before a watching world.  How about baptisms... public declarations of lives changing... new beginnings... nothing could be more miraculous than seeing that manifestation of God’s power every week in your church!  When did you last see a baptism?

The early church was full of love—they “had all things in common” (Acts 2:44). There was ownership in the early church–believers didn’t live in a commune—but no one owned anything to the exclusion of someone who had a need. The Greek verbs in verse 46 translated “began selling” and “were sharing” show that they were continually selling and sharing their resources as needed. That kind of sacrificial love is the result of the Lord’s work in obedient believers who follow His blueprint.

The Lord blesses those who labor according to His plan. First, He fills the obedient church with gladness (Acts 2:46) and praise (Acts 2:47). How can you not be happy when you see God at work in your midst? How can you keep from rejoicing when you watch God use your church to make an eternal impact in the world? Second, He adds to their number. Acts 2:47 concludes by saying that “the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Let our hope and prayer be that all Christians everywhere will let God fashion the church His way as we await our Lord’s return. If you want to make the most of your church, just follow the blueprint based on Truth, and encourage your church leaders to draw all teaching and preaching from His Holy Word alone.

REAL and True Freedom... Are You There?

We read about freedom, dream about freedom, rejoice in the notion of freedom, teach, advocate, and hope for freedom, but what do we mean by freedom?

Freedom means many things to many people.  We can view freedom politically, as having the opportunity to vote for particular ideas, people, or parties which best represent our views.  Closely tied to this is the notion of freedom of speech, where one has the liberty to voice their personal opinion or perspective. Others understand freedom in a financial context, where people seek to free themselves of financial debt, outstanding credit, and burdensome loans.

What does true freedom look like?  Does it look like a voter’s ballot or someone walking out of prison?  Is it seen in being able to buy anything I want or in the fact that I don’t owe a thing to anyone?  Of course, it’s crucial to define what we mean by freedom so that we know what we’re looking for, what we’re hoping to attain.

Say a child runs outside and climbs a tree because he wants to get away and be free.  In his exuberant effort to be free, the boy wanders out onto a tree limb, turns around, and begins severing the last connection he has with the world — the limb.  Having sawed through the limb, the boy quickly realizes that he not only failed in achieving his goal of complete freedom, but discovers that what he was seeking wasn’t true freedom at all.  In his effort to achieve freedom, the boy finds himself in a worse situation then before — broken limbs and all!

Not surprisingly, the Bible says quite a bit about freedom, despite any impressions we might have about it being merely a book of restrictive rules. In reality, if we are willing to consider it, the Bible can help us distinguish between what it means for us to be free from something and to be free to do or be something. Freedom from and freedom to are two very different sides of the freedom coin.

It is interesting that many of the freedoms we seek today are seen as ends in themselves, as a final goal to be attained.  It’s as though we think that once our particular freedom is achieved, all our problems will be solved.  Why?  Because we’ll have freedom!  But freedom from what?  And freedom to do or be what?

For example, let’s say that we’re in deep financial debt.  We realize our desperate state and begin to strategically work our way out of financial bondage.  It may take months, years, or even decades, but eventually we hope to balance our budget and move from being in the red to black.  But, even if we accomplish our goal and attain financial freedom, particularly freedom from debt, have we really attained true freedom?  In other words, does having no financial debt necessarily mean that we have attained financial freedom?

Not really.  See, our hearts, which drove us into debt in the first place, remain unchanged.  It may be the case, and unfortunately it often is, that as soon as we get out of debt, we plunge right back into it.  Why?  Because our hearts see and desire something it cannot live without, or so we think.  So we buy it, and voila!  We’re in debt again.  So, if our hearts are not changed, neither will our behavior change.  That’s why the Bible says that true freedom begins in the heart. We act on our thoughts and behave according to our desires.

Interestingly, the Bible likens the human heart to a tree, in which, “every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit…For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” (Matthew 7:17-18; 12:33-35).  The source of our actions is the heart.  If it’s diseased, the fruit (our actions) will be much less than we hope for.

Of course, it’s always good to be out of debt, but to simply balance the books is only a peripheral remedy.  It is merely treating the symptoms rather than dealing with the disease. True freedom is only achieved when our hearts are changed, not when the books are balanced.

The same can be said for political and verbal freedom.  Both are significantly good and should be advocated and protected, but they are peripheral freedoms in comparison to true freedom.  True freedom occurs only in the heart when it is changed and made new.

What then is this “true” freedom?  There is a debt that every human has, a disease that we all suffer from, which no human strategy can ever conquer or cure. It is not a bondage to external things primarily, though it does work its way out in external expressions.  No, our problem is much deeper.  It is bondage of the will, a captivity of the soul, a deadness of heart.

The Bible tells us that we were made by God to honor Him and delight in Him forever.  Yet, we chose to sin and rebel against God by abandoning our created purpose of worshiping Him in order to do our own thing and pridefully make a name for ourselves.  This rebellion against God, known as the Fall, caused mankind to fall from the innocence in which they were created and become corrupted by sin.

Due to our sin, we have all received the consequential penalty of sin, namely spiritual and physical death.  Death reigns in all of us so every one of us is spiritually dead (separated from God) and will also die physically one day.  Not only this, but throughout our life, the effects of sin permeates everything we do.  The marring stains of sin are pervasive within each one of us, distorting the way we think, desire, and behave.  All of our thoughts, feelings, and actions are tainted by our sin.

Yet, in all of this, the human heart remains free.  Free to choose whatever it desires. But here’s the catch — the human heart is corrupted and enslaved by sin, which elicits evil thoughts and acts.  So, the only thing it desires is bad.  All our thoughts, words, and actions are tainted in various degrees with prideful sin and rebellion against God.  So even though we are free to choose, we freely choose sin all the time.

Ultimately, the final consequence of our sin against God is hell, a state of total and unending disconnection and separation from God, a place of unhindered and perpetual bondage to unrestrained evil, horror, and suffering resulting from everyone doing all their selfish and sinful hearts desire, no matter what harm it may cause to others.  Are you scared...?  You should be!

Yet, God in His love sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to come to earth and willingly die in the place of sinful humans like us to absorb all our sin, rebellion and wrongdoing.  Therefore, all who entrust their complete life to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins will be saved from their bondage to sin and given eternal life in Him and enjoy an intimate and personal connection and relationship with God himself.  Acts 2:38 outlines the promise and the requirement to find true freedom... in Christ.

God gives a way to find true freedom.   And true freedom only exists in Jesus Christ.  How does it happen?  God changes our heart by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  God makes us spiritually alive by working within us to transform our heart. This [new] heart desires to love God.  It sees Jesus Christ as beautiful and desires to love Him as the Lord and Savior of your life.  

By faith, we give our life to Jesus and receive His forgiveness and freedom from sin and its consequences.  Not only this, but we are now free to do the very thing we were created to do — to honor and enjoy God forever.  And this joy in God is from our heart — our new heart given to us by God.

This is true freedom.  This is grace... undeserved kindness and love from God.

Should [Can] the Church be run like a Business?

How the local church is supposed to be run has been the point of many conflicts in Christian circles. People are often very committed to their points of view on the question—and very impatient with those who disagree. 

Let me suggest that only one point of view has any legitimate claim over all the others. That one point of view, obviously, is the one revealed by God in Scripture. The idea that the church must be run like a business must be subjected to the same biblical scrutiny that we are to give any view.

Is the church to be run like a business? Is the church like a business in any way at all? Or do such ideas arise out of human philosophy?

Flat out... there is no biblical basis for comparing God’s church with a business. The Bible never equates the two in any way at all. The “business model” is familiar to many in the United States, but this familiarity does not make it a biblical model for the church.

One might ask what sort of model the Bible does give regarding our relationships within the church or our activities as a church. Does God give us anything to which we can compare his institution of the church? The answer is a resounding “yes!” God frequently compares his church to another institution he established: the family. The church is to operate like a family.

In Scripture God is called our Father (not our CEO). Christians are called brothers and sisters in Christ (not employees). We are said to have an inheritance (not a retirement program). Scripture speaks of family relationships that endure. No one is ever fired or retired. If anyone does leave the church permanently, he or she is considered never to have been a genuine part of the family or made a personal choice to abandon God altogether (1 John 2:19).

We come into the family of God by birth and are given all the benefits of family membership immediately. 1 Peter 1:3-5 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time".

In a family, there are shared responsibilities. Someone cleans the restroom while someone cuts the grass. One person may do most of the cooking, while another may do most of the earning of money to buy the food. But no one does all the work while others look on. There are no second or third class family members. In the family and in the church, people are to work together for common goals.  No one sits in the “bleachers” looking on the work of others.

In a family, there is a clear system of leadership which is imposed on the members of the family by God himself. Ephesians 5:22-23 says, “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.” Ephesians 6:1-3 commands, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.”

Husbands and fathers do not choose the role of leadership. It is given to them by divine decree. If they refuse to accept their God-given role, they are still responsible and held accountable as leaders. It is not theirs to decide whether to lead. The father’s leadership is not changed if someone within the family would prefer to have it another way.

Within the church, leaders – elders, pastors, are the ones who are given particular gifts for leadership and oversight. These gifts are given by God with no one but him controlling who is legitimately gifted to lead. Ephesians 4:11-12 tells us, “He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” If leaders abdicate that responsibility, they are guilty of being poor leaders, but they are still the leaders and will be held accountable. If church members refuse to be led by biblically qualified leaders, they are guilty of rebellion against God, but the leaders are still the leaders because God made it that way. Hebrews 13:17 reminds us, “Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”

In a family, fiscal responsibility is necessary, but the nature of the resources is entirely different from those of a business. The assets are family assets. They do not accrue to someone else’s benefit. A family home is enjoyed by the family. It is not a place of labor owned by someone else.

Does this distinction really matter?  How you think about the church does matter. It has a significant impact on your contentment, on how (or whether) you participate in the God-given objectives of the church, and on how you relate to others within the body of Christ.

If we try to operate the church as a business, we will find ourselves at odds with God’s design. We will have imposed a worldly philosophy that is in conflict with God’s purpose. 

Such a mindset can only lead to striving, disagreement and difficulty. If, on the other hand, we see the church as a family, we are far more likely to rest in God’s purpose and work together in harmony to glorify HIM.