Check Up For The Church - Worship – The Respiratory System Of The Local Church

In the early 70’s comedian Flip Wilson played the part of a character named Reverend Leroy, who pastored The Church of What's Happenin' Now. But today our cities and counties are swarming with “Reverend Leroys'' and churches that might rightly be called The Church of What's Happenin' Now.

In their efforts to “pack ‘em in” many churches have worship services that are rapidly becoming outlandish and even bizarre. There is little or no reverence for God or respect for the people of God and the unbeliever the church is commissioned to reach.

In the mid 90’s, a phenomenon spread through the Christian community of churches. Some called it “Holy Laughter” and saw it manifested, especially in word-faith churches, and within the Vineyard movement, as well as charismatic mainline churches such as Episcopalian and Anglican. Individuals who flocked to holy laughter meetings came from every denomination from Baptist to Roman Catholic.

The February 1995 edition of Charisma magazine (pp. 20, 21) reported that "... Worshipers are overcome by laughing, weeping, groaning, shaking, falling and, to the chagrin of some, noise-making that has been described as 'a cross between a jungle and a farmyard.' But of greater significance are the reports of changed lives: healings, restored relationships and increased fervor for God."

An Internet search reported that churches around the nation are reporting that in their worship services people have been receiving either gold or silver teeth from the Lord. One thread of messages had this to say:

A very close friend of ours has been a regular at City Church St Albans for years and he relates how in a recent service several people, including the pastor Dave Campbell I believe, received either gold or silver teeth. My friend said that his own mouth went 'numb, as if with a dentists injection' for a long time during the service after Dave Campbell prayed for this manifestation. His teeth very soon felt back to normal and, upon inspection afterwards, both he and his wife had several silver fillings in his teeth where previously there had been only old black amalgam. Several other people also reported this and two or three were able to show gold teeth as well. Perhaps uniquely here, since the event, some people's teeth which started silver are now turning to gold !!!

A church in Baltimore has this to say on their website: Our church by definition is one that allows the free flow of the Holy Spirit in the services. We embrace the "Gifts" and "Manifestations" of the Holy Spirit. Our services are "Spirit-led", and the Pastors function as the "conductor" facilitating the move and leading of the Spirit.

In many of our churches, the preaching of Scripture, which at one time used to be central to the worship experience is now in the second or third place of prominence to singing and “praise breaks.”

In many churches the handling of the Word of God is done disrespectfully. The other day I was listening to a church service on Heaven 600 and the preacher was introducing his message. He referred his listeners to Genesis 22 where Abraham, Isaac and two servants saddled their donkey and traveled to Mt. Moriah where God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Gen 22:5 of the KJV says, “And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” At this point the preacher said that “Sometimes God calls you and me to go forward and leave the donkeys at the foot of the mountain.” The title for my sermon is: ‘Leaving the Donkeys at the Foot of the Mountain.’” He didn’t use the word “donkeys.”

This conducts flies right in the face of the command the Apostle Paul gives to Timothy, a young preacher, in 2 Timothy 2:15: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

Dr. John MacArthur, speaking on this topic says, “There is almost no limit to how far some churches will go to be "relevant" and "contemporary" in their worship services. And nothing, it seems, is too profane or too outrageous to be fused with "worship."

The Los Angeles Times Magazine had a story on a Lutheran church in Southern California that distributes flyers advertising their church service as "God's Country Goodtime Hour." The flyers proudly advertise "line dancing following worship." According to the magazine article the church unashamedly touts that, "the pastor is dancing, too, decked out in Wrangler boots and Levis." The pastor credits the campaign with revitalizing his church.

In fact, the following ad for a Sunday evening service appeared in the bulletin of one of the largest and best-known churches in the heart of America's "Bible belt":