Post by philiprosenthal on Aug 29, 2006 12:54:53 GMT
HAS THE SPIRIT OF HOLLYWOOD AND NASHVILLE INFECTED EVERYNATION?
Through history, the church has struggled to influence the culture without being infected by it. Sadly, it has often failed. The church of the Roman era absorbed many of the practices of Classical paganism. For example, the pantheon of gods was substituted with saints. In Roman culture, every household had its gods, every city had its gods etc. So in much of the Roman Catholic church, the same with the saints. In classical paganism, the priests needed special vestments - so the Roman church copied them. Classical paganism had lots of big impressive temples, so the Roman Catholic church needed the same to compete with paganism. Classical paganism had lots of festivals - so Roman Catholicism need them too.
Now the same with many independent black African denonminations interpretations of Christianity - they bring in bits of their traditional culture - good and bad. Some of them mix in witchcraft and ancestor worship with Christianity. But hey, we wouldn't do anything that crazy would we?
But sometimes we can be blind to the pollution of our own culture - until you separate yourself from that culture and see its evil for what it is. Most of us have grown so used to Hollywood entertainment culture that I think we don't question it - we just think it is normal. How many of us manages to do with out a regular dose of Hollywood television and movies for any decent amount of time? How many have fasted away from this media culture for a year or two? So now we take it for granted.
So back to the original question - has the spirit of Hollywood infected EveryNation? I say yes and badly - and not only EveryNation, but a whole set of other ministries also.
Okay so what are the key components of Hollywood culture?
* Superstars & celebrities: Hollywood has its actors; the British have their royal family; Nashville has its rock stars. Do our apostles and prophets and other big time figures perform the same celebrity role for many of us?
* Actors & performers: People who act the part. Preach one thing; do another.
* Separation from everyone else: Can't talk to them like normal human beings. Need to be separated from ordinary mortals by an entourage of protection. Did Paul Daniel really need a body guard and entourage. Someone commented that South African pastors were copying American ones in needing bodyguards.
* Do we need to have their photos in all the publications?
* Superstars so long as they act well can do whatever they like - no one challenges them.
* We like a big show: bloated introductions; lots of clapping; loud music to hype everyone up; boasts about everything the ministry is doing; put the crowd into a frenzy. Do we actually need this to worship God - or are we being influenced by Hollywood & Nashville showbiz methodology?
* Top guys must dress up to act the part. Need to wear clothes a bit smarter than everyone else. Their wives need to dress more stylish than everyone else.
* We need leaders who are 'super-cool'. They can't admit any weakness. Mustn't make any mistakes. Like the he-man American cowboy, they must always win. Anything else would harm their image.
* Top actors need to live lavish lifestyles. Who are we to question them. They need to travel first class and stay in five star hotels.
* Idolatry. Top actors are super-heroes. People need pictures of them on their walls. They hang on every word. Read about them all the time. Try go watch all their movies to see them again.
* Scandalous living of many actors. Guess what. Hollywood is full of scandal. So is the EveryNation. Why? Is it maybe something to do with this Hollywood church culture that puts them on a pedestal and encourages them to think they are a class above everyone else - and not accountable to everyone else?
* The gossip column. People like gossiping about celebrity actors. They want to know about why they got divorced and who they are going out with now and who is having an affair with who. There are magazines devoted to such junk. So now to satisfy this taste for celebrity gossip, we have FactNet. Now I won't accuse everyone on FactNet of this motive. But it is a real danger that this web site can attract people for different motives. Yes maybe some people can come here to find healing and truth and to work to reform the organisation - but if it just becomes another celebrity gossip column then that is not building God's kingdom - that is just perpetuating Hollywood culture.
Now I don't accuse all the top guys of acting like this or everyone on FactNet of gossiping, but I think Hollywood culture stinks. I think we need to drive out these demons of Hollywood from the church. I pray these message board will not perpetuate Hollywood culture but destroy it. Just exposing sin is not destroying Hollywood culture. Hollywood culture likes scandal. It provides entertainment for the masses. Something to talk about. Destroy one hero. Find a new one.
Now it disturbs me when some people on this FactNet board have a flippant attitude towards sexuality. One even unrepentantly confess sexual sin. Another justifies and defends her. Another makes jokes about it. Some don't see the need for proper church discipline of sexual immorality in either the pew or the pulpit. Where does this attitude come from? Hollywood maybe? All these movies full of sexual immorality numbs our senses.
This is not historic biblical Christianity. Anyone from a century ago looking at either this board or EveryNation literature would be totally disgusted - not just with the sin in EveryNation - but also with the scandals, but also in the compromised response to them, the flippant attitude to sexual sin and also the puffing up and idolatry of human leaders in much of the EveryNation literature.
Now I ask: Who has influenced who more? Has EveryNation influence Hollywood or has Hollywood influence EveryNation? I am told Nashville is the centre of the American (and so global) music business. So what influence is EveryNation having on these rock stars? Is it turning them away from their idolatrous industry? Or is EveryNation influenced by Nashville? Do they also want their stars. Do they want apostles and prophets who can perform like rock stars and wow the crowds? Or are we trying to raise up men and women who seek God humbly in prayer in the secret place? Do we confront these wicked Hollywood and Nashville entertainers and tell them to repent of their sins or do we try duplicate Christian entertainers to be like them - so we can say our heroes are just as impressive?
A Christian musician friend of mine, part of the original His People revival but now left tells me he visited the USA and was disturbed by the whole Christian music industry in America - saying these musicians saw themselves as Christian entertainers rather than servants of God. Last year Transworld Radio withdrew from the American National Association of Broadcasters saying they were besotted about glitz and celebrities and had forgotten about the gospel. Well done to them.
I think much of American Christianity is infected with the religion and spirits of Hollywood/Nashville - and in turn is infecting the rest of the world. Sadly I think EveryNation is one such infected ministry.
Jesus was not particularly impressed with the way the Jews had implemented their temple worship. Prayer had given way to commercialism. Yes lots of expensive sacrifices, but not seeking God. So now when His People started in revival, the focus was the weekly prayer meeting. As it backslid, it became the celebrities. Lets get back to the focus on God, prayer, the bible and stop the promotion of celebrities.
I call for repentance and a return from Hollywood/Nashville idolatrous peversion of Christianity to Biblical Christ centred Christianity.
Through history, the church has struggled to influence the culture without being infected by it. Sadly, it has often failed. The church of the Roman era absorbed many of the practices of Classical paganism. For example, the pantheon of gods was substituted with saints. In Roman culture, every household had its gods, every city had its gods etc. So in much of the Roman Catholic church, the same with the saints. In classical paganism, the priests needed special vestments - so the Roman church copied them. Classical paganism had lots of big impressive temples, so the Roman Catholic church needed the same to compete with paganism. Classical paganism had lots of festivals - so Roman Catholicism need them too.
Now the same with many independent black African denonminations interpretations of Christianity - they bring in bits of their traditional culture - good and bad. Some of them mix in witchcraft and ancestor worship with Christianity. But hey, we wouldn't do anything that crazy would we?
But sometimes we can be blind to the pollution of our own culture - until you separate yourself from that culture and see its evil for what it is. Most of us have grown so used to Hollywood entertainment culture that I think we don't question it - we just think it is normal. How many of us manages to do with out a regular dose of Hollywood television and movies for any decent amount of time? How many have fasted away from this media culture for a year or two? So now we take it for granted.
So back to the original question - has the spirit of Hollywood infected EveryNation? I say yes and badly - and not only EveryNation, but a whole set of other ministries also.
Okay so what are the key components of Hollywood culture?
* Superstars & celebrities: Hollywood has its actors; the British have their royal family; Nashville has its rock stars. Do our apostles and prophets and other big time figures perform the same celebrity role for many of us?
* Actors & performers: People who act the part. Preach one thing; do another.
* Separation from everyone else: Can't talk to them like normal human beings. Need to be separated from ordinary mortals by an entourage of protection. Did Paul Daniel really need a body guard and entourage. Someone commented that South African pastors were copying American ones in needing bodyguards.
* Do we need to have their photos in all the publications?
* Superstars so long as they act well can do whatever they like - no one challenges them.
* We like a big show: bloated introductions; lots of clapping; loud music to hype everyone up; boasts about everything the ministry is doing; put the crowd into a frenzy. Do we actually need this to worship God - or are we being influenced by Hollywood & Nashville showbiz methodology?
* Top guys must dress up to act the part. Need to wear clothes a bit smarter than everyone else. Their wives need to dress more stylish than everyone else.
* We need leaders who are 'super-cool'. They can't admit any weakness. Mustn't make any mistakes. Like the he-man American cowboy, they must always win. Anything else would harm their image.
* Top actors need to live lavish lifestyles. Who are we to question them. They need to travel first class and stay in five star hotels.
* Idolatry. Top actors are super-heroes. People need pictures of them on their walls. They hang on every word. Read about them all the time. Try go watch all their movies to see them again.
* Scandalous living of many actors. Guess what. Hollywood is full of scandal. So is the EveryNation. Why? Is it maybe something to do with this Hollywood church culture that puts them on a pedestal and encourages them to think they are a class above everyone else - and not accountable to everyone else?
* The gossip column. People like gossiping about celebrity actors. They want to know about why they got divorced and who they are going out with now and who is having an affair with who. There are magazines devoted to such junk. So now to satisfy this taste for celebrity gossip, we have FactNet. Now I won't accuse everyone on FactNet of this motive. But it is a real danger that this web site can attract people for different motives. Yes maybe some people can come here to find healing and truth and to work to reform the organisation - but if it just becomes another celebrity gossip column then that is not building God's kingdom - that is just perpetuating Hollywood culture.
Now I don't accuse all the top guys of acting like this or everyone on FactNet of gossiping, but I think Hollywood culture stinks. I think we need to drive out these demons of Hollywood from the church. I pray these message board will not perpetuate Hollywood culture but destroy it. Just exposing sin is not destroying Hollywood culture. Hollywood culture likes scandal. It provides entertainment for the masses. Something to talk about. Destroy one hero. Find a new one.
Now it disturbs me when some people on this FactNet board have a flippant attitude towards sexuality. One even unrepentantly confess sexual sin. Another justifies and defends her. Another makes jokes about it. Some don't see the need for proper church discipline of sexual immorality in either the pew or the pulpit. Where does this attitude come from? Hollywood maybe? All these movies full of sexual immorality numbs our senses.
This is not historic biblical Christianity. Anyone from a century ago looking at either this board or EveryNation literature would be totally disgusted - not just with the sin in EveryNation - but also with the scandals, but also in the compromised response to them, the flippant attitude to sexual sin and also the puffing up and idolatry of human leaders in much of the EveryNation literature.
Now I ask: Who has influenced who more? Has EveryNation influence Hollywood or has Hollywood influence EveryNation? I am told Nashville is the centre of the American (and so global) music business. So what influence is EveryNation having on these rock stars? Is it turning them away from their idolatrous industry? Or is EveryNation influenced by Nashville? Do they also want their stars. Do they want apostles and prophets who can perform like rock stars and wow the crowds? Or are we trying to raise up men and women who seek God humbly in prayer in the secret place? Do we confront these wicked Hollywood and Nashville entertainers and tell them to repent of their sins or do we try duplicate Christian entertainers to be like them - so we can say our heroes are just as impressive?
A Christian musician friend of mine, part of the original His People revival but now left tells me he visited the USA and was disturbed by the whole Christian music industry in America - saying these musicians saw themselves as Christian entertainers rather than servants of God. Last year Transworld Radio withdrew from the American National Association of Broadcasters saying they were besotted about glitz and celebrities and had forgotten about the gospel. Well done to them.
I think much of American Christianity is infected with the religion and spirits of Hollywood/Nashville - and in turn is infecting the rest of the world. Sadly I think EveryNation is one such infected ministry.
Jesus was not particularly impressed with the way the Jews had implemented their temple worship. Prayer had given way to commercialism. Yes lots of expensive sacrifices, but not seeking God. So now when His People started in revival, the focus was the weekly prayer meeting. As it backslid, it became the celebrities. Lets get back to the focus on God, prayer, the bible and stop the promotion of celebrities.
I call for repentance and a return from Hollywood/Nashville idolatrous peversion of Christianity to Biblical Christ centred Christianity.