Theme Parks?

 2 Preach the word; be ready [a]in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and [b]exhort, with [c]great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires......2 Timothy 4:2-3

Theme oriented amusement parks have been very popular for a couple of decades now. They are built upon one or more pop culture themes, generally movie and entertainment related, and they attract thousands of people who pay a hefty price to attend and be a part of the fun and entertainment. I have no problem with them, but I have a question for we who are the Body of Christ, the Church; have we, unconsciously or not, been turning our fellowships into Christian themed "parks" rather than serving as salt and light in the world here we've been placed?

I don't think we can dismiss that question lightly. A couple of years ago I visited the website of a large southern Florida church. In it's presentation it said, in bold letters, "We think church should be fun!" Fun, having a good time, was central to their DNA. Now let me say that in no way do I think a church or its people ought to go about looking like it was soaked in lemon juice. Body life should be both enjoyable and joy filled. We should love Him and each other passionately. Yet as I read all the info on this fellowship, it was clear that they wanted people to mainly feel good, have a wonderful time, and most of all, to come back. I didn't see a commitment to discipleship, to the preaching of living a holy life, or of the mention of sin, the cross, or the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. I'd like to say that this was an isolated case, but it isn't. I've found many similar fellowships through the years.

Now, in case you may think that I'm just an old preacher, set in my ways, and upset about new ways of doing ministry, you would be totally wrong. In the last couple of decades of my active ministry, our church was anything but traditional. I was always open to better ways of ministering His Truth, but in all of them, Paul's exhortation to Timothy in the above Scripture remained central. In season or out, whether the times were opportune or not, the core of the message was always to call people out of the darkness of sin stained lives and into the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit. Exposing, correcting, rebuking, and exhorting were all part of the message. With a broken heart, I saw many walk away, rejecting that message, but I also saw many who embraced it. One translation of the above Scripture begins with the word "Herald," instead of "Preach." I love both, and see both as what is needed. A herald was entrusted with a royal proclamation, and we who have been entrusted with Almighty God's proclamation must not fail to herald it. There can be no compromise. And we must know that Christian theme parks, where there is a theme built around Truth, but never fully enters into it, can never faithfully live out this Scripture.

I keep in touch with many people in the church who've been a part of my life through the years. A disturbing trend among most of them is that in the fellowships of which they're a part, they cannot remember the last time they heard a message centered on the cross, on holiness of life, on sin and its consequences, and especially, on hell. We're to proclaim the full word and message of the Bible, but tragically, we have drifted into becoming, in too many places, exactly what Paul warns against; ear ticklers who attract those with a desire to be tickled. Could you be comfortable in such a fellowship? Would you embrace the one Paul speaks of?

Here's the good news. I believe there is a move of the Spirit taking place in His church. I believe that Theme Park Churches will not survive the days we are entering into. I believe there is a growing hunger both in the church itself and the surrounding culture for real biblical truth. Truth that transforms. I was ordained in 1987. The ordination ceremony was led by a man who I consider one of the great men of God in my lifetime, Dr. Charles Strickland. It was his habit to speak into each newly ordained life after he prayed for them. To me he said, "There are strange winds blowing through the church. Preach the word, in season and out." I have never forgotten that. We cannot forget that either. A dying world has no need of Christian theme parks. It needs a church alive, infused with Holy Spirit truth and power. That's where He is found. Will we be found there as well?

Blessings,

Pastor O