Posted on 12/14/2023 9:39:28 AM PST by DFG
A Texas megachurch has been slammed for its extravagant Christmas service, which featured nearly 1,000 performers, several camels and flying angels.
Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas has gone viral on social media for its yearly The Gift of Christmas show - a Vegas-style spectacle that retells the story of the birth of Jesus.
Footage of the event on Sunday shows real sheep walking across the stage before flying angels appear over the crowd, followed by hundreds of performers and three live camels entering the scene.
A TikTok video posted by Lawson Martin - titled 'They say everything is bigger in Texas' - has been watched more than 10million times. It showed airborne performers dancing to The Greatest Show from the musical The Greatest Showman.
The clip sparked massive backlash, with some mocking the event and others expressing anger that a church would hold such a lavish affair, which costs attendants between $19 and $69.
One commenter wrote: 'I can no longer tell what’s sarcasm and what’s an actual mega church.'
Another added: 'no taxes just vibes.'
A third said: 'Do they pass the money bowl around before after or during this ???'
Other social media videos showed a performance to Michael Jackson's Thriller.
'Nothing says Christmas like creepy dolls dancing to MJ's Thriller,' wrote the poster.
A TiKTok user replied: 'Nothing about this glorifies God in anyway way. Absolute trash.
Another echoed the sentiment, writing: 'This is evil.'
But the church was not faced by the backlash, and issued a statement saying the event was ticketed and not a service.
'Prestonwood Baptist Church is not ashamed to pull out all the stops in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ during the Christmas season,' the church told San Antonio Express-News.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
We have an Americanized version of the gospel.
Not just cattle....that tour had all sorts of critters runnin’ around on stage
That’s one show I wish I’d gone to.
When I saw the headline of Texas and extravagant mega church I guessed Joel Olsteen!
Technically it would be a problem in a Catholic Church, but technicalities seldom stop priests, almost never stop Bishops, and are strictly optional, apparently, for the present Pope.
While I do have Baptists, including ministers on both sides, I doubt many of them would have a problem with it, with one exception. My (grandfather’s) great Uncle Wiley, a Baptist minister, was asked during the 30’s whether people were getting better or worse. He observed that when he first started preaching, there was a problem with young men riding their horses into church, but that hadn’t happened in a very long time (many decades) so he guessed they were getting better.
I bet he would see it as regression. I imagine he also might think a little about conspicuous consumption as that side of the family was poor as Church mice for basically forever.
Lol!.....got it 👌😎
Megachurch == sort of Christian themed circus.
They’re walking right beside what looks like an orchestra pit.
I agree. Sight and Sound Theatre in Lancaster, PA has similar live performances several times a week to large audiences. Large cast, super professional set design and live animals. No one complains about that. Tickets aren’t cheap either.
Yea. I see it now.
live camels is a little much
Domesticated camels are nice animals for jobs like this (despite their reputation) but they belong outside.
Everything is bigger in Texas ..
The Prosperity Gospel, the Central Reaching of Churchianity.
“Let your works so shine before men, that they may confess that your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees.”
“Teacher, this woman was caught in Adultery, in the very act.”
“Go and sin some more, for you are empowered. (But don’t get caught.)”
Hm?.....So Christians don’t have a right to express their creativity?
An event like this strengthens fellowship among the members and is a way to reaching out to the community.
It is from a Brit "news" source. The Brits have pretty much rejected God and Christianity so if they can do anything to promote Satan around the world they will.
Yes, they did raise a collection near the end of the show. The request for optional giving was a fundraiser with 100% of the money donated to fight child sex trafficking. explanations and testimonies were giving of the success they have had over the years
I cannot speak for the Church in Texas, and their website gave no indication of funds being used for worthy causes.
People are quick to condemn large churches, those that do so usually have no idea of the many worthy causes that churches participate in.
I would not be at all surprised if the good folks in Texas were doing something similar.
Are we now going to see it every year because people have to find something to be upset about?
I was going to mention Sight & Sound Theater too. The performances there are pretty amazing (and yeah, pricey to attend, but worth it). We’ve seen Joseph & Jonah — Daniel is on my wish list.
My sister’s church does a weekend series of similar performances, including camels, sheep, goats etc., with much of the church membership participating. It’s very well done, starting off the audience in “old Bethlehem”, with booths and townspeople, Roman soldiers, kids playing games. It then progresses thru to the birth of Christ with an angelic choir and pretty cool lighting effects. They don’t charge anything, but people do leave voluntary offerings sometimes. Cookies, treats & coffee/hot chocolate to warm everyone up at the end. It’s quite nice, actually, and helps spread the Word.
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