"COOL" CHRISTIANITY
Subject:
"COOL" CHRISTIANITY -Moderator
Date:
Tue, 10 Nov 1998 11:19:05 +0000
From:
"NZ Proph List"
Reply-To:
prophetic@revival.gen.nz
To:
"Prophetic List" , "Prophetic List"
"COOL" CHRISTIANITY - IS IT TAKING OVER THE CHURCH?
-by Andrew Strom.
In 1993, the well-known evangelical preacher John MacArthur put out a
book entitled 'Ashamed of the Gospel' (subtitled, "When the church
becomes like the world"). Obviously, because it was written by a known
Conservative, many modern leaders may have found it easy to bypass
this book's insights and warnings. But when I read it for the first
time recently, I found it an incisive and devastating expose of much
that is now occurring in Christendom. In it, MacArthur writes:
"Traditional methodology - most noticably preaching - is being
discarded or downplayed in favor of newer means, such as drama, dance,
comedy, variety, side-show histrionics, pop-psychology, and other
entertainment forms... In the past half-decade, some of America's
largest evangelical churches have employed worldly gimmicks like
slapstick, vaudeville, wrestling exhibitions and even mock striptease
to spice up their Sunday meetings. No brand of horseplay, it seems, is
too outrageous to be brought into the sanctuary. Burlesque is fast
becoming the liturgy of the pragmatic church."
In many churches today, it is seemingly no longer 'positive' enough
(in the modern TV-marketing sense of the word) to emphasise the cross,
deep repentance, holiness, "death to self" and all the other meaty
elements of basic Christianity which the New Testament emphasises
again and again. And so we change everything (even the very essence of
the gospel itself) to fit the spirit of the age in which we live.
"People don't want to hear about all that negative 'sin' stuff any
more," we reason. "We'd better preach things that win them over in a
positive, modern way." Thus, the epidemic of preachers who seem to
sound more and more like television commercials every week: "Come to
Jesus, He will make you happy, He will fulfill the desires of your
heart, He will comfort you, He will satisfy you, etc, etc." There is
almost no difference here to the sentiments expressed in your average
toothpaste commercial, but the most alarming thing of all is that many
preachers seemingly wouldn't care even if there was. They cannot see
what an enormous effect this 'marketing' approach is having on the
very nature and content of the gospel they preach, and thus on the
lives of the Christians all around them. Their attitude often seems to
be:- 'Whatever brings them in the door is OK by me.' This is the very
attitude that has led to what I believe is a crisis of colossal
proportions amongst today's Christian youth.
As I have said, today much of this error is flooding into the church
under the guise of "relevance". In the name of 'relevance' we are
rushing around desperately trying to make our music "cool" and our
leadership style "cool" and our gospel "cool" and our youth events
"cool", etc, etc,- all in an effort to attract the world on it's own
terms. None of this is of God at all. It relies almost entirely on the
'arm of the flesh'. It is really nothing less than worldliness and
compromise in a new and very subtle (yet deadly) form.
Instead of "holier than thou", it seems like we are now expected to be
"cooler than thou". Our whole effort is aimed at proving to the world
that Christianity is just as cool, just as much shallow fun, just as
much of a party, as the world has to offer. And so, to prove all this,
we have to entertain and entertain and entertain. We feel we have to
become just like the world, in order to impress the world on it's own
terms. Thus, we now need to be seen in fashionable (or better- still,
'hip' or alternative) clothes. And our youth events become an excuse
for a "party". And our presentations become entertaining multi-media
extravaganzas. All in an effort to equal or "out- cool" the world.
(Which is why you now see 'moshing' heads, slam-dancing and
stage-diving at our youth concerts - matching the world on it's own
mindless, hedonistic terms. "Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of
God"). Like I said, cool pride, worldliness and rebellion - all in the
name of "relevance". JUST LIKE THE WORLD IN EVERY SENSE. Does this
sound like God to you?
Speaking of the huge Christian Greenbelt Festival held regularly in
England, musician John Allen stated: "It seems undeniable that most of
the audience is there simply to enjoy the music, not to think hard
about anything; and there is a real danger of the emergence of the
'Greenbelt Christian', the semi-converted, shallowly committed
teenager whose Christianity means little more than that he enjoys
festival-going." What a tremendously significant statement! And the
tragic fact is, that such 'Greenbelt Christians' are now found in
their multiplied thousands right around the globe. For it is not just
the large festivals that have succumbed to this spirit of
entertainment. We now find this 'entertain-them-at-all-costs' approach
to youth ministry everywhere, from local church youth groups right up
to large regional gatherings. This spirit has pervaded everything,
particularly those areas in the church that are connected with young
people. In fact, it has become increasingly rare to find gatherings of
Christian youth now in which these attitudes do not prevail.
What we are actually doing by trying to make our Christianity more
worldly, is placing it at a great disadvantage. We are stripping it of
the things that historically have made the Christian faith so
appealing and powerful. I am also convinced that more than anything
else, today's jaded youth will respond to a CHALLENGE. In fact, I am
convinced that the greater the challenge, the more interest and the
greater level of discipleship there will be. What today's "amused-to-
death" young people need desperately is a cause worth fighting and
even dying for - a cause that calls them to deny themselves and to
live a life of radical obedience to God. Jesus Christ is that cause.
And if we don't provide such a challenge to today's jaded generation,
then don't be surprised if some much darker cause arises to steal
their allegiance. In many ways, today's youth, raised for much of
their lives in a spiritual and moral vacuum, are truly ripe for the
picking. And the devil knows this very well. If we are not willing to
provide the youth with a cause worth fighting for, then he surely
will.
There has always been a 'social' aspect to the Western church that has
attracted a certain 'club' membership. But this is different. This is
an epidemic, and it is being encouraged right from the very top down.
Many pastors and youth leaders have concluded that it is best to give
the young people what they seem to want, just so they can get the
numbers in the door. And the problem is growing worse, not better.
Unless something drastic is done, all I can personally see on the
horizon is years and years of such continual shallowness that we end
up with churches full of people who desire little else but
'ear-tickling', entertaining preaching and crowd-pleasing (rather than
God-pleasing) "worship". In actual fact, this is already a reality on
such a massive scale in today's Western church, that it begs the
question of whether true, historic Christianity can even survive much
longer without being utterly swamped by the prevailing hedonism and
selfishness. Despite what we are being told, things really are that
serious. True, historic Christianity is in terrible danger on many
fronts. Unless something dramatic occurs, I see only years of
increasing lukewarmness, shallowness and compromise ahead.
Surely the lament of Jesus found in Mt 15:8 is just as applicable
today as it was then: "This people draw nigh to me with their mouth
and honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." Where
are those amongst today's youth ministries who will stand up and be
counted for the Lord and His truth in our day?
***************************************
[-From the book, "Cool Christianity - Relevance or Compromise?"
by Andrew Strom. Freely downloadable from the following websites]:
--
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EDITOR - Andrew Strom.
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