Comments on: Stupid Evangelical Tricks: Five

By: Walking to and fro

Walking to and fro — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:33:42 +0000

KATHY brought up the most important word so far:
“brainwashed”. I suggest you find a reputable source for the techniques used in common by known cults, and see if you can honestly say there are NO parallels to what is to be found in these “services”. Oh, and I’m sure there’s been no knowing exploitation of these techniques, either. It must be a bizarre coincidence.
I wonder if William L. Shirer would notice any similarities to the very cynical and practical nature of the spectacle that met his eyes in 1934. When you’re done being upset over the comparison, dear reader, please consider the ease with which large numbers of any people anywhere may slip into disastrous folly, and ask yourself if there wasn’t a feeling of unease present before these few words ever struck your eyes…

By: David Haile

David Haile — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 19:27:00 +0000

I disagree with #3! I’ve regularly attended both Membership and Non-Membership churches and much preferred the latter which essentially calls everyone a friend. Out of my 47 years of life, I’ve spent 43 of those years in Membership churches. I’m still in one – been there 16 years and have not yet “joined”. It bugs me to even think that the person sitting on the pew next to me might not be a full-fledged member. Why bother with it? I’m a defacto member in another church in town and have since learned that they have over 300 members yet their Sunday attendance is around 100. What’s the benefit? They’d be wise to charge a $12/month membership fee.

By: KATHY

KATHY — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 17:20:07 +0000

It saddens me to see how brainwashed so many congregants are. Many of them are new Christians and unfortunately don’t have the maturity or expanded knowledge to recognize their selfish acts of worship. These churches call themselves “seeker driven”. Unfortunately, our Sunday time of worship does anything but give worth and glory to our God. The time is spent trying to make people and visitors feel comfortable, while being culturally sensitive..at the expense of a “touch-feely” gospel and music that satisfies their emotional need rather than directing their worship to God. I myself resigned from the praise team I once participated on and will soon be leaving the church. I don’t need to be on stage with a captive audience to worship my God. I also don’t have an ego that needs stroking. I just want to serve and worship my God in the way he commands it. Besides, worshipping is not for His benefit anyhow. God doesn’t require our worship. He already knows how great He is. The wonderful thing about worship is, God commands it of us, because He knows we will benefit from it, by becoming closer in our relationship with Him. It is part of the spiritual disciplines that help us come to know God better. I don’t want to worship God to get a spiritual buzz or high, I want to worship to honor Him and come to know Him more deeply.

Who ever thought that worship is actually a gift from God. Interesting, isn’t it?

By: Steven Barrett

Steven Barrett — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:19:22 +0000

I’ll take that real old time religion Rome has to offer any day, after having my fill of the P & W garbage for too many years (12) I’d care to admit to. What surprises me is how many young academics (professors) in the college town (which I’m keeping anonymous) I attend a Baptist church have allowed themselves to get sucked up into it.

Praise and Worship: maybe three original lines and four boring notes, with a heavy side dish of hot air.

By: Kyle Potter

Kyle Potter — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:02:00 +0000

That’s been my experience with local Episcopalian churches: come for the Bible readings, stay for the… um, uh… well, exactly.

Okay, Michael, seriously. I always assumed you are a Calvinist. Have you written any posts explaining this? I had enjoyed bragging on my ecumenism, claiming that yes, I do read a “Calvinist” blogger.

I have to go find some other way to seem open-minded now.

By: wordsworth

wordsworth — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 14:56:12 +0000

It’s not just the evangelicals that are off the rails. On Easter morning, we attended a large, old downtown Episcopal church in the city we were visiting. The rector preached a lengthy sermon on how we can find our own PERSONAL resurrections. In fact, any time we find ourselves improving, even just a little bit, we should claim that as a personal resurrection. In fact, those resurrections might be so small that nobody notices them but us, but sure enough, those are resurrections. In fact, those are the only REAL resurrections. It was tragic. (”If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”)

There WAS wonderful scripture in the liturgy. God’s Word is good that way. But every song was completely un-sing-able and (to us) completely unfamiliar. We sang nary a “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” or “Up from the Grave He Arose.”

It was a sad Easter while we were in that building. It made me think that the church Herself sometimes becomes the tomb. And the tomb is empty.

Barbara

By: Marcia

Marcia — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:19:51 +0000

I am really interested in anyone who goes to a Holy Week service and gets the worst of contemporary evangelicalism.

You rang?

Our church only offered its usual Sunday morning service, and we had plans to be out of town, having lunch with at my parents’ house, so we went to another local church for a Saturday evening service.

Mega-place, with the coffee shop and bookstore. I’m not at all opposed to coffee; in fact, I’m rather fond of it. But it does set the “see how hip we are!” tone.

Started off well; we sang “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” which I enjoyed. The pastor started preaching immediately after, and it was good, so far, when he took a break and the choir started to perform.

And perform they did, with a state-of-the-art, God knows how expensive sound system, video screens, and overly-exuberant “Look at me! Look at me!” director, and–and–interpretive dancers.

Ugh. Just shoot me now. It was the loudest, most-attention seeking behavior ever. It had nothing to do with worship and everything to do with impressing newcomers and/or overcompensating for not being a noticed in high school.

Then the pastor came back, and he was actually good, but I was completely turned off by the over-stimulating environment.

By: Bryan Riley

Bryan Riley — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 16:28:49 +0000

You are capturing many important points here. We are drawing people to method, culture, media, rather than transforming those things and rather than drawing them to the magnificence of a Risen Lord and Almighty God through the every day living by the Holy Spirit.

By: Michael Spencer

Michael Spencer — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 15:52:37 +0000

To say that baptism is the normal Biblical description of entrance into the church (i.e. the recognized moment when faith is confessed) is a basic truth. That is not the same as saying Baptism saves – it doesn’t- or that it is necessary to salvation- it isn’t.

By: David McKay

David McKay — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 13:01:08 +0000

G’day, notmyopinion. Baptism is the doorway into the church in the New Testament [with repentance and faith, of course].

Asking Jesus into your heart as the doorway into a personal experience with Christ [with optional church] is a 19th or even 20th century aberration.

In the New Testament, baptism is clearly part of the process of becoming a Christian. But this is heresy in many quarters today.

A good antidote to some modern ideas on salvation is to read chunks of the New Testament, instead of odd verses, which are often used to distort the bible’s teaching.

[Michael, I think you'll find the Warren-Harris debate is in Newsweek. I haven't been a fan of Pastor Warren, but I don't think he did a bad job.]