Repackaging Biblical Truth

If you're anything like me, then sometimes you question the way things have always been done. Just because we have done something a certain way for “as long as I can remember” doesn't mean we should continue down that road. I haven't always been like this. However, as the Lord has led me in my walk He has convicted me that I must always return to the source. Ad fontes is a Latin expression which means "to the source" (lit. "to the fountain"). The Protestant Reformation called for renewed attention to the Bible as the primary source of Christian faith.¹ Which is why I am very concerned with things I noticed in some local churches that I have been in contact with. One of my many concerns is the way we repackage biblical truth for our children.

Recently, I was visiting the web site of a church of which I was once a member. What I saw made me ask the question, Why? The church was having a “Teen Cola War” Pepsi vs. Coke. This is how they advertised it on the church's facebook page.

Teen Cola War is four exciting nights of teen activity, fellowship, excitement, food, competition, and great preaching from God's Word.

Monday: Big Ball Battle

Tuesday: Tube City War

Wednesday: Ultimate Water War

Thursday: Capture the Can

Notice the way God's Word is tacked at the end of the description. This church also was having a scavenger hunt, and for the little ones, still in AWANA, they get to throw pies in the face of the AWANA leaders. These types of practices are common place in many churches. But why? Why is it necessary to alter or repackage the Bible in order to “reach” the kids or be “relevant”? I for one think we don't need to do these things at all. The Bible never tells us to make the Word of God fun for the little ones. Is there a limit to the lengths in which we will go to reach people. Does the end justify the means? The Word of God is the same Word of God to both children and grown-ups alike. Do the kids all come home and can't stop talking about the biblical truths that they learned? Or, does the church have to come up with a new event or activity for the next week in order to draw them in?

Another church in the area, known for their fundamentalist stand, had this description for teen activities:

"Every four to six weeks the junior and senior high each hold an activity and a singspiration. We hold various types of activities all of which are designed to build edifying relationships among the teens and with the youth staff. Some activities promote these relationships through entertaining events such as a trip to a ball game or a harvest party. Other activities are designed to equip teenagers for spiritual service through providing opportunities for teens to minister to others. Singspirations are held on Sunday nights at the home of a church member and include pizza, pop, and a time for testimonies and singing."

True, there is nothing wrong with building relationships, a ball game, parties, pop or pizza. But it appears that these are being used as hooks.

I think there are possibly several reasons churches have bought into this line of thinking. There maybe other reasons that I have yet to consider. But here is what I have come up with.

First, the churches that I noticed this in are (in name) fundamental. However, I have learned over the years that just because you call yourself something doesn't mean you are that. I believe that maybe the case here. Many fundamentalists have drifted far off course. They may still think of themselves as fundamental but they are comparing themselves to the wrong standard. Sure, they might have a high standard of music. But the way they “do church” isn't much different than the New Evangelicals. Their motives are the same, grow the church, grow the church, grow the church. In order to grow the church (numerically) you must draw the crowd. In order to draw the crowd you must compromise. That is where all of these gimmicks come in. I attended a pastors conference at a Fundamental Baptist camp a few years ago and was surprised by the call to unite under the banner of evangelism. The gimmick they were pushing was called “Phones for you” and was nothing more than another demonstration of how people think that God is so impotent that they must use tricks, hooks, and gimmicks to win people to Him. It was explained as a numbers game. If a certain number of your church members make a certain number of calls then statistics show a certain number of people will come to your church. Well, since you have all that calculated, who needs divine intervention? Pragmatism is king in our, so called, fundamental churches. This is most evident in children's ministries where “Four Big Nights of Fun, Food, Fellowship, and Preaching” is the draw card.

Second, these churches are supposed to be Calvinistic. Yet, their actions speak louder than words. A true believer in the sovereignty of God would mean that you do God's will, God's way, according to God's Word. Leaving the results to Him. Instead, what we get are pastors who never demonstrate to their congregation that they truly believe that God is in control. No. Their mouths are saying, “He is the Almighty God”. But their actions say, “If I don't send the kids of the church off to camp to get pressured into a decision then they are lost.

Here's an idea, preach to the kids the same message in the same way as you do the adults. Do you think the kids in your church are unable to learn unless you make it fun for them? I preach to my kids all the time the same way I preach to adults. I actually have great discussions with my kids about things that many kids their age will not hear about until they are in their mid to late teens. My oldest is only 11 years old. Guess what? They get it! Not only that, but they enjoy hearing from the Word and also contributing their own thoughts. Kids aren't stupid. My kids are not used to all of the kiddy junk that adults use to draw them in. They don't know what their missing. Praise God!

On October 5, 1703, Jonathan Edwards was born. He was the only son of Reverend Timothy and his wife Esther’s eleven children. Growing up in a Puritan home, Jonathan was raised under the influence of education and orderly living; and before going to college, His childhood education immersed him not only in the study of the Bible and Christian theology but also in classics and ancient languages. He had a grasp on Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. Jonathan entered Yale College at age thirteen and earned his undergraduate degree and subsequently, his graduate degree.²

Is it safe to say that Edwards, the man that many consider to be America's greatest theologian, didn't need to have game time in order to learn the Word of God? The same Word of God that I use is powerful enough to save and mature me as well as my children.

What kind of lessons are we teaching to the kids? That the Word of God is lame? I don't need to preach in a fancy way to adults. I threw away any type of stylish preaching years ago. So, I surely am not going to preach in any fancy, dramatic, or entertaining way for the children. They need to hear the straight forward Word of God given to them as straight forward as we can. Leaving the results to the Spirit of God.

Is the method unimportant? Many years ago the church I was attending had a booth at a fair ground. One of the things we did was make up a survey. Yes, a survey. There were several things wrong with this idea. But, the one that bothered me the most was that the survey was bogus. We couldn't care less about nearly all of the questions on the survey except the last one. Which was “If you were to die today do you know for sure you would go to Heaven?” (thanks D. James Kennedy). It was nothing more than a hook. A bait and switch from another, so called fundamentalist pastor with a seminary degree. If that wasn't enough, we also raffled off a new bike. When I expressed my concerns to the pastor he angrily exclaimed “Since when can't we use hooks?”.

I can hear the objection now; “You teach kids that the Word of God is boring, while we teach that God's Word and fun can coexist.” I believe the opposite is quite true. The Bible is full of the Truth of God. That, in and of itself, is exciting, fun, educational, and life changing! Why alter or add to that which is perfect?

“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.” Psalm 18:30

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”Hebrews 4:12

Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if we preached the pure Word of God without any gimmicks or hooks then left the results to God. I was speaking to a seminary graduate and pastor who was overly concerned with money that was needed for programs to draw in people to build his church. Why sweat the small stuff. What's the worst that could happen? You loose people who would rather be entertained? You may have to move to a smaller building? Maybe the church considers you a failure because attendance is down and they vote to dismiss you. If you are in it for the money then this would be a problem. But if you are unwilling to compromise the Word of God as well as the means by which it is communicated then you will have taken a huge step in actually living out the faith in a Sovereign God for which you proclaim. Our focus should be on Christ, not activities.

In all fairness, many fundamental churches don't use entertainment to bring in adults. But when it comes to kids it's a double standard. I for one am done with this kind of so called ministry. There is no biblical precedence for it. You can have it.

"The more purely God's word is preached, the more deeply it pierces and the more kindly it works." William Gouge

1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_fontes

2Taking a look at Jonathan Edwards-Becky Stelzer-http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n3/jonathan-edwards