Gimme that Showtime Religion

The John MacArthur Collection ^ | John MacArthur

[Gamecock]

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 rise and fall, 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 Frosted Flakes or Miller Lite. 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 nothing more than an act of the human will. Its goal is an instantaneous 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 absolves 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, 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

[HarleyD]

On the other extreme I've read, and I think there are postings on this site, of where "mystic" churches are now cropping up. These type of churches are abandoning these "entertainment" churches by "trying" to create the "mysticism" of God. Too me it seems as though people still have a longing that can't seem to be filled with just worship. And that is what we're called to do-just worship.

[Jerry_M]

I am sorry that you have grown tired of the message of "A Mighty Fortress is Our God". I plan to enjoy it for all eternity.

I never tire of it, nor, with few exceptions, the 600+ other hymns contained in the 1991 Baptist Hymnal, nor the ones contained in the 1974 and 1956 versions of the same Hymnal that didn't make the most recent cut, as well as those contained in the 1940's Broadman Hymnal.

I also appreciate a smaller number of contemporary praise choruses, but find that many of them are without substance.

It is my contention, along with the hymn writer, that the "new song" will be the "old, old story", and that believers will never tire of it.

[Eala]

Moreover, this whole Madison-Avenue corruption of Christianity

I wince whenever I hear an ad from some local church that tries to lure first-time visitors with "a free expresso from the coffee bar."

[Sloth]

As the Ray Stevens song asks, would Jesus wear a Rolex on His television show?

[11th Earl of Mar]

I have no problem with people using the Baptist hymnal.

And I certainly hope that people who sing those songs each week actually do enjoy them.

But I also hope the Baptists acknowledge that not everybody likes their style of music.

[11th Earl of Mar]

I got interupted and forgot where I was...

I am sorry that you have grown tired of the message of "A Mighty Fortress is Our God"

I never said I was tired of the "message" of Mighty Fortress, only the song. There are lots of twentieth century songs with the same message.

Maybe... "The Lord God is a sun and shield, he gives grace and glory..."

There are many others which are too numerous to post.

[alpha-8-25-02]

good afternoon,
first of all,i think there should be a new grpl rule.
no posting great articles while brother alpha is in the mission field.
that being said MacArthur's book "ashamed of the gospel"
is a collection of like chapters of this post.i would higly recommend the book.the watering down of sound preacing with entertainment based worship has been the scourge of the church all the way back to brother spurgeons time.he quit the baptist union shortly before the Lord brought him home because they advocated show-time religion.

[megatherium]

Lately, I have been attending one of the ten largest churches in the US (Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky, which has 18,000 members). They have all of the sound and lighting technology mentioned in the article; the worship music is accurately described as soft rock (complete with electric guitar solos). Their sermons are entertaining, leavened by humor and reinforced by video clips, and they often stage impressive dramatic productions.

But I cannot detect any watering down of their teachings: sermons contain regular pro-life and pro-family messages, and Biblical inerrancy is firmly adhered to. (Southeast is a Church of Christ but also calls itself a non-denominational evanglical church.)

Also, once you leave the sanctuary (which seats nine thousand) you have your choice of 55 different Bible study groups, which function as churches within the church. Churches can grow because they entertain people or appeal to their vanity, or they can grow because they have excellent leadership and are, well, really really good at being Christian churches.

I haven't yet decided to become a member, but I am leaning towards doing so.

[FactQuest]

Nice article.

My church is fundamentalist Baptist. About 5000 attend on a Sunday morning. We have a large choir, an orchestra, lots of music, an excellent sound system, video projections to two big screens on both corner of front, lighting, what amounts to a stage, etc. etc.

Our music is a mixture of old hymns and contemporary stuff.

Our pastor preaches at least 30 minutes, if not closer to an hour. He is well organized, preaches from the inerrant Word, and doesn't sugar coat it in the least.

It is worship, and all the flash hasn't watered down the Word in the least.

Being Baptist, every sermon is followed by an altar call. Decisions are made for Christ every week. Every Sunday night we baptize more new believers.

I think McArthur has nailed a lot of what is wrong in American churches today, but one must be careful to not judge a book by its cover.

[anncoulteriscool]

*****MacArthur's book "ashamed of the gospel" is a collection of like chapters of this post.i would higly recommend the book.*****

I just finished reading Easy To Believe. Its pretty good although my fav book of his was Alone With God.

[Gamecock]

I couldn't find knife throwing, but a skateboard is impressive:

[ladyinred]

I have seen the Power Team on Television several times. Not my cup of tea, but hopefully some of the souls they have helped win are still going on!

[ladyinred]

I see so much "showtime" religion. It really saddens me. I do think and hope that those who are in the congregation won't be held accountable for the leaders, some of whom are obviously in it for the glory and the money. But then, if others can see this, why can't they?

[Wallace T.]

My own experience with The Power Team was not favorable. They succeeded in drawing crowds in an entertainment saturated area like suburban Dallas that a revivalist of the Mordecai Ham or Billy Sunday type would not draw. However, the people who responded to the altar call soon left the sponsoring church, if they even stayed after answering the call. In the end, the sponsor paid a large entertainment and clean-up bill with little evident results. Had this church spent the funds on the outreach it was good at, such as their ethnic congregations, their bus ministry, and Tuesday night visitations to prospective members' homes, they would have been better off.

I do not doubt that the Lord can use and has used the Power Team as an instrument to spread the Gospel. No doubt The Passion of the Christ was such an instrument, as are Chick tracts, Bible paraphrases like The Living Bible, radio ministries (such as MacArthur's own programs), Christian music, especially the great hymns of Watts, Wesley, and and Gideon hotel Bibles. However, the Great Commission was to spread the Gospel, not Christian entertainment, to the ends of the earth. We must trust in the Lord, even as Paul did. "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." (I Corinthians 3:6)

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

I think McArthur has nailed a lot of what is wrong in American churches today, but one must be careful to not judge a book by its cover.

Nobody here has any objections to large churches. McAuthur pastors a 10,000+ Reformed Baptist church. There are some accomodations that must be made with large congregations, that are simply unavoidable due to the pure size of the flock. i doubt that you would find any objections from the GRPL people over that issue. May God continue to bless your congregation.

Our majour objection is to those pastors and congregations who have substituted pragmatism for proclamation of the Gospel...as if numbers were a measure of the effectiveness of any particular church.

My own Conservative Presbyterian denomination boasts of some of the largest churches in Presbyterianism, as well as some congregations of 30-40 members.

[pudd]

extremeism is a favorite tool of those who cant't come up with a legitimate argument.
I have been a secular musician for over twenty years and have been a christian for 12 years.
I have found that playing evangelical music in the bars may not convert a lot of the bar flies but it does stimulate spiritual conversation in a place where god isnt given a second thought.
Jesus used more than one method of getting the word out,
with healing walking on water turning water to wine;
these things all got peoples attention and if jesus had an electric guitar he probably would have used that to.
Jesus didn't come to heal the healthy but the sick.
we must use whatever tools god gives us to spread the gospel
because our father can do anything he wants.
I'm sure he has a strategy to get around those in the church who think ultra conservatively.
Billy Graham endorsed all kinds of musical acts to spread the word. Even rap.In my opinion Billy Graham is the most decent representative of Christianity in recent times.
I would rather see a rock band teach my kids about jesus than sex and drugs.
enough of the prejiduce already

[Gamecock]

I'm sure he has a strategy to get around those in the church who think ultra conservatively.

enough of the prejiduce already

Your disjointed logic might have a bit more credibility if not for your own hypocrisy.