Wednesday, February 20, 2008

To entertain or not to...

I heard this morning a podcast on the issue of Church and Entertainment. It was a one sided arguement on this issue, though there were some vaild points on this issue of over dramatizing worship services. I was saved and serverd in a Charamstic chruch, where there could have been consider times of just entertianment of man than having a meeting of the Spirit's guidence. By in large I am grateful for those times of where there was a great sense of God's Spirit in the service that lead many to an emotional repsonse. For it was proceeded by scripture that drove those emotions, meaning there was logical thought before an outburst of emotion. There was a balance of both logical thought and responsive emotion. So as you can mybe discern I am of the thought that you can have both logical thought and a emotional experience. The argument that states that we ought to disallow such "entertainment", I would say as God's Spirit move within His people through rational thought there will be an natural out pouring of raw emotion. I would contend that in differing culture and sub-cultures this out pouring of emotions will look and feel different.
Honestly how can any person project a standard outcome within in all people, when all people respond differently in a given situation. I believe this is a great travisty with in modern Church as a whole. I have never read in scripture that there is a right way or a for sure worong method in worshiping God or even calling His people to worship Him. What does Jesus say in how the true worshipers are going to worship God... In spirit and in truth!!! (John 4:24) There are questions that arise from this verse, how, in what manner, where is the limit. I believe that God does things in order and in a way that commiuncates His truth and His ways. In saying this, there is a limit of no return in a sense, to measure this has to be the objective truth that God would not bring about confussion within worshiping Him nor bring about an choatic assembly that would not bring drawn unto Him. In Acts we read about thousands of people coming unto Christ, this done in an oderly fassion, especially when it was done on the day on Pentecost. Other moments were when the Apostles encounter demon possed people, sorcceries, and etc...
Now that I have ranted and eaved a bit, my point is this entertainment has always been involved in human existence, as history tells us, so what are we as Christians do with the fact that there is a level in whuich people want or need some vaule in drawing them towards God, is this wrong for the Christian to think about or does God allow the believer to act in such manner? I believe... yes it is ok to think in these terms as long as there is a clear balance of God being the one reciving the honor and glory not man. How this looks is different in all circutamces, but God has given to His creation the ability to be creative, so why not use it for His glory.

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