The Church
The Age of Entertainment and Amusement

More and more churches seem to be boarding the amusement and entertainment bandwagon. Worship services that are “traditional” are being forsaken for “contemporary” worship. More often than not, that means the folks in the pews want more “relevant” [read entertaining] worship. And, the churches are capitulating.

One simple question needs to be asked: Where is the Biblical warrant for entertaining and amusing the sheep? Since when has the church militant become the church relevant? The saints are to be a light in the darkness not part of the darkness. And, why must the church offer sweet treats when Christ said we are to be salt?

Jesus never offered a more pleasing alternative to the truth. When the rich young ruler walked, our Lord did not run after him offering a different way. Nowhere did Jesus instruct His disciples to offer a short, attractive, pleasant experience to His followers. In John 6 many left Him when they realized He did not come to meet their expectations. Jesus knew what He stood for and what He came to do was offensive. And, He knew that many would not believe (John 6: 61-66). Yet, there was, and still is, no alternative to the Gospel.

Those who remained His followers understood well. After arrests and punishment for preaching Christ, they did not pray for a more pleasing way to present the Gospel. No, they prayed for boldness to speak the Lord’s Word (Acts 4:29) and after being beaten they rejoiced for being worthy to suffer for Christ and “daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease preaching Jesus as the Christ (Acts 5: 42). The early church was not about ease, comfort and pleasure.

What the people want is not the issue. C. H. Spurgeon says: In vain will the Epistles be searched to find any trace of gospel amusement. But, the emphasis on entertainment and amusement in the contemporary church continues to grow. The sound preaching that lead to the flourishing of the early church either takes a back seat or is absent in today’s worship.

This contributes mightily to the pluralism that grips the church today. Refusing to focus on the mission and message of Christ in worship fails to plumb the distinctiveness of Who He was and what He did. There is a failure to teach the doctrine of Christianity. Therefore, we have large numbers of people who, in the words of J. C. Ryle:
. . . live is a kind of mist or fog. They see nothing clearly, and do not know what they believe.

So when a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness comes to the door, no one knows what to say. When our culture collides with Islam, we have no idea why Christians are different from Muslims. Those who have been amused and entertained, and not taught, are ready and willing to compromise with the world in all matter of things. They possess what Ryle calls a boneless, tasteless, colourless, lukewarm, undogmatic Christianity!

This is precisely what Paul wanted young Timothy to avoid in his ministry. Preach the word! . . . Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. (2 Tim. 4:2). Why? The time will come when Timothy’s sheep will think they know better than the shepherd. They will not want sound doctrine, but want to turn away from truth to fables. Could this be where the church of the 21st century is in the USA?

Has your church abandoned the sound teaching of the whole counsel of God? Is your worship service no longer focused on preaching Christ and Him crucified? It may be necessary to endure affliction in refusing to bend to the will of the people (2 Tim. 4:5). Endure the clamor and desire of the folks in the pew who want their way. Whatever label your church places on its worship service, be diligent to ensure that the Word is preached and God is glorified. That is neither entertaining nor amusing. However, it is God’s way to equip the saints and edify the body so that they will all come to faith, maturity and fullness in Christ, avoiding the cunning and craftiness of he world thereby growing and building the Body of Christ in love (Eph.4: 11-16).