Recently it came out that the Christian music group MercyMe received 17 million dollars over 7 years from child sponsorship charities so the charities could promote their ministries at MercyMe’s concerts. Not long ago the Christian Post reported that Compassion International, a major child sponsorship non-profit, had been paying Hillsong United 1 million dollars a year so Compassion could promote their ministry at Hillsong’s concerts. Compassion takes in more than 1 billion a year in donations.
It was odd to read that Christian non-profits were paying 7 figure sums to Christian bands to promote their ministries. When I read scripture, the way God tends to move is after prayer and waiting, in His time, as opposed to pumping the till with stacks of cash to get things done.
Some of you may remember Keith Green. In the late 1970s and early 80s Green was well known in Christian music circles. He was often called a modern day John the Baptist for his pointed, no holds-barred challenges at his concerts and in his music. Green’s concerts were offered for free.
Recently my wife wanted to see a concert of a major Christian act – but the tickets were more than $200.00 a seat so we said forget it.
I can’t help but think that Christian entertainment has become big business. How does God see this? I dare not speak for God, and who knows what’s happening behind the scenes. Is money in the driver’s seat?
The United States of Sodom
“‘Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they,and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done. Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So then, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.”
Ezekiel 16:49-52
When Sodom and Gomorrah come to mind, many think of how the men of the city tried to rape the angels and the city was destroyed. There’s more to the story, as we see in the verses above. Pride, gorging on food, and prosperity can feed a life of pleasure, entertainment, and sexual sin.
I just finished recording a 3-broadcast series for Blazing Grace Radio on the United States of Sodom discussing the parallels between Sodom and the US, that we may be worse off than Sodom was in God’s eyes, how entertainment drives much of Western Culture, including in the church, and what to do about it.
The following quotes are from Neil Postman’s book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, published in 1985.
“Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other. They do not exchange ideas, they exchange images. They do not argue with propositions; they argue with good looks, celebrities and commercials.”
“When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience, and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture-death is a clear possibility.”
“I believe I am not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether.”
“…On television, religion, like everything else, is presented, quite simply and without apology, as an entertainment. Everything that makes religion an historic, profound, sacred human activity is stripped away; there is no ritual, no dogma, no tradition, no theology, and above all, no sense of spiritual transcendence.”
Any of this hitting the mark?
We will release the 3 part series of The United States of Sodom on Blazing Grace Radio in the weeks ahead.
