This is the greatest show

"Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, welcome to the greatest show on earth!". This is how the Wringling Brothers-Barnun and Bailey circus would open each and every act of their amazing circus.  As a child, I sat awe struck as I watched the trapeze artists swing through the air, gasping with excitement at each death defying feat. I watched as the elephants paraded and did their tricks and the tigers would rage around inside a cage as the trainer kept them at bay.  To a child, these things are mesmerizing and captivating. 

As I look around as I have gotten older, that same awe struck captivation has not stopped.  Church services that were once held as sacred assemblies. I'm not talking about going in and sitting in silence. I'm talking about coming in with fear and reverence for God that had created everything.  When you had a need, not leaving the altar until it was met.

But our sanctuaries have been replaced with auditoriums, complete with the lights and cameras of Hollywood. What were Holy Ghost led worship services followed by an anointed word has turned to well rehearsed stage performances. 

I'm sad to say that I was part of this change. My generation took a step to draw in anyone that would come. We became performance driven instead of Holy Ghost led. What do I mean by that? Well, we started bringing in dimly lit auditoriums, huge video screens, theatrical lighting along with the smoke and fog.  We took whatever means necessary to bring in a young generation. We forsook the sacred assembly for entertainment under the guide of outreach.

With the thought of "We'll just do this to draw them in and then give them Jesus," we forgot to invite Jesus into our plans.  Right now, there is a huge blowup over social media in regards to a men's conference that happened over the weekend.  With "rock" bands, monster trucks, guns and a sword swallowing man on a pole, these men were supposed to be shown how to be Godly men and husbands.  What ended up happening was a disgrace to the church as only one man stood up to call out the abomination that he saw.  Where did we go so wrong? 

In 2 Corinthians 6:15-18, we read, "And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." When did doing what the world does set us apart or make us separate? Not enough? What about 1 Peter 1:15-16, "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."?  Our conversation goes beyond what we say. It is our actions, our attitudes, anyway in which we portray ourselves to those around us. This includes also our worship.

But the "show" mentality has not just invaded the sanctuaries of worship.  You enter into a lobby packed full of the latest "merch:" CDs, shirts, hats, keychains; no time for breakfast on your way? No problem, we got you covered with the coffee bar with muffins and pastries.  Grab your straw for that cold brew and come on down to your seats. The show is about to begin.  You have gotten your refreshments and are all set to watch in awe and amazement.  

You know, this wasn't the first time that this was tried.  Back in Jesus day, the merchants and money changers wanted to make things easy for the people too.  They came from such long distances, faced robbers and thieves throughout the journey. How did that turn out for them? We read in Mark 11:15-18, "And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine".

The "show" must not go on! It's time that we take the world with it's forms of entertainment out of the church. Jesus did not stand for it and neither should we.

You are gonna come at me with the "But everyone is doing it," or " how else do you expect to get them to come in" statements. You give them Jesus. What do I mean? You love them. You teach them. You let them know they are not alone and that very thing that they are struggling with, it may be the exact thing you walked through.