From the Elder's Pen ENTERTAINMENT Past/Future Articles

If entertainment belongs anywhere, it is in the home with individuals, and not in the church program of worship.  The Bible is clear that God is to be emphasized through teaching and preaching.  Christ said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” (John 12:32).  In Corinthians we read, “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord …” (2 Cor. 4:5).  Any approach that takes attention away from God’s book and God’s Son is not an approach that is pleasing to the Lord.

It is not surprising that more and more church functions are headlined by some form of entertainment as if needed to draw a crowd.  Christians no longer edify each other but entertain one another. Christ came to seek and save the lost, not to entertain.  The great men of the Bible did not offer people what they wanted, rather, what they needed.  Today many church leaders tickle ears with friendly entertainment that distracts from God’s message, substituting that which their audience wants to hear.

When the church goes into the entertainment business it is a sign that spirituality is very low.  Some congregations have eased over into the softball business, the basketball business, the entertainment business, and other such like things, thinking this is the work God has assigned them to do.  We all need some entertainment, but it is the duty of the church to stick to spiritual affairs and not to entertainment.  The church is the pillar and support of the truth and not entertainment.  The Hebrew writer says . To serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly fear (Heb. 12:28).  Hope to see you Sunday.

Charlie Turner, Elder