Thursday, May 24, 2007

My head just exploded! (again!)

Grab the duct tape, this is unbelievable! The following video is from Newspring Church in Anderson, South Carolina where Perry Noble is the pastor.

You've got to watch this video and weep over the state of the church in our country. When we can have American Idol-like contests in the church and will allow someone to sing, "I've got friends in low places" it is revealing just how far the Church has gone in America!

What is really unbelievable to me is the way the video ends - with the worship leader calling the "church" to worship - right after a song about whiskey and friends in low places (a song which uses profanity by the way!)

I find it disturbing the amount of praise I hear for Perry Noble (yes, I've even heard it from some in Conservative Holiness Movement!) I've mentioned Perry Noble in my blog previously, and believe me, I have nothing personal against him. What disturbs me is how he and others are continuing to lead the Church down a path which is the "broad" way - rather than the "narrow." Case in point is this video:

8 comments:

  1. Kinda makes you want to take a hymnal and smack them upside the head, doesn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  2. You nailed it! That's exactly what I feel like doing! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Absolutely unbelievable! Where is the reverence and respect for God?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hit their head with a hymnal? What kind of Christians are you?

    ReplyDelete
  5. We would be the kind of Christian who occassionaly use sarcastic humor...

    Believe me, I have no actual desire to thump anyone on the head with a hymnal - except for someone named Lewis...

    Just kidding - relax :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. The thinking that people use is, "I listen to this music out of church (and I'm a "Christian") therefore what's wrong with listening to it in church as an icebreaker." It just doesn't happen one day in Church, it first happens in our private life. Our life is to be a continual living out of worship, therefore separated unto God, to be an acceptable offering to God. Jon, I enjoy your blog. Blessings, Phillip Dickinson

    ReplyDelete
  7. While Perry and others like him lead the charge in bringing people to Christ you and others like you shoot them in the back. Stop shooting people on the same team! You worry more about the state of the church and what the church is doing rather than simply seeking and saving the lost. That is the main purpose of the church.

    Leaders in the church (like you) get offensive and criticise someone who "breaks the rules" and aren't doing things that coincide with tradition. In the Bible, these people were called Pharisees. So just know you are in good company.

    I'm sure you and the commenters here are great people, and I won't be the one to doubt your salvation. I just don't see the point in criticizing someone for using American Idol and popular music as a means to attract lost people. It was a series discussing idols that Americans create for themselves. Like you with your idol of tradition. It's creativity. No need in criticising it.

    Let God do the judging. God is obviously allowing his ministry to flourish. That burns you up doesn't it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. To the spineless individual above who obviously lacked the courage to stand behind their comments by posting their name…..Hello?!

    I am all for being creative when it comes to reaching the lost, my family and I attend a liberal church (in standards only….the doctrine is right on with scripture), and I have been labeled a prodigal by many for my “liberal” views. So I am by no means a “right-wing fanatic.” Now that we have that established, let’s move on.

    How far can you walk towards the edge of a cliff before you fall off? How close do you have to get to the fire before you are burned? How “radical” can you be in your “evangelistic” efforts before you cross the line? Would you advocate singing “Adam’s Song” by Blink-182 as an invitation for young people to give their lives to Christ? Would you be a fan of having a Shania Twain knock-off singing “Who’s Bed Have Your Boots Been Under” as an icebreaker for a marriage seminar? You want more men in the church? Then why not have a Friday night porn fest? Why not have church prostitutes that share the gospel with their clients as they are servicing them?

    Yes, being pharisaical is wrong, but calling sin for what it is does not constitute a pharisaical action. Did Jesus tell Mary the adulteress, “Neither do I condemn you; go and screw some more?” Heck no! But are you going to tell me that Christ our Lord was a Pharisee? He used relevant methods for His day, but He was not going to stoop to sin in order to gain popularity, so why should we?

    The idea of using a spin-off of American Idol to teach about the idols we have created in our lives is a great idea (if used properly), and I am a fan of the idea. But that doesn’t mean that the door should then be left wide open. Once again, I am for being relevant; I am all for using contemporary methods, and I believe that many churches, both conservative and otherwise, are dead because they have failed to do so. But I must ask the question again….How far can we go before we fall overboard?

    ReplyDelete