Dear BPCWA worshipper, We have been considering various aspects of Spurgeon’s ministry over the past 2 weeks. While reading up on Spurgeon, some of the warnings he sounded in his day are still very relevant (or even more so) today, centuries later. Besides the Downgrade Controversy, Spurgeon also sounded an alarm on the growing prevalence of entertainment in churches. As we studied in a Teens session some months ago, some churches actively propound and practise what is called the cultural mandate, under the belief that the church must actively promote “God’s culture” to the world around us. We live in an age where the line between concert halls, church halls, and worship is increasingly blurred. Some churches proudly boast of and promote their performances, concert halls, and museums. Dramas and music, common tools used to attract crowds, are only the tip of the iceberg in the amusement-driven church. Other lures some churches offer today may include a gamut of games, food, promises of fun, sports, and casual-style meetings. Of course, the unspoken idea is a promise that one needs only tolerate a short session of preaching (if even at all), which will “unfortunately” interrupt the amusements.  But are all these trends new? Sadly, no. It is just history repeating itself. Hence, the reason for this pastoral: to ensure that we do not blindly accept everything because of its prevalence and hence fall back into the errors.

The beginnings of entertainment in the church. The period 1400 – 1600 saw major changes in music, including the introduction of polyphonic (comprising several simultaneous melodies) music in churches. By the end of the sixteenth century, patronage included churches, courts, and wealthy amateurs, providing sources of income for music composers. Such patronage continued even after the Reformation. For example, many are familiar with J.S. Bach, who often signed off his sacred compositions with “For the glory of God alone”. Bach was employed as a musician for the courts as well as in churches. As part of his job in a Lutheran church, he was required to compose a piece of concerted music for every Sunday and feast day of the ecclesiastical year, something which he did for 5 full annual cycles. He composed a new form of dramatic religious music popular with Germany’s Lutheran congregations, and much of his church music took its lead from Italian models, which in many ways amounted to sacred mini-operas (i.e., staged dramas set to music, combining both elements of music and plays). Not surprisingly, over time, people will sit through what can be extended performances as part of church services. With blurring lines, it is no wonder that many churches became more engrossed in entertainment.

The progression to amusement in the church. This progression led to the degression of the church. The shift and progression from Word-focused services to music and drama is really the Counter-Reformation slipping in under the church’s doors, unnoticed. On the other side of the continent, things were not very different in England, as music also developed under royal patronage and churches. In his book “An All Round Ministry”, Spurgeon astutely discerns, “Another great evil of the times is the insatiable craving for amusements”. He bemoaned the introduction of social meetings, games, and shows adjacent to church meetings. As a reflection of the moral decline, Spurgeon unapologetically quips that “busy men, who could not come out to pray, were quite able to attend a concert”. This comes as no surprise, for in the Counter-Reformation, music was effectively used to draw people back into the Roman Catholic churches. As we have taught, there are periods when recreation is needful for the restoration of our energies. But we must remember that “it never was the business of the Christian Church to supply the world with amusements.” Already in the 1800s, Spurgeon notes that many church-members, instead of wanting pious ministers who can preach, seek men who “draw a crowd, or please the elite”. Spurgeon rightly noted that the general distaste for the church in his days was because “There has been a growing pandering to sensationalism; and, as this wretched appetite increases in fury the more it is gratified, it is at last found to be impossible to meet its demands. Those who have introduced all sorts of attractions into their services have themselves to blame if people forsake their more sober teachings, and demand more and more of the noisy and the singular. Like dram-drinking, the thirst for excitement grows. . . the sensational leads to the outrageous”. Increasingly, the regular worship services as we have today are considered too staid and boring because many have been accustomed to the “more interesting” amusements in other churches. Hence, conservative churches like BPCWA must always resist introducing that “something more” to make it more palatable and appealing to people to keep up with the trend and attract them.

The warning for us today. It behoves the church in our times to remember that a little leaven soon “leaveneth the whole lump” (Gal 5:9). The introduction of Christian movies, more music programs, and more drama performances, albeit about spiritual themes, is a dangerous slippery road. The churches in Spurgeon’s time did not introduce secular music, but what they called “sacred music”. But it devolved to the bottom line of entertainment in time as a natural degression. Amusement and sensationalism are lusts that grow, quelling the love for the simple preaching of the Word. This trend obviously grew, as Archibald Brown (a student of Spurgeon’s and later pastor of Metropolitan Tabernacle and fellow signatory to the statement against the Downgrade) challenges his readers to “take a tour of inspection and study ‘the announcements for the week’ at the doors of the sanctuaries of their neighbourhood”. He observes, “’amusement’ is ousting ‘the preaching of the gospel’ as the great attraction. ‘Concerts,’ ‘Entertainments,’ ‘Fancy Fairs,’ ‘Smoking Conferences,’ ‘Dramatic Performances,’ are the words honoured with biggest type and most startling colours. The Concert is fast becoming as much a recognised part of church life as the Prayer Meeting, and is already, in most places, far better attended. . . There has been a steady ‘down grade’ in this respect. From ‘speaking out,’ as the Puritans did, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony; then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. . . now she has adopted them and provided a home for them under the plea of ‘reaching the masses and getting the ear of the people.’ The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the Church of Christ that part of her mission is to provide entertainment for the people with a view to winning them into her ranks.” Today, we have megachurches with drama ministries, producing plays for special events with Christian themes. Churches promote these to teens and children as an “area of service”. This trend brings the Christian’s guard down to dramas and in time they seek entertainment on the goggle-box. It is no wonder that there are Christian websites today which openly promote and review secular movies, assigning to them Christian themes and values which the movie director never even dreamt of. What a hollow excuse Satan has given them to watch these movies!

Satan is no less active in prowling and seeking to weaken Christ’s churches today. Having worked successfully on the charismatic churches, he will be focusing on those that primarily preach God’s Word. BPCWA must consider the baits that Satan patiently laid to get Christians to today’s situations in charismatic churches, and stay clear of them.  

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph 6:11-12)

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor