for deep thought lately. Good thing too because stuff like this drives me nuts.
Some Christian congregations, particularly in lower income, urban areas, are turning to an unlikely source for help — the Church of Scientology.
Scientologists do not worship God, much less Jesus Christ. The church has seen plenty of controversy and critics consider it a cult. So why are observant Christians embracing some its teachings?
Unbelievable. The faith is getting so intertwined with the world it’s hard to tell them apart at times. I especially like the reasoning behind these moves.
Two pastors who spoke recently with CNN explained that when it comes to religion, they still preach the core beliefs of Christianity. But when it comes to practicing what they preach in a modern world, borrowing from Scientology helps.
“I’m looking for solutions, and the people that I help, they don’t ask me who L. Ron Hubbard is,” said McLaughlin, who works with addicts. “You know what they say? ‘Thank God.’ ”
Reminds me of the churches that are buying Halo 3 to reach out to teenage males, the ends justify the means types of arguments. Or that church that hosted the nasty Holy Hip Hop Awards earlier this year.
Kennedy admits other pastors have criticized him, but the disapproval is not enough to discourage him. He insists that he has witnessed the changes “The Way to Happiness” has inspired in people. He also maintains that the Scientologists, many of whom he calls friends, are successful at outreach and getting desired results.
I think this is just what is predicted in the bible. It’s sad to see. We are so blessed in this country, but people can’t see it somehow, and search for some kind of ” happiness” I am saddened ministers are leaving the core, which is what sustains. “The World” is hard to fight, I suppose.
Which church hosted the Holy Hip Hop awards?
That was Copperfield Church. I sorta went off on them, probably shouldn’t have done that.
I didn’t see the show, although I could have run the audio for it – had something else come up. (Yes, I am a member of Copperfield Church and I run the audio there in a regular basis for Sunday services and events.)
I’ve got mixed feelings about Christian “hip-hop” although I guess I never really studied up on the artists. I would not be so concerned if they had a “past” as much as if that “past” was still an active part of their lives. I am not sure if hip-hop is a good vehicle to deliver Christ’s message, but I would have to give these guys a listen first.
That leads me to a bigger question though: There is a certain part of the community you won’t ever reach for Christ by simply opening up a church service every morning for people to come in and hear a message from the Bible. That’s great for those who are already Christians, and even good for many seekers, because God’s Word is powerful, but (and here’s the question) what’s the balance between “the end justifies the means” and some reasonable stretching to reach people where they are?
Personally, I am not sure that Copperfield has crossed those lines, but then again, there’s not been any church I’ve been a member of that I haven’t had some questions about their ministry decisions.
That’s interesting, I had no idea you were a member there.
I don’t have a problem with hip-hop as a music form, in fact, I like the beat. The problem I had with this specific event was the same I have with any other that uses the gospel to glorify anyone other than Christ. And that is what I think this event and others like it do.
To add to that, this particular event celebrated a couple of flat out nasty pieces of trash. Have they repented and come to the cross? I have no idea and cannot, will not in any way judge their salvation, not my job.
But it is my job as a believer to say, you know, perhaps you should wait a little while after your conversion, get a basic understanding of the faith and let people see the change in you before we deem you as a hero of the faith.
I agree with you that a large segment of society will not darken the door of a church on Sunday morning. That is why we have to reach them daily, in our personal lives. We have to be a living example of Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to use us to reach them. I think church services, be they big or small, are for believers to worship and grow in the faith. Can people come to Christ by showing up and being convicted on the spot? Certainly. But those are the exceptions.
Had Pastor Womack conducted this in a somewhat lower key light, I would have just shrugged my shoulders and said, cool. But read the promotions, read the different websites related to it and you’ll be hard pressed to form an opinion that this event was focused upon Christ.
As for “the end justifies the means”, the only way that can be true is if the means glorifies Christ, not just the end. It reminds me of a story my dad tells about when he was a young preacher. His buddy in seminary used to go to strip joints to spread the gospel. Suffice to say, he didn’t make much of a pastor and ended up with a broken family.
Been a while in responding – been lurking and reading drama you-know-where. I don’t know why, I guess I’m a glutton for punishment.
As for the hip-hop awards, I guess Larry (Womack) could have asked that this be conducted in a lower-key manner, but I am not sure if a hip-hop show can be done in a low-key fashion. Especially if it is done in an award show format. I’d like to believe that the idea was well-intentioned, at least. I haven’t really talked about the subject with Larry personally.
FWIW, Copperfield hosted another event called “The Unveiling” that an outfit called Onseeker.com (an outfit trying to put together a Christian-friendly search engine – and who is in a state of flux right now if you look at their website) put together. It was definitely more low-key and was basically a battle-of-the-bands type event with some regional Christian bands trying to get a little recognition. I did work the audio at this event. It was actually webcast live, and a couple of videos made it out to the web:
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=a8c07772675977b43ce3
Don’t know how you feel about some of the younger Christian bands out there, or even a church webcasting such an event in cooperation with a for-profit company (who admittedly wants to do the right thing and make some money at the same time), but I think that it was a neat opportunity and I got to meet some college-age kids who had a real heart for Christ. There was supposed to be an “Unveiling 2”, but it has been postponed for a year…
BTW: Did you know that your protection codes time out for “sarge-style” comments? I tend to protect myself by copying the text in webforms to the clipboard when posting comments in a web form…
That first link is a great tune.
I like the young bands. I like all music, I just don’t like the profit part of modern Christianity. Not even a little. But that’s just me and my likes, I speak for no one.
As for the hip-hop event, can you imagine Jesus arriving in a Hummer limo, getting out to flashes popping, walking down a red carpet and standing in a VIP line so that people could gawk at Him and get their picture taken with him?
I feel the same way about the Dove awards and anything else that glorifies people. Glorification and edification are not the same thing.
What passes for the faith these days is very troubling to me. Are churches making a difference in their neighborhoods?
Didn’t know it timed out but it sure has stopped spam. Went from about 600 an hour to zero, allows me to leave it open.