There is a sweeping epidemic plaguing our spiritual world and it is threatening the righteousness of every Godly person in its wake. What I speak of is religious services that are designed to be highly entertaining. This is not to say that sermons cannot be humorous or pastors cannot smile during their preaching. I am referring to the times when there is no distinction between sermon and standup special, sacramental procession and carnival act.
Straight up, the Bible is not funny. The gospel is not comedic, it is dire and dreadful. The basic message tells us ‘we are all sinners, we should all die among our sins and be separated from God forever, and unless we live like Christ that is exactly what will happen to us’. This is far from entertaining or humorous. There are times of great destruction and despair, rape scenes, murders, and great people falling from great heights resulting in a complete disappointment in themselves and many around them.
Jesus spoke in parables, so do clergy. It just so happens that a lot of modern parables happen to be funny anecdotes. This doesn’t mean the entire Sunday morning service should be as such. When the message is delivered in a humorous way, it is perfectly fine. When the entertainment becomes the message, it becomes diluted. Singing, dancing, music, movies, and skits are all nice things to have in a church, even during service, but only when they convey a meaning. The focus should not be on the entertainment itself, but rather what the particular mode of expression is telling us.
There is a particular church in Doral which exemplifies this act. The welcome video on their website shows a series of different services, each one featuring pyrotechnics, acrobatics, and even an ATV driving onto the stage. Stage! There are no more altars, they are merely platforms where the players of a watered-down gospel can conduct their shows. To reiterate, the gospel contains a very serious message. The Bible offers a very real and very solemn way of life which includes humility, maturity, and calmness. A laughing congregation is one thing, a circus performance is entirely off-tilt. It is hard to take Jesus seriously when the house lights are inducing epileptic seizures.
Don’t be the lizard.
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2 comments:
I'm pretty sure that the message of the Gospels is not as dreary as you paint it. The message is not "we are all sinners, repent"; rather, isn't it more like: "love will overcome all grief."
either way, it doesn't involve driving an ATV on stage in the name of Christ
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