“But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
- Matthew 15:9
Many pastors are leading their churches to leave the faith and practice found in the New Testament and adopt a more modern, community oriented style. There was a time in most Baptist churches when the services were focused upon worship that glorified God, and the preaching consisted of instruction from the Scriptures.
In 2005 World Magazine, a weekly news magazine written from a Christian perspective, published this statement: “Nothing is more characteristic of evangelical church meetings at the end of the 20th century than their orientation to the consumer, especially the unchurched one. Churches decide what their market niche is; they study their target audience; they design the services to appeal to the consumer.” In a word, worship services have become us-centered, rather than God-centered.
Would you rather have your Sundays free to play golf or visit with family? Fine, we’ll implement a quickie convenience-service for you at some other time during the week so that Sunday can be your day.
Are the old songs boring? Do you find “Rock of Ages” and “Amazing Grace” unexciting? We understand, so they say, and so they jazz up the rhythm with some hand-clapping, foot-stomping or some other method to feed the emotions.
Are you tired of being preached to? An Alabama church uses videos of the old Andy Griffith Show as a part of their Sunday school curriculum. They spend the first portion of the class watching Andy and Barney and then discuss the moral lessens learned from the episodes.
Do references to sin and repentance annoy you? Okay, we can restrict ourselves to sessions on self-esteem, how to have “healing” in your life for emotional distress syndrome.
These methods of so called worship are as far from the New Testament pattern as the imagination can fathom and yet it seems that we continue to hear about new gimmicks on an increasing level that is alarming. God never intended for worship to satisfy the desires of men, to build self-esteem or to be planned at a time when they fit conveniently into our schedule. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” – John 4:24
Post Author: John J. Bagby, Sr.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
- Ephesians 5:23-24
In a church that wears the name of the Lord Jesus Christ there will be an orderly arrangement which was designed by God. The world has an ideology of power and rank. In the mind of the world the key to greatness is to climb to the top and assume some control. If the methods of the world creep into a New Testament church the potential for conflict is a certainty. When the conflict becomes inflamed, occasionally somebody will repeat a very familiar cliche, “You all run the show!” How sad to put the Lord’s work on the level of theatrics. Nobody can give to another what one does not possess. Human power in a church is only a perception of the mind and a person must realize what they are doing in order to relinquish the influence of their behavior.
In the Garden of Eden, it was the role of self dominance and ignoring the leadership of God that caused the downfall of the entire race. Adam willfully chose to follow his wife and eat that which was forbidden by God. In the words of Satan to Eve, Genesis 3:5, For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Satan successfully convinced our first parents that by eating the fruit, they would become wise and powerful as God (for knowledge is power), and be able to exist forever, independently of Him. It is therefore a tendency as old as humanity to live independently from the orderly arrangement of God; assume a role not given by God.
The beloved apostle John, praised Gaius and addressed the self assumed role of Diotrephes, 3 John 9, I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, receives us not. Here is the ultimate expression of desiring the most awesome position in a church, assuming the position which God Himself has given only to Jesus Christ.
Just as there are different roles between the husband and wife, there is a distinction between Christ and His churches. The members of the body should constantly be on guard of neglecting the role of being subject to Christ, His word, and controlled by the Holy Spirit instead of assuming the role of preeminence. To assume the role of Jesus Christ is similar to our first parents assuming the role of independence from God. Let us all in particular reflect on ourselves and ask the question, am I letting Jesus remain in the most awesome position in this church? Pray that God would help us all to apply ourselves as servants unto Christ in word and in deed.
Post Author: John J. Bagby, Sr.