The Concert Has No Martyr Roll

What Hybels and Warren are doing with their so-called transformation of the church is not new at all. It was being done back in the 1800s, in Spurgeon’s day. Men back then had figured out the formula for getting people – saved and unsaved – through the doors of the church. They knew back in the 19^th century what we know so well today – that if you entice people with culturally relevant and attractive entertainment, you can, at least for a short period of time, mesmerize them and more importantly count them among your members. Church growth.

 What Spurgeon tells us below in his short essay, “Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?” is that it will only work for a short time. Willow Creek and Saddleback are fads that will seem to prosper for a season, but will ultimately pass away, leaving a mess of spiritual debris in the lives of their followers much like the debris in and around the Indian Ocean is spread upon the shores.

 The Prayer of Jabez was the hottest thing in Christian publishing several years ago. It was HOT! This one little book put Multnomah Publishing on the map. Everyone was talking about it and even the unchurched were reading it. Where is that movement today? I wish I could poll every Christian in America right now and ask how many of them are still doing the Jabez prayer. There might be 3 people in the U.S. still doing that today. The same unglorious fate will be met by today’s fads.

Warren and Hybels - among others - offer us a broad freeway by which we might be whisked into God’s presence and eventually into His kingdom. Multitudes are traveling that road today and it will be disappointing, very disappointing to realize that at the end of that road is a sign which reads, “Dead End”. God allows U-turns. The definition of repent is best illustrated by a U-turn.

 The sooner the church stops gazing at its collective navel and starts pointing to Christ, the sooner she will truly realize her ordained purpose – the glorification of her King.

 R.J.

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. Matthew 7:13-15

Peel Off Wrapping, New Church is Old

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/religion/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1104578172262420.xml
 
"So this, it seems, is the modus operandi of the Church in the 21st century: "We're taking the old message and packaging it in new ways."

"That's what everyone who's anyone is doing. You know, all those churches without the popish denominational identifiers, the HeavenFounts and the MercySprings that stand apart from the old guard of Third Presbyterians and Fourth Christian Reformeds."

"If I had a dime for every church I have heard say it, I could tithe to them all."

"The ingredients are basically this: Praise music, drama skit, praise music, culturally in-tune message, praise music and praise music."

"For the most part, the "new" church is code for worship services that trade choirs for praise bands, hymnbooks for projection screens, pews for seats, suit coats for T-shirts and sermons for messages. The terminology has changed, the logos are flashier and the kids' programs are way cooler."

[snip]

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

by Charles H. Spurgeon

An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it during the past few years. It has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them.

From speaking out as the Puritans did, the church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the church. If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ speak of it? "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). That is clear enough.  So it would have been if He had added, "and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel." No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to him.

Then again, "He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers .., for the work of the ministry" (Eph. 4:11-12). Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all his apostles. What was the attitude of the church to the world? Ye are the salt" (Matt.5:13), not the sugar candy---something the world will spit out not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance, "Let the dead bury their dead" (Matt.8:22) He was in awful earnestness.

Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into his mission, he would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His teaching. I do not hear him say, "Run after these people Peter and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick Peter, we must get the people somehow." Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them.

In vain will the Epistles be searched to find any trace of this gospel of amusement! Their message is, "Come out, keep out, keep clean out!" Anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the church had a prayer meeting but they did not pray, "Lord grant unto thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are." If they ceased not from preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). That is the only difference! Lord, clear the church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods.

Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to effect the end desired. It works havoc among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the church met them halfway, speak and testify. Let the heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment has been God's link in the chain of the conversion, stand up! There are none to answer. The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.