Truth is ancient; it's grey hairs may make it venerable;
it comes from Him who is the ancient of days. --Thomas Watson

 

12 February, 2007   comments: (0) Changed Message   Take The Megachurch Jumbotron Challenge We've all seen those sports stadium jumbotron screens migrate inside of megachurch buildings where they are usually described as being not merely entertainment devices, but vital evangelistic tools. On them, you will often see Sunday morning clips from the hottest sitcoms, movies, comedy, and concerts; whatever is popular in the culture. Such churches are adamant in their claims that they are presenting the same old truths of the bible, but in a way that's attractive to a new generation, and are doing so without watering-down the message. But do these mega-claims really hold water? In this post, we'll look beyond the question of whether they are legitimate church tools, and instead we'll attempt to use these jumbo-devices as diagnostic indicators of the spiritual health of some of our largest churches. You might have heard some of these buzzwords flying around your church; things like big-screen "visual worship", or perhaps you go to a preacherless "virtual church" that beams worship to a jumbo screen via "Godcasting". Whatever the case may be, here's a test that might help you to determine whether your church is really using it's giant screen to teach a biblically balanced message, or if rather, it's a message of half-truths that conceal or neglect some of the most important teachings of the bible. So, here's the challenge: Is this how you would describe your church? Your church's big screen is not just for entertainment, it plays an important role in evangelism and teaching. The things shown on your screen are highly relevant. Your screen is used innovatively to convey the old truths of Christianity in a fresh new way, but that doesn't mean that the message is watered-down. Your church uses it's big screen to help deliver a biblical message based on the whole counsel of God. If Jesus taught something, your church also teaches it. Why not? Excuse #1: It's too negative: But the bible has negative things in it, and your church is committed to teaching the whole counsel of God, right? Jesus gave many warnings, so shouldn't your church strive to convey those same warnings? Excuse #2: The Gospel is "good news", not doom and gloom: What's so good about the good news if there isn't first a thorough understanding of the bad news? To the degree in which seekers comprehend sin and wrath is the same degree in which they may appreciate the need for God's grace through the work of a Savior. Excuse #3: It's not relevant to our culture: What could be more relevant to any culture than a message that helps sinners understand their lost and fallen state, the eternity of destruction that awaits them, and the only way of escape? Excuse #4: It's not the side of God that we want to present: Then your church is creating a god to suit itself, by communicating some of His attributes at the expense of other attributes; for example: only His love without adequately conveying His holiness. The picture of God that your church is painting for it's audience is merely a half-truth. Remember: a half-truth presented as though it were the whole truth, is an un-truth. Excuse #5: We're not supposed to talk about that all the time: Who said anything about "all of the time"? Let's be honest; if your church talks about the negative topics in the bible for a fraction as much as most megachurches talk about marriage and relationship issues, that would be saying a lot. Preaching about judgment every Sunday would be one extreme, but never (or rarely) mentioning it would be - yet another extreme. Excuse #6: People would get scared-away, not saved: Did I mention that this video is based on a revival sermon from The Great Awakening? Many people were saved upon hearing it preached. In fact, it's often called the most famous sermon ever preached on American soil. True, many people would walk away from your church if the hard truths were faithfully preached, but that happened to Jesus as well (John 6) and is one of the expected results of Gospel preaching (1 Cor. 1). Excuse #7: We strive for excellence, showing only high quality visuals: The ministry that produced the video above spent a great deal of time and money on it's visual and audio presentation; it's likely of a similar quality to other videos shown on your big screen. Note: Read what sometimes happens in this quest for 'excellence'. No more excuses! Maybe it's just time to face the reality that your church isn't really willing to teach eveything that Jesus taught after all. Using your megachurch's jumbotron screen as a diagnostic indicator, maybe you've come to realize that your church is watering-down the message to make it more palatable to postmodern tastes. Perhaps you now see that there are some biblical topics that will never make it past your church's own screen test. Still not sure? Try stepping back a couple of centuries, and read some of the sermons from almost any church in earlier times. Does your church get around to talking about the same things covered in those sermons? Or, do the older sermons mention things in the bible that your church never or rarely does? Are the older sermons willing to talk about the negative topics in the bible (wrath, judgment, hell, holiness, self-denial, etc.) as well as the positive things? You'll find a listing of older sermons at the top of this page. Remember, the Christian message is supposed to be the same from one century to the next; the same truths should be relevant today that were relevant yesterday. Don't be mislead into thinking otherwise. And don't be enamored by the crowds, excitement, sights and sounds, and amenities of your megachurch; it's possible for a church to have all of those things without having God's blessing and approval. Instead, search the scriptures to find out what really pleases God. Not all megachurches would fail this Jumbotron Challenge, but the important question is . . . would yours? "If there is anything in the church to which you belong which is contrary to the inspired Word, leave that church." --CH Spurgeon Posted by: Jim B.   Link: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.608   Be the first to post a comment about this article        Home  |   About  |  Videos   |  Calvinism