Have you seen this trend?
Church-goers take their seats on a Sunday morning as the lights dim and The Sandlot, Marry Poppins, or some other movie appears on the big screen. Between movie clips, a pre-recorded video of a pastor comes on and ties the lessons from the clip to Christ and the Christian life. This is typical of a “church at the movies” series, and it’s a trend, especially in megachurches.
It may be entertaining, it may be edifying, but it’s not biblical.
God is to be feared, honored, and respected. He has the power to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). He knows our heart and our every thought (Psalm 139:23).
God has told us how He is to be worshipped, and He does not want us to go outside of what He has commanded, no matter how well intentioned. Consider what happened to Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10:1-3:
Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace.
The LORD just told the Israelites exactly how to build the tabernacle (giving very specific instructions) and exactly how to worship Him through sacrifices and offerings. So what did He do when Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s own sons, decided to worship Him in their own creative ways that He did not command? He killed them. They defied His commands, and God reminded all that He is Holy and He is to be properly glorified as such.
This also happens in the New Testament. Ananias and Sapphira bring an offering to the Lord from a piece of land they sold. But they lied, claiming that the offering they gave to the church was the entire price of the land they sold when it was not. But God reminds them all in the new covenant that He is still Holy and desires true worship that glorifies Him in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23). They both immediately die. Acts 5:1-11:
But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
The Lord still cares about how He is worshipped. Do not mistake His patience for His approval. Romans 2:4: “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”
Throughout the New Testament we see believers gathering on the Lord’s Day for, among a few other things, 1) the preaching of God’s Word, 2) observance of the Lord’s Supper, 3) baptism, 4) singing praises to God, and more. But never teaching the flock lessons about life and God from the Roman theatre on the Lord’s Day. Remember that Christ is Lord and Caesar is not, and Sunday is the Lord’s Day, not Caesar’s (Luke 20:25).
Christ is Lord and Caesar is not, and Sunday is the Lord’s Day, not Caesar’s (Luke 20:25)
Pastor, is the Word of God not sufficient for all things? Faith comes through hearing the Word of God: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:2, “We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” It is the very sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). The overseers role is to make the word of God fully known (Colossians 1:25). Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Pastors are supposed to rightly handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). The word of God discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). The Word of God sanctifies us: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). The author of Hebrews rebukes his audience for not maturing in the Word of God: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:12-14).
It’s time to stop entertaining the goats. It’s time to feed the sheep.
It’s time to stop entertaining the goats. It’s time to feed the sheep.
Additionally, the church is a gathering place in the midst of a spiritual war. The church is the church militant. Believers are waging war against sin, Satan and the world and need to be trained, recharged, and equipped to go back out into the world and fight. Not to be entertained and distracted.
Ephesians 6:12-13,17 describes that we are in a spiritual war, and our only weapon described is the Word of God: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm… and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 says our weapons have divine power to destroy spiritual strongholds: “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
Ultimately we know the gates of hell will not prevail against the church: “… I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18) but there will be casualties (1 John 2:19).
Finally, it’s time to grow up, and Pastors need to lead the way. What we have seen – especially since the Seeker Sensitive Movement – is the juvenilization of the church. Grown men and women acting like adolescents and seeking entertainment over discipleship. Is this how it should be? Obviously not, and pastors are at least partially responsible: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1).
Colossians 1:28 says pastors are to teach with all wisdom to present everyone mature in Christ: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”
Ephesians 4:11-16 says pastors are to equip the saints to attain mature manhood: “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
In conclusion, “church” at the movies is what happens when you have a low view of God’s holiness, an unbiblical view of the purpose of the local church, a lack of trust in the sufficiency of Scripture, an ignorance of the spiritual war that is happening all around us, and grown men – like Peter Pan – wanting to stay immature, adolescent boys forever. Like the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-5, may we hear God’s call to repent and return to the love we had at first, the love of the pure, uncompromising and offensive Gospel:
To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
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