Judgment of God-American Church, Part Three

Judgment of God-American Church, Part Three | Entertainment |

A portion of the American Church has replaced biblical worship with entertainment. They have missed the whole purpose of gathering together and worshipping the Lord. The pulpit, the platform, is not seen as a holy place but as a place to entertain the saints. It only makes sense when there is Celebrity Christianity that we addressed in my last article.

Entertainment
Well we better look at the definition of another word that I have thrown out there-entertainment.
Entertainment-amusement or diversion provided especially by performers; something diverting or engaging such as a public performance; a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight; something affording pleasure, diversion, or amusement, especially a performance of some kind.

Notice the main purpose of entertainment is to focus on the audience. Thus in the Christain realm, not focusing on God.

Entertainment During Worship Service
When one looks at the definition of entertainment and looks at many church services today it should be clear it is all about entertaining the ‘worshippers’.

The Performers
When there is entertainment there are performers. The performers dress a certain way, act a certain way, speak a certain way. The focus is to get the audience to focus on the performers. How many churches have performers instead of worship leaders and a worship team? They make sure the performers dress like the culture. They make sure the performers use the slang of the culture. Many of the pastors are good at being performers to entertain. The character of performers is absolutely not important if the purpose is to entertain. How many churches could care less about the lifestyle of the performers? I have heard personally many pastors and worship leaders say it does not matter if individuals on their worship team are saved. They are just looking for good musicians and singers and trust they will get saved in the midst of doing ministry. What? Is that a new way of evangelism?????

How many pastors are being performers. They have their cliches, their jokes, their ear tickling messages, their make you feel good sermons. Nothing wrong with cliches, innocent humor to make some things easier to swallow or bring emphasis, to encourage a congregation. BUT if all of this is raised above the preaching of the pure Word, it can just become a form of entertainment. Some pastors going as far as blatantly being entertainers.

The Stage
When entertainment is the focus then the ‘stage’, the pulpit, the platform, the altar loses awe and reverence. It is not a holy place for the Holy Spirit to operate in, but a place to help enhance entertainment. There is nothing wrong with using the technology of today to enhance worship. But is it to enhance worship or entertainment. True worship can take place without lights, fog, twenty different camera angles, etc. If everything on the stage is drawing your attention instead of the Holy One, the stage has become unholy. Christians for centuries, Christians in Third World Countries, persecuted Christians across the world have worshipped the Lord without all the technology. Again, is the technology a distraction or an enhancement for worship.

Imagine what takes place in many churches were to take place in the Old Testament worship. There certainly would not be the presence of God and most likely the judgment of God. Ultimately it would be ichabod, no glory, where is the glory, the glory has left.

The Entertainment-The Songs and Sermons
Songs
Worship is to be upward focused. Worship is not about blessing me but blessing God. About lifting up the Holy One. About praising and worshiping Him. That can occur many ways through a variety of lyrics and worship styles. In the midst of that we can certainly be blessed. We will be blessed because as we lift up our God He inhabits our praises and He desires to bless us. But the focus must be Him, not us.

This is not about we must have a certain style of worship, if we have hymns or contemporary songs, if we worship solemnly or boldly, if we clap, stand, raise our hands, sit, etc. It is about is the worship time true worship or entertainment.

Sermons
How many sermons are pep talks, how many are they the pastor being a showman, how many sermons are focused to keep the ‘audience’ happy, how many sermons have no life in them, how many sermons do nothing to change the heart of the ‘audience’? There are pastors using props to wow, to get followers, to get likes.

If attendees are leaving church services not convicted, not repenting, not being transformed, not closer to the Lord, still living a life of a form of religion with no power thereof, just maybe God is saying ichabod.

Listen worship is to be a LIFESTYLE, a WAY OF LIVING, not just what you do in a Sunday service.

Listen, there are many churches that do not entertain the congregation. There are many churches that do not use technology to wow the congregation. There are many churches that do not see the worship team as performers. There are many churches where the pastor is not an entertainer. Do not get boastful about not being an Entertainment Church. You may be avoiding all of this, but if there is no move of God in your church, there are no salvations, there are no lives being transformed, there is no hunger and thirst for righteousness, there is hunger to enter into holy worship, then all you have is dry bone religion. That will be addressed in another article.

Enough Already
Enough already with churches that have replaced worship with entertainment. Enough already with churches that see the pulpit/platform as a stage. Enough already with churches that see the worship team and the pastor as performers. Enough already with worldliness during the church service. Enough already with ungodliness, corrupt character being acceptable among the church leadership and worship teams. Enough already with compromise.

Ask Yourself a Question
Am I attending church services to be entertained or to give honor to my God and to grow in Christ? Ask yourself what has to happen on the platform for you to engage with God? Ask yourself would a lost person coming to your church be entertained or sense the presence of God.

Compromised Christian Musical Artists
Another entire topic is the secularization of Christian Music, Celebrity Driven Christian music, ungodliness accepted in the Christian Music camp, the success of a Christian Artist is not if they are living according to the Word of God but if they are on top of the Christian Music chart. Christian Music Artists can live a carnal life and be lifted up as being ‘great’ because they have a large following. Guess what? God is exposing the ungodliness, the hypocrisy, the corruption. Your favorite Christian Celebrity may be the next one exposed.

The Damage
The body of Christ is wounded, damaged by Entertainment Christianity. In many circles it has become a mockery. It attracts carnal Christianity. It feeds the flesh. It creates seekers of entertainment rather than seekers of God. It keeps Christians as babes in Christ. It causes Christians to be seekers of pleasure rather than seekers of holiness.

As long as there is those who feed off Entertainment Christianity it will continue. I end with a reminder-this is not about avoiding all forms of technology, about styles of worship, it is about making the worship service a holy time.

Judgment of God-The American False Gospel Series

Judgment of God-American Church, Intro | False American Gospel |
Judgment of God-American Church, Part One | False American Gospel |
Judgment of God-American Church, Part Two | Celebrity Leaders |
Judgment of God-American Church, Part Three | Entertainment |

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