Thus says the Lord: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.
But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'" --Jeremiah 6:16

 

13 February, 2007   comments: (0) Today's Pragmatism   Mailbag: Yet Another Deviant Disney Church Hi Jim, I've been reading your blog for quite some time. I found it from Ingrid's (original) Slice. This may be a bit long winded, but I wanted to share it. It goes right down the same road as your post on the Jumbotron. I attend a church that has slowly, progressively succumbed to the church growth methods promoted by Warren, Hybels, etc. Our "pastor" (I use this term loosely, since he has established the hierarchy of a typical "top-down" business approach to things) has been using business/marketing methods to "grow" the church. Since he's seen people come into the building, he deems this a "healthy" church environment, which further puts the stamp of approval on the methods. For example, he uses business models to "train" leadership. One such book is Pat Lencioni's "5 Dysfunctions of a Team". This was required reading, and is used to train his "leaders" on how to handle conflict in the church. I know, because I used to attend these meetings. When I heard him say, "this is not the Bible, but we're going to use it" I realized the path he was taking was not the right one. No use in talking to him, since I tried that before, and he felt that I disagreed with the leadership, and was going to convene an "elder board meeting" to have me discuss my concerns. I declined, remained friendly, but have not attended the meetings again. Anyway, that's a little background. As I mentioned, progressively, we've gotten to the point where the video screen is a focal point to nearly everything we do. It's called a "tool". That's one of his favorite words. Everything is a "tool". The video screen is "just a tool." He's even said that the word of God is a "tool" to use, to reach the lost. By that rendering, anything can be justified, and called a tool. Thus, much money has been spent on electronics, including an expensive lighting system, sound system, video and wide screen monitors, etc. The most recent example was this past Sunday. My entire family attends this assembly. My wife and I have [kids], two of them married. They all attend. When my wife and I walked in, this past Sunday, the whole place reminded me of a night club. The lights were turned low, the "cafe" area (an area where we have the obligatory coffee kiosk) was jammed with people holding their lattes (no Bibles, though). The video screen had a digital clock showing, which was counting down to zero, presumably to note the time the "service" was to start (I muse to my wife that this is when the button is pushed to "play" and the whole event unfolds until the "stop" button is pressed). Up on the stage was a large display of lights (typical stage lights, of different colors). These were flashing in time to some music playing in the background. Two sheets, hanging on suspended rods, had projectors behind them. I didn't know what these were, but I found out later, when the "praise and worship" started. Instead of the usual "live" praise and worship, all the musical instruments had been removed. This day, the praise and worship was going to be a "video". What it was, was a video of some Christian artist, whose performance (and, I do mean, performance) was videotaped, and this was our "praise and worship leader" for our congregation. The main lights went low, the video screen fired up, and this artist began "leading" the congregation. The location this performance took place was some huge auditorium, packed full of people, mostly younger people (I'm in my mid 50's, by the way). As you'd expect, the classic way any concert would be recorded, would show a cameraman shooting "upward" toward a guitar player, or drummer, then pan across the crowd, then to the main singer, etc. Much like any concert music video. While this was going, those two sheets displayed silhouetted images, which "moved". I'm not a football fan, but I did see the half-time show for the Superbowl, and it was reminiscent of the thing that was shown for the "artist formerly known as Prince". Then, to top it off, that huge display of lights on the main stage, began to be manipulated to the "worship music". Neither my wife or I could participate in this folly. My one daughter sat down and did not participate. My eldest son was so disgusted, he left. I felt ashamed and alone, as I know my wife did, too. My kids expressed similar opinions, later on, as I discussed what happened. This was dubbed "entering into the throne room" by our minister. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. And, you know how things are at concerts...the guy starts singing a song, and as soon as the crowd recognizes what the song is, they start cheering. It would be like being at a Beatles concert, and as soon as a few bars of "I want to hold your hand" was heard, the crowd would go crazy. This is what happened in this video. You know who is getting the glory in these videos....and, it ain't the Lord! This is what I've seen happen in a 3 year span of time. It never used to be this way. I've been with this group for 15 years, and I can attest to more sound biblical teaching. But, with the Purpose Driven Life and other heresies being promoted, churches in our city are jumping on these bandwagons. It's picking up speed, too. Everything is geared toward the "visitor". All this is so "that you can bring your 'guest' to a comfortable environment". That's a direct quote, by the way. In that last meeting, where the "5 Dysfunctions of a Team" book was promoted, our minister said this, too: "I just want to let you know, that you are not my target audience". Translation: the focus is on the visitor. It shows: glitter, lights, jumbo screens, lame videos, "clowning around" by those who should be mature, but are not, "visitors, just let that basket pass. It's our gift to you, because it's just a tool that our membership uses," coffee shop, "themes" in the restrooms, and worst of all: watered-down messages. It's all geared to the lost. The "leadership" are biblically ignorant (which is easily apparent, since I've never seen any of them bring a Bible to church, plus I've talked with them, and they are horribly ignorant of spiritual things) so they rely totally on the pastor for "guidance". How far we have strayed from the whole counsel of God in this place. But, that last Sunday was the topper. And, your Jumbotron article was spot on, because it described my "church" to a T. --Emailed to Old Truth on 2/12/07, posted with permission. Links and formatting added by Old Truth Posted by: Jim B.   Link: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.612   Be the first to post a comment about this article        Home  |   About  |  Videos   |  Calvinism