Follow-up to "'...salt...not sugar...'"

In a previous post, I quoted an article by Charles Spurgeon entitled Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats? in which he denounced the entertainment-based worship of the nineteenth-century Protestant evangelical movement. The point of my post, of course, was to question the propriety of such practices in today's worship communities.

In response, one of my readers brought up an excellent question: What about being "all things to all men?" (1Co 9.22)

I think it's a good idea, first of all, to remember that Paul can be easy to misread (2Pet 3.15-16), so we might consider that, when he says he tries to be "all things to all men," he doesn't mean that he tries to worship God in the most culturally relevant manner possible in order to win converts.

I know, dear reader, that you were as appalled as I was by the video I showed you of the clown Mass. But I have to wonder why that bothered you so much. Doesn't it fall under the "all things to all men" heading? I imagine you felt that a clown troupe serving Communion was simply over the line, but the problem, I think, is determining where that line is: where does appropriate become inappropriate? If rock and roll and laser light shows and cutting-edge multimedia on a Sunday morning can be justified with the "all things to all men" argument, what can't be? Honestly. Why not a nudist church? Is that over the line? There's nothing inherently sinful or evil about nudity and it's a good way to be "all things" to the nudists. Wouldn't you agree?

What about the church whose pastor dresses up like the Joker and the Incredible Hulk in order to make his sermons more timely?

Or the church in which the parishioners don Star Wars costumes and sing hymns to the tune of the Star Wars theme?

Are these over the line? If so, then where exactly is the line, and how can we be sure that drum sets and "dramas" are on the proper side of it?

I submit that the line is still way back where someone decided that being "all things to all men" meant that Sunday morning worship should conform to the latest cultural impulses.

If St Paul walked into Grace Community Church on a Sunday morning, would he have any idea what was going on? Would he praise them for being "all things to all men," or would he scold them for having "conformed to the world" (Rom 12.2)?

Don't forget that Paul also wrote that we should "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Ep 5.8-12). Is this done by allowing the secular world to influence our spiritual lives? By conforming the sacred to the profane?

Is it done by teaching converts to the Faith that worship of God Almighty need not be any more holy and reverent than a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert? Or by giving kids the idea that the Holy Scriptures are to be given the same honor as a comic book or an issue of Cosmo or Glamour? Is it done by allowing people to believe that attending worship should be as convenient and comfortable as watching the latest summer blockbuster from the front seat of their SUV? Or that there's nothing whatsoever inappropriate about merging Sunday worship with football?

Honestly, what's next?

When the Apostles went into the world to spread the Gospel, they didn't sacrifice the holiness and reverence of the Sunday worship in order to win converts. They learned the language, ate the food, they may even have dressed or shaved according to local customs. That's how they became "all things." They also translated the Liturgy into the local language, but they never abandoned it; they never allowed popular culture to supplant God-ordained worship. They knew that "friendship of the world is enmity with God (Jam 4.4)" and that to confuse holy worship with popular culture was to leave God behind.

In a brilliant article entitled Mission and Worship - America and the Orthodox, Fr. Stephen Freeman relates a story about Orthodox missionaries in Alaska, who "found a tribe of Native Alaskans who lived exclusively on cariboo [sic]. There were no vegetables in their diet - only cariboo. The first conundrum arose with the question of fasting. It is traditional for Orthodox to fast from meat, fish, wine, dairy and olive oil during a fast period (such as Great Lent). What to tell these native Alaskans? The missionaries wrote back to the Bishop who responded: 'During the fast, tell them to eat less cariboo.' A perfect Orthodox solution."

That's being "all things to all men."

Now, having said all that, are there ever situations in which popular music, laser-light shows, dramatic performance, or cutting-edge multimedia are appropriate? I would say that yes there are. In a church-sponsored coffee house setting, or a Wednesday night gathering, maybe even a talent show hosted by the local parish. These things take place and they're fine and they attract people. But again, we have to ask, at what point do we cross the line? I think that's one of those you'll-know-when-you-get-there situations. Keep in mind St Paul's instruction to "test all things; hold fast to that which is good" (1Th 5.21). A worship body that truly allows itself to be guided by the Holy Spirit will be able to recognize the point at which "God-honoring" becomes "man-honoring" and will avoid it. However, the church that chooses to abandon holiness in favor of spectacle presumes much by presuming guidance by the Holy Spirit.

I think it's fair to say that the way in which a church body conducts its Sunday worship is a pretty good indication of it's view of God.

So, when a seeker walks into Sunday morning worship, should he be entering into the presence of the King of Kings, the Creater of the Universe, Who is Holy, and Eternal, and Unequaled, and Unsearchable? When he goes to church on a Sunday morning, should he be taught to bow before the throne of "the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth"?

Or how to hang out with his buddy Jesus?

The Scriptures never promised that preaching "Christ and Him crucified" would be cool or sexy or hip or relevant, but would be regarded as a "stumbling block" and as "foolishness" (1Co 1.23).

If there is a place in church for entertainment, and I think there is, it should not be in place of proper Sunday worship. We should be all things to all men, but never at the expense of holiness, dignity, mystery, awe, beauty, or reverence.

Here again let me recommend Fr. Stephen's article:
Mission and Worship - America and the Orthodox

And, while you're at it, read these:
The Circus Church
In Spite of all the Church Entertainment...
Young adults aren't sticking with church
Americans Leaving Churches in Droves