The Baptist Pillar © Brandon Bible Baptist Church 1992-Present www.baptistpillar.com
"...The church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
I Timothy 3:15
Entertainment in Today’s Churches
Ernest D. Pickering
The bold newspaper ad read: "A Touch of Class - Raucous Comedy - Live Bands - Hot
Dance Moves."
Sound like a blurb for a local disco? Not on your life! It heralded
a special rally sponsored by the Youth For Christ in Auckland, New Zealand. It was
an effort, said the director, to reach young people in a "creative way."
There is a tremendous emphasis on entertainment today in churches and organizations
across the land. We have to provide a "thrill a minute." Nobody wants to be stuck
with the accusation that their youth program or church service is "boring" because
they simply worship God. Let's do something, anything, to liven things up and put
"spice" into our services. Let's have fun.
A plethora of gimmicks are being employed today by those craving to catch the attention
of the multitudes. Rock concerts, laser light shows, and assorted catchy programs
are designed to appeal to the jaded tastes of a TV-drugged society.
Young preachers are often tempted. "Let's do something to get a crowd. The church
across town is beating us." Sadly, some of them succumb.
Charles Spurgeon, the great English Baptist, declared with feeling, "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... providing
amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of
the Church...The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt that it sets men
of fire."