Are We To Be Entertained?

The lights were dimmed and cool, modern, techno music started playing in the arena. The stage lights were a shade of red. All the TV monitors were showing the stage for those who couldn’t see. There was a hush in the crowd. Then as the music was blaring, a door slid up to the right of the stage. And slowly you see this black, boxy-type figure slide out onto the stage. As more of the figure becomes visible, you realize it's a car driving onto the stage. But it is not just any car. It is a brand new black Rolls Royce! Then the Rolls Royce stops in the middle of the stage. The music quiets down. Out comes the driver. And as he steps out….he begins to preach his sermon!

No this is not a joke. This really did happen recently at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas. Pastor Ed Young drove out onto the stage behind the pulpit in a real Rolls Royce to start his sermon. And why? To use as an illustration. But this is not the first time Ed has used wild and expensive props to get a point across. He has used other cars like Corvettes and Ferraris. But he is not just partial to cars. He also brought a tank (yes a literal, real, military tank) and preached a sermon standing on top of it. He  and his wife spent 24 hours on the roof of the church in a king size bed to kick off his sermon series on sex and marriage. He had a soft serve ice cream on the pulpit to illustrate soft served watered down churches. He has had live animals such as lambs and a real lion. To even having a full size, hand painted basketball court built on the stage of the church for his March Madness themed sermon series.

Yet for this latest charade, he was ready to quiet the naysayers. After parking the Rolls Royce, he said, “Now some of you are saying, ‘I can’t believe you drove a Rolls Royce into church! Man that’s gimmicky!’ No it's not. It's godly. ‘Oh that's trite, that's flippant.’ No it's from Christ’s playbook. If you ever go to church and you find yourself bored, blame the communicator. The pastor. Don’t blame God. Yeah for some reason, we go to church and expect boredom. Just the opposite should be true. We are in ( and this is gonna mess you up ) the entertainment business. Entertainment is a good word. The word entertainment means to capture and hold someone's attention for an extended period of time. WHAT DID JESUS DO?! He captured! And He held people’s attention for an extended period of time. And He used illustrations and metaphors! Exhibit A…” and then Ed points to the screen where there is a list of scriptures where Jesus used metaphors and illustrations to get his point across while teaching. “Exhibit B…” and then he points to another set of verses on the screen highlighting the parables and metaphors used by Jesus. “So if you don’t use illustrations, if you don’t use metaphors, if you don’t use visuals, you are not being fully biblical in your communication. So we should welcome this and I am so happy. For 35 years, Fellowship Church is a creative church because (applause) we are made in the image of a creative creator. The first thing we know about God is that He is creative…you are a creative genius, I am a creative genius, created in the image of God. but for some reason we think we should shut it down in church? What bible are you reading? You're not reading the bible, you're scrolling too much. I'm talking bible here. Do you realize you are a Rolls Royce?” and then he goes into his sermon and why he drove this expensive car out onto the stage.

This is a good example of taking scripture, twisting it and speaking in half-truths. Did Jesus use illustrations when preaching? Yes. Is God a creative being? Yes. Are we made in His image? Yes. Are humans creative too because we are made in His image? Yes. Should we be bored at church? No. Is it the communicator’s fault if you are bored? Quite possibly. Still, having agreed to all of this, driving a Rolls Royce onto the stage at church is not godly in any way. Even though Ed thinks otherwise, churches are not in the entertainment business. We are in the gospel business. We are in the kingdom of God business. As Spurgeon said “"The Devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. Providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church."

Ed is right that Jesus did use illustrations and metaphors and that modern day pastors should do the same. But Jesus used His words. Jesus used average everyday items. Why can’t Ed use metaphors and analogies like Jesus did? Why not use his words to describe a Rolls Royce to get his point across? Or is Ed guilty of the very thing that he accused others of? Does he need these expensive props because his oral preaching won’t be enough to keep people engaged? When Jesus gave the parable of a treasure in the hidden field did he grab a real treasure chest filled with gold and precious stones? When illustrating the lost sheep, did Jesus go and buy a herd of sheep? Or when using a wedding feast as an analogy, did he throw an elaborate wedding party? It seems Ed is the one not using Jesus’ playbook. As John MacArthur warned, “To advance the Gospel by political lobbying, by any form of pragmatism, shallow Gospel entertainment, emotional manipulation, acceptance of sin and sinners, is to cross over into the devil's work.”

But that is the whole point. Ed said it himself that he is looking to entertain people. To grab their attention. It is all shock value. Yet that is not the job of the minister. He is not to entertain, but to herald. To preach the truth of God. If people in the church are truly Christians then His word will keep them captivated. It's as if Ed is saying that the bible is not enough and needs help. Help to keep people interested. Help to keep people from sleeping. So we have to drive luxurious cars in front of people. This is just preposterous. "It is a crying sin that there are men who can take the most thrilling truths in the universe and make them seem dull and dry. Some preachers would make the very angels of God nod if they were to listen to them." Spurgeon

The reason ministers are called to herald and not be the court jester, is because entertainment is not what our souls need. Entertainment engages us, but it doesn't feed us. Our souls need food, not pyrotechnics. Our hearts need real nourishment, not distractions. And the only food that is good for our souls is the word of God. "The Word is the bread of life, and the soul cannot live without it. A Christian should hunger after the Word as a hungry man does for a meal. He should say, 'Lord, give me this bread always.'" Thomas Watson
So be aware of ministers and churches that look to entertain you. While you may enjoy the show, it is not the mission of the church. "Within suitable bounds, recreation is necessary and profitable; but it never was the business of the Christian Church to supply the world with amusements... Our mission, however, is not to entertain the world; it is to save sinners through the preaching of the gospel." Spurgeon