” For centuries the Church stood solidly against every form of worldly entertainment, recognizing it for what it was – a device for wasting time, a refuge from the disturbing voice of conscience, a scheme to divert attention from moral accountability. For this she got herself abused roundly by the sons of this world. But of late she has become tired of the abuse and has given over the struggle. She appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god Entertainment she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his powers. So today we have an astonishing spectacle of millions of dollars being poured into the in holy job of providing earthly entertainment for the so-called sons of heaven. Religious entertainment is in many places rapidly crowding out the serious things of God. Many churches these days have become little more than poor theaters where fifth-rate “producers” peddle their shoddy wares with the full approval of evangelical leaders who can even quote holy text in defense of their delinquency. And hardly a man dares raise his voice against it.”
~ A. W. Tozer, “The Root Of The Righteous”, (Harrisburg, PA, Christian Publications, 1955), pg.32-33
While Tozer was speaking of the influences of the world in the church in 1955, it may seem difficult to see his concerns in light of today’s so-called “seeker-sensitive” churches or “missional churches” who have so “engaged” the culture, that it is difficult to separate the world from the church.
In the end, the deadly seriousness of the Gospel has been trivialized, and minimalized, as we have become more interested in meeting the felt needs of the audience. The audience is now sovereign, not the Lord Jesus Christ and propositional truth born from the Scriptures. Tozer saw entertainment becoming the primary tool used for outreach. He rightly feared that the evangelical church was replacing the frivolous and the carnal for the supremacy of the clear preaching of the Word of God and the worship of the saints of God was becoming a spectator sport. Like Spurgeon, Tozer feared the “down grading” of the church which would leave us with only a shell, devoid of sound doctrine and lofty worship where Christ would be seen and worshiped as supremely holy and the only sovereign of our lives.
Sadly, worldly pragmatism for the sake of church growth and perceived ministry success has replaced our reliance upon the ministry of the convincing and convicting power of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8). It is easier for us to manufacture counterfeit growth than to wait on the movement of the regenerating ministry of the Spirit of God (Titus 3:5; John 3:5-6) as the church supplicates in fervent prayer and as separated witnesses ( I Peter 3:15) in obedient reliance as planters and sowers ( 1 Corinthians 3:7-8). The latter requires a church of faith while the former looks to that which man, can and likes to do.
- Michael Holtzinger
Not long ago I was out on visitation to visit a family who had recently visited the church. But before I went out I used “Google Earth” to locate the address and print out a map. I even went so far as to zoom in on the earth map to get an idea of what their house looked like. I was confident I knew where to go and had the right address. That night it was raining and seemed especially dark. But I was sure that between my research, printed directions, and GPS navigation I would find the right address. I was really proud of myself for thinking ahead as I headed out that evening. I just knew I would find the address and arrive on time for my visit with the new family. All was going well until I came within striking distance of success. As I was approaching their house, in the rain, I miss read a street sign and turned down the wrong street. Even my GPS could not help at this point because I was so close. But the house at the address I pulled up to didn’t look anything like the picture I had seen on “Google Earth.” I was now a bit confused but proceeded to get out of my car and walk up the drive way for the visit. Part way up my doubts grew stronger so I turned around and walked back down the driveway and up to the street corner to double check the street address. I was on the wrong street! The street I needed was a couple hundred feet away.
In the early 70’s I came to know Christ as my Lord and Savior. These were glorious times as I and many others in the church I attended experienced our early years of discipleship. The church was in Ashland Oregon. It was a small church meeting on the outskirts of town. I can remember before my conversion driving by on many occasions, the church in a storefront, wondering what kind of cult Ashland Bible Church was. Then one Wednesday evening I found myself getting out of a Sherriff’s patrol car in the parking lot of the church just as the midweek service concluded. Not exactly the typical entrance one would want or others would expect! The next several weeks it was amazing how this little congregation accepted me, even with all the trappings of a sinful world most evident in my dress and mannerism. I would sit each service in the homemade grey plywood pews and was inwardly very critical of the simple services that were offered. The pianist was an eighty+ year old woman, playing very tradition gospel hymns and the pastor was a middle aged man preaching from a very simple one step platform in the front of the auditorium with an 8 foot ceiling and florescent lights. But I wasn’t alone as the church was in the middle of an influx of young college age, drug using, and commune living hippie types. What a mix in the middle of this traditional middle class, aging, Bible believing church. This church existed in a college town that was known for its party atmosphere, occult influence, and as sexually promiscuous. This little church in no way looked like the culture it was surrounded and immersed in. It really was to the extreme, counter cultural. By today’s church growth gurus, Ashland Bible Church was not “incarnational”1 or “missional”2 and certainly didn’t have a grasp of cultural contextualization. They were a simple people who were astounded and overjoyed at what God was doing in their midst. They knew nothing of the latest ecclesiastical fads and saw no biblical reason to compromise their holy, separated living for the sake of reaching people for Christ. Yet they reached a group of young people with love and compassion and reaped the fruit of souls saved by the grace of God.
Not long ago I wrote an article about a church that sent out a flier inviting people to their church based nothing more than the felt needs of the individual (Java, A Core Value). It was a church where “the band is loud, and gallons of coffee are a core value.” The idea here was to lay aside any fears one might have and see that the church was for regular people ( at least those considered regular in the Puget Sound region). The invitation was laced with; “ no perfect people allowed”, “ a place to be yourself, grow spiritually, build friendships, make a difference, and have a blast”, and “its imperative to find and fulfill your unique purpose in life”. This has become the common mantra of the Evangelical church under guise of evangelism. John MacArthur, writing on this phenomenon states; “That’s all great if you’re a coffeehouse. But anyone who claims to be calling people to the gospel of Jesus with those priorities is calling them to a lie” (John MacArthur, “Hard to Believe”, Thomas Nelson Publishing, 2003, pg. 2). A few pages later, commenting on 
Could it really be? A church with a core value of gallons of great free coffee? Eastlake Church states in a mailer; “Our services are casual and laid back, the band is loud, and gallons of great free coffee are a core value!” WOW! I have found my place for relating with God. How could it be any better to find myself in an environment with people who are “friendly not manic , spiritual but not obnoxious, people who don’t take themselves seriously, but want to make the most out of life.” Man, it’s all about me and my needs and in a casual environment.
I just started a new book by John Piper. At least it’s new to me. It’s called “Finally Alive.” There is a paragraph in the preface that is just too good not to share. John laments how the term “born again” is used by groups like Barna Group or in books like “The Scandle of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like The Rest of the World” , by Ron Sider.
Martin Luther, following the Diet of Worms in April 1521 came to the conclusion that the central issue that he had with Rome was the doctrine of ”sola fide” – faith alone. This is the instrumental cause or the means by which justification comes to the believer. So, for Luther the doctrine of justification by faith alone was the preeminent doctrine on which the whole of the Gospel stood.
The post-modernist takes the position that when a person speaks from conviction, especially the conviction that is born from the Scriptures he is arrogant. But this kind of thinking is nothing new and G. K. Chesterton saw it years ago when he commented;
In our post-modern culture the idea of absolute truth is seen as a position of arrogance. The post-modernist sees truth, if it exists at all, as unknowable. “Discussion” has become the operative word and the height of intellect is the admission that absolute truth is unattainable. So he or she is left with “their truth” which has equal value with any other truth. It is completely subjective, untestable and denies the idea of exclusivity and leaves people open to moral relativism.
important and more viable than those that are biblical. A pragmatist is concerned primarily with whether a given practice is expedient, not necessarily with whether is in harmony with Scripture. He starts with the question, ‘What do the unchurched want?’ and builds his strategy from there, rather than asking the question, ‘What does the Scripture teach about church ministry’ and following a Biblical pattern.
The first century church at Corinth was confronted with the then enlightened libertine philosophy of a Greek culture. The phrase “all things are lawful” was the common mantra. The Greeks just could not be bound by any personal limitations. Having in the preceding paragraph declared that the immoral cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and having given special prominence to sins against the seventh commandment, the Apostle comes to this passage (
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