Christian Living

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There is a tendency today for smaller churches to copy so-called mega churches in their methods. On paper, 10,000 members looks impressive.

Yet that church can be a giant social club whose members haven’t had full biblical teaching and so have no guts to do anything for Jesus. They may be attending just to be entertained.

The pastor of such a church writes a best-selling book outlining his “success” methods, and the world’s little churches are thinking - hey, what a great way to get bottoms on seats! They think that is the way to go, and hop onto what can be a non-spiritual cart.

God may be moving in that mega-church, or He may not be. There are worldly ways of drawing numbers of people that have nothing to do with God – using fund-raising consultants, a good publicity agent, advertising, ex-rock band musicians, go-go dancers. That appeals to young people in particular, who in their tenderness of age are easily led.

Is the preacher promoting himself, his church, ministry, personal ambition, or God? The same applies to television evangelists. Only the Lord knows the motive, but it’s where we must ask Him to reveal the truth to us by spiritual discernment.

Crowds will flock to what they want to hear; a better life financially, new car, bigger house – and they’re told God will give it to them if they’ll “just raise their hand” and join the prosperous flock. Usually, part of such preaching is a ten-minute message on giving prior to the offering, and “awesome” in every other sentence uttered. “Cool” is a favourite also.

Such are the “ear tickling messages” outlined in 2 Timothy 4:3: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

We can do these checks: is the preaching constantly telling the whole truth, or just the goodies of the Bible – love, joy, blessings, prosperity. Is there any mention of hell, sin, repentance, God’s wrath, holiness, persecution? Is the theme like Bing Crosby’s old song “Ya gotta accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative”? That is all right in the world’s thinking but it doesn’t apply in God’s Word.

So, young people and small-church pastors, beware. The world is full of false prophets. Compare everything against the Bible. Don’t copy some idea or method just because the originator of it draws huge crowds.

I'm not in Private Messenger. Contact me at saul2_au at yahoo dot com

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