On a typical Sunday morning, Christadelphians around the continent gather to remember our Lord Jesus Christ. These meetings are comprised of brothers and sisters, young people, children and friends reading scripture, hearing exhortation and, for baptized members, participating in the breaking of bread service. Typically, Christadelphians meet in modest ecclesial halls, rented facilities or members’ homes. The service is conducted with the understanding that all things are done orderly and in fulfilment of a commandment of Christ that we should remember him until he comes.
Small audiences, low tech
A typical service will be attended by 10 to as many as 150 persons. Only under unusual circumstances, such as a fraternal gathering, does a memorial service exceed a few hundred believers.
Throughout the meeting, the focus of those attending is drawn toward the Bible and remembrance at the memorial table. Characteristically, Christadelphians are more interested in the message rather than the one conveying it or the special effects of electronic equipment. As a result, Sunday morning services are low tech affairs, with the most sophisticated piece of electronics being little more than an electric organ and amplifier system.
The megachurches
Christadelphian services, however, are in sharp contrast with a growing number of “Christian type services.” On April 16, 1995, articles appeared in both the New York Times and the Toronto Star chronicling the megachurches of the 90’s. Both of these articles were responding to the explosion in popularity of such churches.
The Star reported, “The Phoenix Community of Joy church has moved into a 6,000 seat stadium, simply because the church has outgrown their former 800 seat building.” These churches appeal to many because of how the message is put forth.
Loud and fast paced
On a typical Sunday morning, a service in one of the megachurches is a theatrical production designed to grab your attention and keep it riveted. “Go to a Sunday service in a megachurch and chances are you will see a fast paced, scripted production. The service is comprised of a high energy, high volume, music production utilizing dramatic skits with staff members acting as actors” wrote the Star reporter.
The Willow Creek model
The form and substance of the megachurches is based on a project that was conducted by the Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, IL. During the 1980’s, attendance at their Sunday morning services had slowly declined from several hundred followers to a low of thirty. In order to reverse the trend, the Willow Creek church entirely revamped its Sunday morning program to compete with the entertainment media a typical parishioner was used to seeing. The objective was to base the service on a combination of the best aspects of television, theater, stage and sporting events.
Frequently copied
The format has been so successful it has been copied by several different “Christian” organizations. According to the New York Times, a typical Willow Creek-style service proceeds as follows: “The 10:30 service at the Community Church of Joy, in Glendale, Arizona, earlier this month opened with a trio of vocalists backed by a rock quartet singing a ‘praise chorus,’ a contemporary pop-style hymn of perhaps 25 words or less. The lyrics were easily accessible to everyone, they were simply printed in the church bulletin which was handed out to everyone entering the building. In this way, the entire congregation could sing along. After the final chord died away, the senior pastor, clad in a blue blazer and holding a cordless microphone, urged everyone to greet one another, the most fantastic people in the world. The music surged again, a staff member then read two verses from scripture, then a play about two school children sharing one’s faith. A few minutes later, the service was over. It was the third of the morning, a fourth would begin in 15 minutes.” The article concludes by stating: “All that’s missing is silence.”
Entertainment for religion
Because it is successful in drawing audiences, the Willow Creek Community Church formula is spreading rapidly across the continent. It appeals to the masses of people who are looking to be entertained rather than educated in the hope of the coming age.
Jesus spoke in plain language of the type of individual who craves the medium rather than the message. “The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away” (Matt. 13:20-21 NIV).
Part of the latter days
Indeed, the continued dilution of the word of God is a sign these are the latter days. The scriptures foretell of a time when “men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (II Tim. 4:3-4 MV).
As a certain indicator of these times, the Toronto Star reports that even the language of the 90’s is being used by these “Christian” churches in order to satisfy their audiences. In slang vernacular, the angel appearing to Moses in the burning bush is described: “God appears in the burning bush and Moses is totally blown away. Wow, says Moses, This is awesome.”
As the latter days continue, let us continue to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” so that we may follow the true path that leads to eternal life.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One