A recent comment about a local big box church (that’s successfully reaching, baptizing, and discipling young adults):
“They’ve given in to entertainment evangelism.”
… as if entertainment was a four-letter, distasteful, disgusting word.
If you’re going to reach young adults I’ve got three words for you:
Get
over
it!
Jesus specialized in entertainment evangelism. He told stories, AKA parables. He captured the imaginations of his audience and managed to slip in the good news of the gospel … and storytelling was the primary entertainment medium of his day.
Well, that and giving the Pharisees and Sadducees a really hard time to the great delight of the crowds …
We all learn best when our emotions are moved, touched, and inspired … and that happens best when the lessons are generously stirred into an entertainment format.
Tweet ThisMake ’em laugh. Make ’em cry. Shock them. Delight them. In other words, entertain them. When you do, they’ll remember what you taught … and when they remember, there’s a pretty good chance they’ll embrace and implement.
And isn’t that what you’re trying to accomplish?
I was accused of being seduced by the “entertainment culture” when I advocated for putting up a screen and projector (mostly for song lyrics and sermon outlines) in the sanctuary. A couple actually left the church because of it. One person’s “entertainment” is another’s mode of learning. The same argument was used when the organ was introduced to worship and when congregational singing became a vibrant part of worship.
The gospel has nothing to do with entertainment!! Jesus used parables to convey lessons to the people so they could better understand and be edified, not entertained. The American church today is pathetic and a disaster, full of entertainment, but without power!! The kingdom of God is not a matter of talking, but of power (1 Corinthians 4:20).
Although I admire the sentiment that the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talking but of power, the gospel is shared through words. But if the words are not heard, or more importantly listened to, then the words have no power to convict or call for conversion. Yes, Jesus’ parables conveyed lessons, but they did so in the medium and method of “entertainment” of that day. His words kept people on the edge of their seats, so to speak. And because they not only heard, but listened, his words carried the power to transform lives. If the words we speak are uninspiring (unentertaining) then we shall have limited audiences with whom to share the gospel. We have a world to win … let’s win them to the gospel by giving them words with the power to captivate and to imagine their lives transformed.