Religion or Entertainment? - By Ken Parks

By Ken Parks (Examiner.com article), April 26, 2013

Several religious organizations purport their mission as leading people to Jesus Christ. And on the other side of the coin, one has to examine their actions. Is it true religion or secular entertainment?


There seems to be a disparity among religious organizations within the U.S., and the cause appears to be centered on the choice of music along with other things. This came to my attention as an invited guest to the North Point Community Church, an independent mega-church organization run by Andy Stanley, the son of the famous Charles Stanley of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta.

The lights dimmed down into a dark aura. The rock-n-roll band initiated their presence with the harsh sound of guitars and drums. The strident heavy rock sound followed with the indistinguished lyrics, rotating and rolling beams of various colored lights, smoke generated on the stage, and three members filming the band by turning and twisting their video cameras so the multi-screens would show odd angles. This was the making of a rock concert.
I was told by a member that the rock music brings in the young folks and teenagers. I was astonished. The facility had no indication of the Christian faith; there was no cross, to be found on the building or anywhere within the huge office-like structure. Even the logo of the North Point Community Church displays some sort of modern art, again with no cross, the symbol of the Christian faith. The logo could easily represent most any secular business.

Further investigation showed that the church organization had presented a rock theme based on their “Wicked” series. The stage was prepared for several dancers to perform to the rock music of Michael Jackson's Thriller. This was not the only secular rock music to be played on different occasions. The rock sound of Aerosmith's Dream On was played prior to one of Andy Stanley's questionable speeches.

On a separate occasion, Gary Smalley, a family and marriage counselor, was a host speaker at North Point.. During one of the breaks, the speakers were filled with several secular rock-n-roll recordings. Some people shook their heads with disbelief. Personally, I found this entirely disrespectful to the faith in Jesus Christ. I walked out.

The Bible is specific in that we are to make a joyful noise on to the Lord, and we are not to conform to the ways of the world. The secular rock-n-roll hardly comes close to a melodic and pleasing sound. Rather, it can be best described as harsh and a cacophony of secular heavy metal rock.
I also noticed that any praise and worship music is specifically for the Lord and not for the purpose of entertaining the young and teenagers. God is a jealous god, and will not tolerate the actions of wanna-be Christians. I believe many people will be held accountable and find that they were never part of the Ekklesia, the real Church.

There are other disparities and perhaps a topic for another day, such as inviting a pro-abortionist to be a guest speak at his campus, a la Michelle Obama. The secular rock-n-roll has its entertainment place among non-believers, and it's not in the place of the real Church.