70 years ago--Mainline churches look to worldly music in an attempt to attract young people

The use of worldly methods and appeasement of engagement with popular culture in an effort to attract people--especially young people--to church was adopted by mainline churches long before it became fashionable in Evangelicalism. It may seem hard to believe today, but in the mid-1950s, religious broadcasting was dominated by mainline denominations; Thomas Reeves wrote about this is his book The Empty Church: The Suicide of Liberal Christianity (1996). The surveys cited in the following article provide an interesting glimpse into the popular musical tastes of young people in the United States just a few months before Elvis Presley became a national rock and roll celebrity (he was already becoming known in the field of what was then known as country and western music; a poll of disc jockeys published in the November 12 issue of The Billboard named him as the most promising C&W artist, with both sides of his single I Forgot to Remember to Forget/Mystery Train in the top 10 of all three C&W charts).

As reported by June Bundy in The Billboard, December 24, 1955 (bold in original, several errors corrected by blogger):

Churches May Woo Kids by Rockin' 'Em

Council Polls Teen-Ager Taste as Video Program Guide; Age Preferences Vary

NEW YORK, Dec. 17--Altho religious interests have long frowned on the teen-agers' preference for rock and roll music, the rhythm and blues medium may yet be utilized as a means of bringing youngsters into the church.

National Council of Churches of Christ introduced the idea of presenting jazz in a religious TV context on the "Theology of Jazz" portions of its CBS-TV series "Look Up and Live." A recent survey by the Council reveals the show is attracting older teen-agers with such jazz greats as Dave Brubeck, but kids in the 13-year-old age group don't dig modern jazz yet.

Instead, younger teen-agers polled for music preferences on the show almost unanimously vote for r.&b.-type record artists; thus confronting Frank Nichols, producer for the Council's broadcasting and film commission, with something of a dilemma.

Lyric Problem

The lyrics of many r.&b. tunes make it difficult--if not impossible--to work them into the context of a religious show. Nevertheless, Nichols is wrestling with the problem and hopes to work out some kind of solution.

The NCCC has been conducting extensive surveys on several different teen-age levels for some time now, in an effort to determine the most effective ways of reaching youngsters. At the same time, the teen-age market in general has become more and more a focal point of merchandising and marketing surveys made by the radio-TV industry, record companies and manufacturers of teen-age products.

Teen-Age Survey

Teen-age Surveys, Inc., this week, for instance, reported on its fourth continuing survey of teen-agers' views on deejays' radio-TV programs, music records and advertising effectiveness, with results again pointing up the differences in tastes between high school and college students.

Cognizant of the growing awareness of the teen-age market by manufacturers, Cleveland's independent radio station WERE is readying a merchandising service, whereby products aimed at the teen-age market will be tested by the station with special groups of teen-agers assembled for deejays' shows.

The survey efforts of the NCCC have been concentrated on three different channels, with a major advertising agency conducting regular tests on a mixed-age audience utilizing electronic program analysis equipment. Another survey is conducted at Columbia University to tap the college group. Still a third is made in the field and generally aimed at the pre-college group.

Qualifications

To qualify as a testee, the teen-agers polled must be "unchurched," since the primary aim of the show is to make converts.

Past surveys have shown that "Look Up and Live" has registered most effectively with the 17 to 23 age group. Consequently, Nichols now feels that somehow they must apply what they have learned about 13 to 17-year-old tastes (notably the rock and roll craze) to future programming.

Interestingly enough, Nichols notes, the 13-year-olds prefer Frank Sinatra (who is liked by all age groups incidentally) to Eddie Fisher, with the latter's name seldom showing up in their request-answers. Bill Haley, the Crew-Cuts, and the Four Freshmen are others showing up strong on their preference sheet, along with Al Hibbler, Count Basie and Joe Williams.

The 13-year-olds have little or no interest in modern jazz. Several students in this group thought Dave Brubeck was a classical musician, and a couple referred to him as blind, evidently confusing him with George Shearing. Also the 17 to 23-year-old group has little interest in r.&b. They responded much more to Brubeck (who has made two appearances on series including one wherein he commented on segregation and how jazz has broken thru the color lines), Eddie Sauter, Stan Kenton, Wilbur de Paris and other jazz greats.

However, surveys indicate that both the 13 to 17 and 17 to 23 age groups have little interest in straight commercial pop singers, and Nichols has programmed the series accordingly during the last year. At first he planned to include country and western artists from time to time, but, according to the surveys, there is virtually no demand among teen-agers generally for c.&w.

Electronic Count

Most scientific of the NCCC's surveys are those conducted by the electronic program analysis equipment, with each person in the audience reporting his responses thruout the show by pressing one of three levers ("not at all interested," "fairly interested," and "very interested").

When these individual reports are out together in chart form, they form a graph, indicating which segs of the show held the most audience interest. Nichols uses them to determine programming schedules on future shows.

The graphs are so detailed that they accurately chart the decline and rise of audience interest on each musical number, thereby enabling a performer to gauge exactly where the lyric or his larynx faltered.

In line with this, Nichols opines that record companies might well utilize such electronic survey equipment to determine which take on a record session is most effective.

Marian and Jimmy McPartland are scheduled to appear on Part 5 of "Theology of Jazz" on "Look Up and Live" January 1. Nichols is also talking of airing a live remote from a Mitch Miller record session early next year. Singer Merv Griffin is the permanent emcee on the "Look Up and Live" which spotlights various members of the clergy (Reverend Alvin "$64,000 Question" Kershaw, etc.) appearing on a rotating basis.

Other music figures who have appeared on the show during the past year include Jerry Jerome's orchestra, Ellis Larkin, Sonny Greer, Lawrence Brown, Jo Jones and Mahalia Jackson.

See also my posts: Today's Evangelicals, Tomorrow's Liberals--A Warning from 1983 (January 13, 2010)

Ambrose University College's "Jazz Day" provides evidence of increasing worldliness in evangelical schools (March 5, 2014)

50 years ago: United Church in Calgary experiments with modern music (June 15, 2018)

Synagogue in U.S. Virgin Islands rewrites Beatles songs for Purim (March 14, 2020)

Youth "ministry" in at least two churches in Winnipeg (and one in Providence) now includes Dungeons & Dragons

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14: 12 (also Proverbs 16:25)

I've never played or had any desire to play Dungeons & Dragons or any other fantasy role-playing game, but I remember when the game was at the peak of its popularity in the 1980s. One of the few times I ever watched Sally Jessy Raphael's tabloid television show was when she had an episode on D&D in 1989. One of her guests was Paul Valentine, founder of the World Church of Satanic Liberation, and even he said that Dungeons & Dragons could be dangerous for players if they had an evil Dungeon Master. Christians warned against the game in those days, but now there are at least two churches in Winnipeg that use D&D as part of youth "ministry."

There's an old saying, attributed to various people, "What you win them with is what you win them to," or "What wins them is what keeps them." If you use Dungeons & Dragons to attract young people to church, that's what you're winning them to, and what will keep them in church. When I read of the nonsense described in the following article, it makes me more grateful that the Lord saved me when He did. As reported by John Longhurst in the Winnipeg Free Press, October 16, 2024 (photos by Mr. Longhurst):

Fifty years ago, a new game appeared on the scene: Dungeons & Dragons.

Soon after being introduced, the fantasy role-playing game, with its magic, wizards, sorcerers and warlocks, was criticized by many Christian leaders who saw it as a portal to the demonic — a way for Satan to steal the souls of unsuspecting youth.

That was during the time of the so-called “satanic panic,” when some Christians saw the devil everywhere they looked, from heavy metal music to graffiti.

One religious tract that circulated at the time said the game — in which players embark on adventures in a fantasy setting, directed by a dungeon master — was a form of “intense occult training” that caused young people to become witches and even to kill themselves.

In at least two churches in Winnipeg, D&D is seen in a very different light.

At River East Church, which is affiliated with Mennonite Church Manitoba, the game is seen as a great way to engage youth.

That’s the view of associate pastor Aaron Thiessen, 35, who runs a twice-monthly D&D game night at the church for as many as 25 youth from grades 7 to 11.

Thiessen hadn’t played the game himself growing up.

“It’s not that my parents were against it; I just thought it wasn’t for me,” he says.

When he discovered many young people in the church were into D&D, Thiessen decided to start some informal game nights in 2017. It went so well, he made it an official youth activity in 2019.

“The first time we tried it, 10 young people showed up. Now we have trouble keeping up with all who want to play,” he says.

The pandemic put a dent in the game — though they kept playing it online — but it came back stronger than ever when COVID abated.

Many of the youth who come to game nights aren’t from the congregation.

“For some, it’s the one connection they have to a church,” Thiessen says, adding it enables him to engage youth he had not met before, in a different way.

For him, the game nights build community and provide him with opportunities to have natural conversations with youth. He especially likes to see introverts open up as they play.

As for who comes, it’s a good mix of male and female players.

“It’s not just for guys anymore,” he says.

Thiessen begins each session with a story from the Bible or a story of a saint. On an evening in October, it’s the story of Moses going up a mountain, where he saw a burning bush and heard the voice of God.

“Mountains were special places where people could run into a deity,” Thiessen tells the youth about that Bible story. “I’m curious about what stories you will tell tonight.”

For Thiessen, incorporating stories such as this is a way to include a bit of spiritual teaching.

“The Bible is a book of stories, stories that continue to impact us today, stories that shape us as people, just as D&D is about stories,” he says.

The game also gives him and the adults who volunteer as dungeon masters to run the games a way to explore issues outside the games themselves.

“It gives us chances to explore why things happen the way they do in a game, the moral choices characters make,” Thiessen says.

After the games, there can be a time to debrief and talk about what happened.

Nathan Christmas, 18, is a volunteer dungeon master at River East. For him, D&D is a core way to bring youth together in a fun activity.

“It’s a space where youth can get together and tell stories. It builds conversation, improv and critical thinking skills,” he says.

For Kiana, one of the youth playing the game, it’s an opportunity to be with friends and “be in a different world.” For Jaden, it’s about “creating new worlds and stories with friends.”

Another congregation using D&D is FaithWorks, an independent church that meets on the campus of Canadian Mennonite University.

It’s organized by Christopher Neufeld, 42, who wasn’t allowed to play the game as a child, owing to some sort of “ambiguous evil” that was said to surround it.

In high school, he started to play with friends. Today he uses it as a way to engage young adults in the congregation; he hopes to start another game for youth in the church, too.

“It’s a connecting point with the church for some of them. Something in common we can do together,” he says.

Kiana (left) and Nori play Dungeons & Dragons at River East Church.

Anton Klein serves as a dungeon master during game night at River East Church.

I remember the "satanic panic" in the '80s, which included accusations of "backmasking" in rock music recordings in the early years of the decade, and accusations of satanic ritual abuse and murder toward the end of the decade. The latter peaked from about 1988-1992, and faded away when evidence mounted that many of the accounts were the result of false memories. I believe the concerns about Dungeons & Dragons, however, are legitimate. A good book on the subject from a Christian perspective is Playing with Fire by John Weldon and James Bjornstad (1984).

December 30, 2024 update: This isn't happening only in the capital of Manitoba, but also in the capital of Rhode Island; as reported by Jonny Williams of the Providence Journal, December 28, 2024 (bold, links, photos in original):

PROVIDENCE – On a recent overcast afternoon on the second floor of a brick building on Bassett Street, a fierce battle raged. Fireballs soared across the room, magic zipped through the air and sharp claws ripped at people’s clothes and flesh.

This was, of course, no ordinary battle. Fire was not actually involved – no sprinklers went off, thankfully – and though spells were chanted, no supernatural forces invaded the space.

This was Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), a tabletop role-playing game where players suspend reality and for a few hours take on a fantastical identity as a barbarian, a bard, a ranger, a rogue, a warlock or a wizard – to name a few of the classes players can choose – and go on intrepid adventures.

A few minutes into the battle, however, the group paused the game and did something unusual: They bowed their heads and prayed. One of the party’s members had to step out of the skirmish to help care for a family member who was sick. Before he left, the group wanted to pray for him and his family.

Origins of Dungeons & Dragons 50 years ago

If the battle was unusual, the setting was odder still. The venue was not a crowded kitchen table but the administrative offices of an evangelical church in Providence. D&D, created 50 years ago in the basement of a game designer in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, has not always enjoyed a cordial relationship with Christianity.

The game began as a niche pastime among war gamers – people who played battle simulations with figurines – but it exploded in popularity during the Satanic Panic, a period of time in the 1980s filled with paranoia over rumored satanic rituals. D&D got swept up in the panic, gaining notoriety among conservative Christians who associated the game with the occult. What was often left out of the discussion was the fact that D&D’s creators, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, were both Christians themselves.

These days, however, D&D has shed much of the stigma associated with it, and some churches are turning to the game as an outreach tool to bring in nonbelievers.

Sanctuary, a church that meets at 15 Hayes St., is one of them. Mike Valdes, a lay leader at the church, says he and others were – in this case truly – supernaturally compelled to experiment with D&D as a form of ministry.

“We felt like God was actually kind of leading it. It wasn’t merely an idea, but something he wanted us to pursue,” Valdes said.

From left, Hannah Enos, Dungeon Master Mike Valdes, David DiPilato and Autumn Beaudoin play a game of Dungeons & Dragons at the Sanctuary church office in Providence. (Photo credit: Kris Craig, The Providence Journal)

An entry point for those uncomfortable with religion

For some people, church may not be a place where they feel comfortable or welcome, but a D&D game can break some of those barriers.

“Seeing that there are many people who would not want to step into the walls of a church but would totally be down to play D&D, we just saw a couple pieces coming together,” Valdes said. “This could be a way to create a community space for people to be in the room with people of faith but in a way that felt safer or more accessible.”

The ministry is still in a beta-testing phase, though about 50 people have expressed interest in participating. Valdes and other dungeon masters – who organize the game sessions, play side characters and guide the story – hosted two separate campaigns with a few players this year. The storylines eventually merged in a Marvel Cinematic Universe-style grand battle in the feywild, a parallel plane infused with magic and inhabited by sylvan creatures.

Dungeons & Dragons game pieces in play on the board. (Photo credit: Kris Craig, The Providence Journal)

An ogre game piece in Dungeons & Dragons. Providence's Sanctuary church is beta-testing the game as a way to welcome people who might not be comfortable in a traditional church setting. (Photo credit: Kris Craig, The Providence Journal)

Not just fun and games

People who play the game often see potential for more than just a fun time.

Jocelyn Bell is one of the players who has been beta-testing the idea. She plays as a level-four water genasi, a type of elemental genie. Like many Christians, she grew up in a religious community where D&D was taboo.

“I was in a church environment as a kid that equated Dungeons and Dragons with [the] demonic,” Bell said.

Bell is now a fan of fantasy, and she even found a way to incorporate D&D in her work. A sociology professor, she uses D&D and fantasy as tools to teach her students about social justice.

Gabrielle Neel is another player who has helped Valdes with the beta-testing. A librarian, Neel has used D&D as a therapeutic tool to help children with autism and special needs express themselves. Research has shown that playing D&D can have salubrious effects on a person’s mental health.

Some Christians may still not feel entirely comfortable playing D&D. The game has fiendish monsters and dark magic, elements that have been frowned upon in more conservative religious circles.

But Valdes said the group has taken its time to explore these aspects of the game in a safe way, and the leaders are always praying for wisdom on how to best use D&D as an opportunity for ministry.

This much was evident in the upper room on Bassett Street. As the game started, Valdes prayed, “[God], be another player at the table, and we dedicate this time to you and invite you to be present and active among us.”

The Dungeons & Dragons player handbook. Once condemned by conservative Christians for its association with the occult, the game has since shed much of its former stigma. (Photo credit: Kris Craig, The Providence Journal)

I don't know if Dungeons & Dragons has changed over the last 40 years--I suspect not--but what has changed is that Evangelicalism has noticeably become more worldly and less discerning.

This is what passes for "deeper life" at a Canadian Evangelical university

The following requires little comment; it's yet more evidence that anyone who thinks that "Evangelical" universities and colleges are Christian isn't paying attention. The 2023 edition of "Deeper Life Day" at Antichrist Ambrose University (yes, again) took place on October 1 (bold, links in original).

What Is The Purpose Of Deeper Life Day?

The aim of Deeper Life Day is to integrate Christian faith and learning in a way that will help our students flourish in every way. The events of this day embody our spiritual goals for all Ambrose students—formation, discernment, and transformation. We encourage faculty members to participate in DLD, incentivize students to join them on the day, and consider how the themes could be integrated into the courses they are teaching this Fall Term.

PLENARY SPEAKER

photo courtesy of ARIN SANG-URAI

Josh Larsen

Josh Larsen is the co-host of the radio show and podcast Filmspotting, author of Movies Are Prayers and Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror, as well as editor/producer for Think Christian, a website and podcast exploring faith and pop culture. He’s been writing and speaking about movies professionally since 1994.

Morning Plenary: 9:30 AM

Part 1: Christian (Pop) Cultural Engagement

For most North American Christians, engaging with popular culture is no longer an option. This is the air we breathe. How can we do so with grace, discernment, and appreciation?



Morning Plenary:

Part 2: Movies Are Prayers

Movies can be many things: escapist experiences, historical artifacts, business ventures, and artistic expressions. Considered alongside the Christian ideas of God's sovereignty and common grace, they can also function as prayerful expressions of lament, praise, joy, confession, and more.

Lunch: Noon - 1:00 PM

There are only 100 spots for this light-hearted lunch with our speaker. In addition to movie trivia and fun games we will be hosting a COSPLAY competition. Come dressed as your favorite Movie, TV or gaming character. A panel of judges will determine a winner for a chance to win a Cineplex movie night for two (with popcorn and pop). Other prizes will be available as well.

Room: Airhart (1085) I Limit: 100 people

Afternoon Breakout Sessions: 1:00 PM

Engaging The Mind Of Christ (Through Metallica, Van Gogh, And High Mountain Hydrology)

John Van Sloten

John is a Calgary-based pastor, writer, and columnist for the Calgary Herald. His books include, The Day Metallica Came to Church (2010), Every Job a Parable (2017), and God Speaks Science (2023).

This workshop will give you theological tools to help you practice Christ’s presence everywhere. If all things were made through Jesus, then all things (to some degree) reveal his wisdom. Knowing Christ through the bible we can know Christ through creation—through physical nature, human nature, and the cultural creations of human nature.

I Think I've Seen This Film Before: The Death And Resurrection Of Taylor Swift

Glendon Frank

Glendon is a recent alumnus of Ambrose University, having graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor's degree in English Literature. Since graduation he continues to study and write about pop culture on various platforms. Endlessly fascinated by the intersection of faith and art, he is particularly drawn to films and stories that explore the complexity and nuance of the human condition.

This session is a discussion of the meteoric stardom of Taylor Swift and her career, as well as digging into the themes of love, life, and lament in her lyricism, all through the lens of asking what it means to engage with popular art while considering the Imago Dei. In an age of AI and algorithms where the ethics of art and consumption are at the forefront of our imagination, what does Taylor Swift's unique success mean and how ought we consider it?

Pressing The Right Buttons: Aligning Your Values In-Game And IRL

Alyssa Michaud

Alyssa is a musicologist who works at the intersections of technology, culture, and music. Her research focuses on the dynamics between audiences and artists in today’s technologically mediated society, and she is currently at work on a SSHRC Insight Development Grant in which she is exploring fan responses to digital and holographic concerts. Outside of her work in music research, Michaud once placed third in a national Dance Dance Revolution tournament, has 100% achievements on Steam in FTL: Faster Than Light, and cleared the original Binding Coil of Bahamut before it was nerfed in Final Fantasy XIV.

In 2022, the gaming industry was estimated to be worth $170 billion in global revenues—valued higher than both the global film and music industries put together. In this interactive breakout session, we will critically examine our relationships to this powerful medium by examining the ways in which gaming can foster positive values and also assessing its pitfalls. Through discussions, activities, and lots of examples from the world of gaming, this session will equip you to make more informed decisions about your approach to video games, and unpack the ways in which our controllers can connect us to deeper insights about ourselves and the world around us.

Princess Mononoke And Peacemaking: Studio Ghibli's Prophetic Masterpiece

Julian Erb

Julian is the Director of Community Life at Ambrose and he loves learning people’s stories. He enjoys getting out to the mountains with his family, the Beatles, and yummy food. He also serves part time at Grace Anglican.

How does an anime fantasy epic set in feudal Japan connect to our polarized context and the way of Jesus? We will look into this timeless story and seek to "see with eyes unclouded by hate" and the subversive invitation of peace making.

Afternoon Breakout Sessions: 3:00 PM

On Earth As It Is In Barbieland: Gender Expression, Christianity, And Barbie

Nikayla Reize

Nikayla Reize is the lead pastor of a parish church in Calgary called Awaken. She also serves as a sessional instructor at Ambrose University teaching Old Testament and Biblical Theology. She teaches workshops and seminars at churches around Southern Alberta and especially enjoys teaching on gender, inclusion, and the Bible.

This is a session exploring themes of gender expression in the past (tradition) and in the future (the coming Kingdom of Heaven) with the help of Greta Gerwig's Barbie. Barbie invites us to question the way things have always been done and dream about how they could be in our shared future. We will look at concepts such as patriarchy, matriarchy, and kyriarchy within Western Christianities as we discuss what it means to have the power to communicate ideas and make decisions for others versus being the product of someone else's ideas for how things should be. Barbieland is an imaginary place where young girls can pretend the world could be shaped according to their own hopes and dreams for a life that doesn't fit in a box. Is the Barbie movie envisioning a world that is anti-men or presenting a prophetic lament for a world that is anti-women? No one wants to be an accessory for the fulfillment and success of another and no one wants to be kept in a box. Body sovereignty and embodiment are deeply Christian ideas. Come prepared to discuss the Barbie movie and how the intersections of gender and power depicted there relate to our faith as Christians.

When Songs Become Friends: The Music That Helped Us Through Difficulties, Helped Us Know Ourselves, And Led Us To Solidarity And Healing.

Justin Bills

Justin Bills is a pastor, student and podcast host. Justin grew up in a missionary household in Los Angeles California. Key to surviving a lonely homeschooled upbringing was finding solidarity in music. Bands such as Pedro The Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Radiohead and Mewithoutyou became friends to help through adolescence and adulthood. Justin lives in Calgary with his wife and 3 daughters and is a Student at Ambrose.

Faith And Social Media: Navigating The Digital World With Jesus

Bryce Ashlin-Mayo

Bryce is the Dean of Theology at Ambrose. When he is not working at Ambrose, you will find Bryce preaching in Churches, doing Seminars, writing books, or building retro video arcade consoles. Bryce has written several books on social media and digital ministry including, “Age of Kings: Pursuing God’s Heart in a Social Media World.”

What does the Bible teach about navigating a digital world? Let's explore this topic together and delve into the story of King David in the Bible. We'll discover some valuable and enduring lessons on how to live a faithful life in our modern, high-tech world.

Evening Public Lecture: 7:00 PM

In partnership with the Chair of Christian Thought

Location: Central Library Topic: Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror Movies

Why would anyone want to watch horror movies? Why would Christians, in particular, bother with the genre? Combining critical observation and theological reflection, critic Josh Larsen makes the case that monster movies, creature features, slashers, and other fright films artfully reflect our deep worries in a way that resonates with the Christian experience.

Examples of "art" produced by students at a Canadian "evangelical" university

Another example of wordliness from an "evangelical" university; as advertised by Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia, November 29, 2022 (bold, text links in original):

2022 In Review: Art + Design exhibition celebrates a year of creative production by TWU art, design, video game and animation students

Newest student exhibition celebrates a year of creative production by art, design, video game and animation students in TWU’s School of the Arts, Media + Culture.

2022 In Review: Art + Design Student Exhibition

Dates: December 2, 2022 – February 2, 2023

Opening Night Artist Talks: Thursday, December 1, 6:15-7:30 p.m.

Location: SAMC Gallery, Norma Marion Alloway Library, Trinity Western University (22500 University Drive, Langley).

This exhibition celebrates a year of creative production by SAMC art, design, video game and animation students. Produced over the course of 2022, the works in this exhibition span the diverse media that students are exposed to in the program, including drawing, painting, animation and digital design. 2022 In Review provides a space to reflect on the growth and learning that has taken place this year as students have honed their technical skills, deepened conceptual capacities, and discovered their authentic visual voice.

A foundational question resonates throughout the work gathered here, a question that is taken up in each of the courses offered in the Art + Design program: what does it mean to be created in the image of a creator God? As these student artists participate in the act of creation, they each reveal the Creator in a unique way. The act of creation draws these emerging artists near to the heart of a God who delights in the beauty and diversity of His creation.

This exhibition is on view from December 2, 2022 to February 2, 2023. All are welcome to join us for opening night artist talks on Thursday, December 1 at 6:15 p.m.

...

About Art + Design at Trinity Western University

We are a community of professional artists, designers, scholars, and students who look at visual ways of creating. Within a variety of interdisciplinary historical, critical, and theoretical contexts, we explore how visual art and design practices can be used to create and critique culture. Our program empowers students to become creative leaders who are able to adapt and innovate in our rapidly changing world. Learn more at Art + Design.

Mojgan Mirzapouralamdari, Untitled, Mixed Media on Canvas.

Zaeya Winter, What We Preserve, Mixed Media on Canvas.

Sofia del Castillo Medina, My Essentials, Acrylic on Canvas.

Yihan (Martin) Wang, Subtractive study, graphite and charcoal on cold pressed watercolor paper.

Cecilia Nguyen, Personal Brand, Adobe Illustrator.

Candace Genesis, Book Cover.

I see nothing in any of these works of "art" that could be said to "reveal the Creator in a new way"--nothing distinctively Christian, depicting the good, beautiful, and true. Most of this "art" is ugly and incomprehensible; I'm reminded of Winston Churchill's description of Graham Sutherland's portrait of him as "a remarkable example of modern art." The work by Mr. Wang is at least recognizable as a can opener (assuming that's what it's supposed to be), and Book Cover is indeed a picture of a book cover. The amount of creativity on display is breathtaking; and these are just the works shown at TWU's website.

Antichrist Ambrose University presents Gilgamesh

Ambrose University in Calgary, Alberta is the denominational school for both the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada and Church of the Nazarene Canada. Anyone who thinks that institutions such as Ambrose University are Christian isn't paying attention; they may be "evangelical," but they aren't Christian. According to Ambrose's events calendar (bold, link, photo in original):

Gilgamesh (Classical Theatre Production)

Ambrose Theatre Students

December 1-3, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. & Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 2:30pm

Tickets: $20 Adult; $15 Students/Seniors/Ambrose ID. Please reserve tickets at tickets@ambrose.edu or at the door. Not suitable for children under 10.

Date
Thursday, December 1, 2022

Location
Big Secret Theatre,
Arts Commons
#21 225 8 Ave SE
Calgary, AB

Ambrose Arts Performing Gilgamesh

From December 1-3, Ambrose Arts will be performing Gilgamesh at the Big Secret Theatre – Arts Commons.

We are pleased to introduce our designer, Lindsey Zess. Lindsey is a Metis director, designer, maker and art educator living and working on Treaty 7 territory, primarily Mohkinstsis/Otoskwunee/Calgary. She creates work for both film and theatre, specializing in scenography, directing, devised performance, physical theatre practices and puppetry. Her devising/design methodology places a strong emphasis on the material, mythological and metaphysical.

The production Gilgamesh is inspired by the discovery of the oldest library in the world. A 4000-year-old story, The Epic of Gilgamesh, begins with King Gilgamesh of Uruk leading a life of despicable actions. Finding an unlikely friendship with his rival Enkidu through combat, the two become inseparable, fighting all their battles together. Upon the death of his friend, Gilgamesh sets off on the quest for eternal life. Gilgamesh finds himself attempting to conquer death through treacherous missions assigned by gods and immortals. Laying eyes on his city once more, Gilgamesh comes to terms with his fate and chronicles it as a lesson to those after him.

For more information on the Epic of Gilgamesh, we recommend watching this video!

It's impossible not to notice that the announcement mentions the politically correct race of the designer,as if that's of importance to the production. What is important is the subject matter, which is not suitable for children under 10--ideal family fare for Christmas! It seems odd that a university that claims to be Christian would present a production celebrating Gilgamesh, who has been identified by sound biblical scholars with Nimrod (Genesis 10:8-10), a tyrant whose kingdom was opposed to the God of the Bible. For evidence of this, see Nimrod by biblical archaeologist David P. Livingston at Christian Answers. Let's hear it, ladies and gentlemen, for your "evangelical" universities!

"Edmonton's Christian University" holds a silent online auction

Bold, links in original:

The King's University in Edmonton, Alberta

The King's University is Edmonton's Christian University and serves students and communities across Western Canada and internationally. Its campus is located in Alberta's young and vibrant capital and sits on Treaty Six territory, the traditional home of many Indigenous peoples.
The world can be studied best when acknowledged that it was created by and belongs to God. Come to King's and you'll see friendly, welcoming faces. We do our best to reflect Christ's love and grace to all students. The university receives top rankings and recognition on national surveys for student-faculty engagement, a supportive campus, and quality of teaching. It's no wonder King's boasts of a 98% post-grad employment rate!

Anyone who thinks that The King's University is Christian simply isn't paying attention; submitted for your approval, the university's silent online auction:

About Our Auction

We are excited to once again host our annual silent auction online to raise funds for student scholarships at The King's University! All auction items have been donated by generous donors, so all funds raised from this auction ill support student scholarships at The King's University!

Last year, we raised over $11,000 for student scholarships and this year we would like to reach higher with the goal of $35,000! With the support of our generous donors and sponsors, you can make a King's education more accessible to our hardworking students! We know you will be able to enjoy winning these wonderful auction items, so please bid generously!

Once again, we are holding our Harvest Banquet online for all to attend for free! Please register so you can receive the link to the livestream and plan to join us on October 2 @ 7:00 PM: https://www.kingsu.ca/about-us/calendar/banquet

The auction includes the following distinctively Christian items; there's still time to bid on them as of the publication of this post, although I doubt any real Christians will be interested.

$150 iava wellness Gift Certificate

Item Description

$150 Gift Certificate for services at Iava Wellness, located near King's on 50th St in Edmonton, AB.
Value: $150.00 CAD
Ends: Oct 3, 2021 - 1:00pm MDT

And what does Iava Wellness practice? Acupuncture; Massage; Access Bars; Subconscious Imprinting Technique (S.I.T.); and Reiki.

1 Hour Restorative Yoga
in person at Iava Wellness or online via Zoom
Value: $50.00 CAD
Ends: Oct 3, 2021 - 1:00pm MDT

Item Description

The winning bidder on this item will have their choice of attending an in-person yoga class with Ting Elger at Iava Wellness (near King's in Edmonton) OR a private Zoom Yoga lesson with up to 5 friends.

This 60 minute foundational Yoga class is designed to center and activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the "rest and digest". Beginning with comfortable sitting pose followed by easy pranayama breathing technique. This gentle sequence will incorporate arm and upper body movements in a very slow and repetitive manner until there is some calming flow and rhythm. Depending on the class- will progress to sun salutation and standing poses then cooling down to more restorative shapes near the end. This is open to beginner up to advance practitioners and open to requests, modifications and substitutions.

Ting works at King's Development Department. She is a registered Yoga Teacher for adults, children and family. She also loves to paint abstract florals, write little poems, brew kombucha and concocts essential oils & herbs :) . She is a strong believer in radical self care which may look like going for a quick walk or simply taking a deep, relaxing breath. She presently teaches a yoga workshop #SELFLOVE in Iava Wellness.

AlleyKat Brewery Tour & Specialty Glassware
Value: $50.00 CAD
Ends: Oct 3, 2021 - 1:00pm MDT

Item Description

This Alley Kat Brewery package is perfect for any beer fan in your life. Containing two Alley Kat beer glasses and two sets of brewery tour tickets, purchase this basket to learn how Alley Kat makes their beer, and maybe try some along the way!

There are 2 brewery tour passes for 2 people each, so take up to four people on a great night out.

Blindman Brewing Merchandise
Zip Up Hooded Sweatshirt & Brumate Hopsulator Trio
Value: $75.00 CAD
Ends: Oct 3, 2021 - 1:00pm MDT

Item Description

This listing is for a Blindman Brewing Zip Up Hooded Sweatshirt and a Brumate Glitter Rose Gold Hopsulator Trio

The package includes:

1. Hoodie (XL: can replace for different sizing if need be)

2. Brumate Glitter Rose Gold Hopsulator Trio

3. Blindman Brewery Stickers

Fort Distillery Canadian Boreal Gin
500mL
Value: $35.00 CAD
Ends: Oct 3, 2021 - 1:00pm MDT

Item Description

Canadian Boreal Gin is our vibrant take on a pink gin, using haskap berries and local honey for a bright, berry forward, warm & spicy tasting experience, with a honey cinnamon nose, and floral finish. Named for the iconic Canadian Boreal forest, and the spectacular Aurora Borealis, and inspired by the ingredients of Northern Canada and the people who grow them. Raw honey, haskap berries, and organic botanicals, all grown in Northern Alberta, produce a truly Canadian gin.

This item is not eligible for shipping. Winning bidder over of the age of majority must pick up the item at The King's University.

The preceding item is also available here.

Fort Distillery Classic Old Fashioned
Ready to Serve Cocktail - 750 mL
Value: $35.00 CAD
Ends: Oct 3, 2021 - 1:00pm MDT

Item Description

Our exclusive bourbon blend pairs with mellow demerara sugar and Alberta made bitters for the perfect Old-Fashioned. There’s a reason the Old-Fashioned is called such, as one of the earliest cocktail concoctions developed, and our version is just as delicious, and even simpler to execute. Enjoy the fine and balanced complexity of this traditional favourite, anytime, anywhere.

This item is not eligible for shipping. Winning bidder over of the age of majority must pick up the item at The King's University.

The preceding item is also available here.

Wine Tasting Evening
with Ralph & Angela Troschke
Value: $450.00 CAD
Ends: Oct 3, 2021 - 1:00pm MDT

Item Description

Wine Tasting Experience with King’s VP Finance, Ralph Troschke and his beautiful wife and King’s student life staff, Angela.

Angela and Ralph have been hosting wine tastings for 29 years. They have hosted over 100 tastings and have been wine judges at fall fairs as well. Ralph was once invited to participate as a finalist in the Canadian national amateur wine tasting championship. They would love to host a wine tasting in your Edmonton area home for 8-10 people.

Our tasting is a fun-filled classroom experience where we will focus on how to taste/evaluate wine and draw comparisons between wines. It is guaranteed to be social and get louder as the evening rolls along.

The evening will consist of:

A 2.5-hour show with one flight of red and one flight of white wines for 8-10 people

4 samples per person of white wine, choice of Chardonnay or Riesling

4 samples per person of red wine, choice of Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir

Ralph & Angela kindly request that the winning bidder schedule their wine tasting by June 30, 2022.

Indigenous Cultural Items
from Nordegg, AB
Value: $316.00 CAD
Ends: Oct 3, 2021 - 1:00pm MD

Item Description

Gourd container with dream catcher. Handmade and signed

Talking Stick: handmade with selenite & amethyst beads. Wood burning decoration, "All is possible to those who believe"

Abalone shell, to be used as part of the traditional smudging ritual, said to enhance feelings of peace, compassion, and love.

Smudging feather, handmade with deer hide, glass beads & a wild turkey feather.

Sweet grass. Sweetgrass is one of the main herbs used by Native people. It is often part of the medicine used when smudging along with sage and cedar. Just as sage is used to clear negativity, to cleanse, sweetgrass is used to bring positivity.

Apostate Congregational church in Nebraska offers drive-by Easter egg hunt

I'm a few weeks late in posting this, but here it is for the record, as reported in the Lincoln Journal-Star, April 3, 2020 (link in original):

First-Plymouth Congregational Church will offer a drive-by Easter Egg Hunt Sunday, April 12, from noon to 7 p.m. around the block outside the church at 20th and D streets.

On Easter Sunday, First-Plymouth encourages families to pile in the car to take an afternoon drive to see over 300 large and colorful Easter egg signs around the church block. Everyone is asked to respect social distancing and remain in your vehicles as you drive by. Planners hope the event will brighten things up a bit during this difficult time.

For more information on First-Plymouth, go to firstplymouth.org or call 402-476-7565.

A quick glance at the church's Who We Are page shows it to be a member of the United Church of Christ, claiming to be Christian while denying every fundamental Christian doctrine, and sounding more like Unitarians than Christians (bold inserted by blogger):

First-Plymouth strives to blend tradition and innovation, the historical and the contemporary. Our worship services have a quality that echoes through the ages and yet, speaks to the present and points to the future. Our religious life is shaped by five guiding principles: We are Christian, Open-minded, Spiritual, Evolving and Diverse. First-Plymouth Congregational Church is part of the United Church of Christ.

WE ARE CHRISTIAN

"Christian" means we perceive in Jesus the divine qualities of love, peace, joy, and justice. It does not mean we think Jesus is the only path to God.

"Christian" means we eagerly explore the Bible for its spiritual wisdom contained in symbol, metaphor, and history. It does not mean a literal or heavy-handed approach that uses the Bible to prove we are right or righteous.

WE ARE OPEN-MINDED

"Open-minded" means we understand faith as a quest, not a clutched certainty. "Open-minded" flies above the tired distinction between conservative and liberal, and does not refer to one’s specific beliefs, but how one relates to those beliefs. It means we do not assume a defensive posture, but rather enter appreciatively into different points of view with the expectation of learning and growing.

WE ARE SPIRITUAL

"Spiritual" means we believe God is a spirit of love that can be felt and known by each one of us. It means Christianity is as much about the heart as the head, as much about the body as the mind.

"Spiritual" means not merely hoping for a better world or pining after justice, but rolling up one’s sleeves and starting to feed the hungry, care for the sick and anguished, house the homeless and advocate for a more just society.

WE ARE EVOLVING

"Evolving" means rather than resisting change or innovation, we eagerly experiment with new ways of being faithful and new understandings. We strive to be rooted but not stuck.

WE ARE DIVERSE

"Diverse" means we celebrate the differences among us such as sexual orientation, ethnicity, class, mental abilities, physical capabilities, personalities, and backgrounds.

"Diverse" means we trust that these differences inform and strengthen community. A diverse spiritual community welcomes conventional believers, curious agnostics, and questioning skeptics.

And, finally, "diverse" means you are free to seek your own guiding principles in our midst. These principles are not a creed to which one must ascribe. Rather, they are one attempt to describe the spirit and nature of our congregation.

– Jim Keck, Senior Minister, First-Plymouth Church

The current sermon series promotes mysticism:

THE MYSTICAL HEART OF RELIGION

This week Dr. Keck continues his sermon series on mysticism. Using three mystical exemplars from history - Girodano Bruno, Joan of Arc and Howard Thurman - he will propose that the mystical heart of Christianity can be reclaimed through the theological imagination(Bruno), an embrace of high tradition (Joan of Arc) and an appreciation of nature mixed with a thirst for justice (Thurman). Join the journey this Sunday!

Synagogue in U.S. Virgin Islands rewrites Beatles songs for Purim

The worldliness and buffoonery that afflicts so much of professing evangelical Christianity can also be found elsewhere; as reported in the St. Thomas Source, March 4, 2020 (link in original):

The Jewish holiday of Purim (Lots) falls this year on Monday evening, March 9, and Tuesday, March 10. However, it will be observed a day early at The Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas with a wild and off-beat retelling of the Biblical story of Esther, using artfully re-written lyrics of Beatles songs.

All are welcome to “A Magical Mystical Megillah: A Very Beatles Purim,” at 10 a.m., Sunday, March 8, at The St. Thomas Synagogue, 2116 Crystal Gade. Costumes are welcome, and the service is raucous (one is supposed to loudly “drown out” the name of the villain as the story is read).

The hour-plus observance in the sanctuary is followed, at around 11 a.m., with a magic and comedy show with Jungle Josh Weinstein, a costume parade, and pastry and drinks, at Lilienfeld Community House, across the street from the synagogue.

For more information, call 774-4312 or write info@synagogue.vi.

Christian nightclub opens in Wichita

The people behind the place mentioned in the following article--which appeared in the entertainment section of the paper--seem sincere, but there's an old saying on the subject of getting people into church, that "what you win them with is what you win them to." Put another way, "what wins them is what keeps them." As reported by Denise Neil of the Wichita Eagle, August 26, 2019 (bold, links in original):

A group of three local entrepreneurs say that are close to settling on a location for a new Christian lounge and night club in Wichita that will be open to all ages.

It’s name: Club His Hop Wichita.

The club, which will be under the umbrella of a Las Vegas club of the same name, will be operated by PC Patton, Darin Smalls and Greg Pianga. It will be in a centrally located spot in Wichita and will offer Christian outreach during the week and an alcohol-free, family-friendly nightclub environment on the weekends.

The club, which the operators hope to have open by the end of this year or early in 2020, will feature a variety of entertainment, from comedians to live bands, and the music will come from all genres. It’ll also have food and arcade games.

“We have the resources already,” said Patton, who works as a para educator and coach at Mayberry Middle School and who also is a hip hop performer. “We’re just makings sure we put this in the right area for everyone.”

They hope to share the location in a couple of weeks, they said.

Patton said the idea for the club was born last spring, when he was invited to perform at an after party for the Stellar Awards, a gospel music awards show staged in Las Vegas. His performance was at Club His Hop Las Vegas, owned by Sam Stewart.

He loved the vibe of the club, which was positive and wholesome and embodied Patton’s belief that hip hop and rap music could carry a positive message.

“I was like, ‘Man, I would love to open something like this in Wichita,’” Patton said.

He met Stewart, and about a month ago, the two reconnected. Stewart, who opened his Vegas club about seven years ago, told Patton he wanted to expand the club into other states. He wondered if Patton was still interested.

Patton pulled in two collaborators he knew from Church on the Street, a homeless outreach ministry that puts on weekly services in an alley near Douglas and St. Francis: Smalls is a general contractor in town, and Pianga is the onetime owner of The Big Apple food truck.

The two loved the idea, and Pianga said it sparked memories of the Eclipse Teen Center that was open in Wichita when he was younger, giving teenagers a safe place to hang out.

But the club won’t be just for teens, they said. When Patton was at the Las Vegas Club His Hop, the patrons ranged in age from 2 to 62, he said.

“It’s going be something good for the whole family,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about anything. You don’t have to drop your kids off to the babysitter. Everyone can come to this lounge and just enjoy.”

The club will serve as an outreach center during the week, offering a space for Bible studies and other group meetups. On Friday and Saturday nights, it’ll be a party zone, and entertainment will rotate every week, the owners said. There could be a rock and roll band one week, a “praise dance” the next and a Christian comic the next.

It will have concessions and will offer food. Mo’s Hut owner Shawn Gordon will be involved with food service, the owners said. He moved to Wichita to serve as the project manager of Church on the Street and earlier this year opened his Hawaiian restaurant at 2800 E. Central.

Smalls said that this is the type of club that Wichita needs, and he’s especially excited to offer young people a safe, positive space to gather.

“A lot of people, when they hear ‘Christian,’ they think, ‘Okay, life is over, you can’t have fun,’” Smalls said. “But no. You can be a Christian and you can still have fun. Life doesn’t end. It only begins truly when you become a Christian.”

The club in Wichita sounds better than the one in Las Vegas that inspired it; I pray that the Bible studies attract more people than the entertainment.

London's Southwark Cathedral hosts fashion show featuring scantily-clad models

Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them...
...And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. Ezekiel 22:26, 44:23

If church leaders want their buildings to be filled, I suggest preaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ; if they know what the gospel is. As reported by Jack Hardy and Gabriella Swerling of the London Daily Telegraph, September 17, 2019 (links in original):

Southwark Cathedral has been accused of promoting the “antithesis of the Christian gospel” by allowing its nave to be used as a catwalk to sell clothes.

British designer Julien MacDonald brought his collection to the place of worship on Monday night as part of London Fashion Week, turning the aisle into a parade of scantily dressed models.

It was described by the 48-year-old British designer as a “celebration of women” and attracted celebrity guests including the actor Ed Westwick and socialite Lady Victoria Hervey.

However, a leading Anglican clergyman has questioned whether the cathedral should be “giving a platform” to an event which promotes “a narcissistic self-referential display for the very rich”.

High-profile catwalk shows are big money-spinners for fashion houses which build the reputation of designers and cement their links with wealthy and influential customers.

Last night, Rev Dr Gavin Ashenden, the former chaplain to the Queen, urged the diocese “think twice” about whether its holy buildings were being used in a manner fitting for a faith that renounces materialism.

The grade-listed south London church, which has stood since the 12th century, is available for hire for “special events”, from formal dinners to drama and musical productions.

The cathedral has charged money for the use of its buildings since 2000, using the money to help fund the upkeep of the building and costs of worship, as well as ensuring it stays open to the public free of charge.

It comes at a time when church leaders across the country are attempting to combat shrinking congregations with increasingly inventive methods to stump up cash.

Earlier this year, Norwich Cathedral installed a 55-ft helter skelter, available for just £2 a ride, while Rochester Cathedral opened a crazy golf course in its 11th-century building.

Dr Ashenden, who was ordained at Southwark Cathedral, told The Daily Telegraph: “Southwark Cathedral has made its premises available for fashion in the past and one of the things they try and do is build a bridge between secular society and the Christian church and that's no bad thing.

“The problem comes comes when the ethical content of what they are trying to host is in direct contradiction to Christian values. It's like what happened with Rochester and Norwich - it's the Disneyfication of entertainment.

“The cathedral should ask itself to see if the complaints about the fashion industry - as promoting a narcissistic self referential display for the very rich - is indeed conducive with the values of the Christian gospel.

“I think the fashion industry is the antithesis of the Christian gospel. It's about the exposure of the poverty of our souls and that’s about hiding the state of the soul in an excess of glamour.

“A cathedral ought to think twice before it provides a platform to a cultural venture like this.”

London Fashion Week has previously been embroiled in controversy over the use of churches by some of the shows on its schedule.

In 2017, Turkish designer Dilara Findikoglu prompted outrage by dressing models in satanic costumes for their appearance at an event in St Andrew Holborn church in central London.

Officials at Westminster Abbey were similarly accused of selling their soul “for a pair of trousers” after allowing a Gucci show to take place in 2016.

The British Fashion Council, which organises London Fashion Week, said it did not allocate venues to designers to stage their shows, apart from the main hub on the Strand.

A spokesman for Southwark Cathedral said: “Southwark Cathedral has over many years been used for a variety of different events, including those related to the fashion industry. We were pleased to be invited to work with the British designer Julien MacDonald as part of this year’s London Fashion Week.

“His show brought many people into the Cathedral who might not otherwise have come, and many recognised it as a beautiful and special place. The show was delivered in a professional, respectful and energetic way.

“Fashion and its impact on the environment, how we use clothes as part of daily life and what clothing is appropriate are important issues for Christians and others to engage with as aspects of modern living.”

Representatives of Julien MacDonald did not respond to requests for comment.

Dr. Ashenden is unbiblical in his attempt to "build a bridge between society and the Christian church" and in saying that "that's no bad thing." On the contrary, God's instruction to His people is to build walls of separation, as stated by the apostle Paul:

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. II Corinthians 6:17

British mainstream media finally discovers Hillsong

The following article doesn't mention things such as Carl Lentz's church having a sodomite couple in the music ministry, nor does it state that Frank Houston was the actual founder of Hillsong, but it does mention the accusations of child molestation against him. The perceptive reader will note the mention of the notorious Holy Trinity Brompton, responsible for such dubious achievements as introducing "holy laughter" to the United Kingdom.

As reported by Joe Shute of the London Daily Telegraph, July 26, 2019 (links in original):

This week, thousands of teenagers and twentysomethings mustered excitedly about London’s O2 Arena eagerly anticipating the evening’s entertainment. Sporting tattoos and scantily dressed in the summer heat, they might have been queuing for any pop concert. Instead, it was to meet an evangelical church pastor.

Inside the arena, a packed audience, nearly 15,000-strong, cheered breakdancers, rap artists and rock guitarists all espousing the worship of God. And then, at the moment of maximum rhapsody, out strode Hillsong’s lead pastor and founder Brian Houston, wearing a red checkered blazer and declaring: “Jesus, what a beautiful sight…”

As the 65-year-old Australian preached, those in the exultant crowd closed their eyes and raised their arms to the lights. One teenage boy in a tracksuit opposite me wiped a tear away from his cheek.

Chances are you may not have heard of Hillsong, an evangelical movement founded by Brian and his wife, Bobbie Houston, in Sydney in 1983. Now spanning more than 15 countries, its mega-churches are the centre of the fastest-growing religious movement in the world: Pentecostalism, which boasts more than 500m adherents.

The movement emphasises the power of the Holy Spirit and direct experience with God through messages and miracles. As Brian Houston told the London crowd, at Hillsong’s annual conference in Australia earlier this month (attended by the country’s prime minister Scott Morrison), “verifiable miracles” occurred.

The US singer Selena Gomez is an avowed Hillsong worshipper, so too, the Kardashians. Much of this popularity is due to its clever repackaging of the Bible to a modern, younger audience. Hillsong’s social media channels and in-house musicians are as stylised and curated as those of any chart-topping band. Its pastors boast tattoos and ice-white trainers.

Hillsong’s New York church leader Carl Lentz is referred to as “the rock-star pastor” and reportedly baptised the pop singer Justin Bieber in a US basketball player’s bathtub.

Back in London, Dan Blythe is Lentz’s equivalent. The 33-year-old 'creative pastor' meets me backstage during its three-day annual conference in a baggy white T-shirt revealing ecclesiastical tattoos all over his heavy-set arms. The first was inked on his bicep: a scripture from Ephesians 2:8. “It basically says we’re saved by grace,” he explains.

According to Blythe, various British celebrities also worship at the church, which hires out the Dominion Theatre in central London for its Sunday services attracting up to 2,000 people. He won’t name names, but suffice to say they span singers, television presenters and professional footballers. “The nice thing is it’s very chilled,” he says. “Nobody runs up for a selfie.”

Blythe first became a Christian on his gap year to Australia, and in nine years of being a member of Hillsong in London has baptised new followers all over the city – including in a nightclub’s swimming pool in Shoreditch. “It wasn’t our greatest experience of baptism,” he says. “It was a little bit dirty.” A baptism tank has also temporarily been installed at the O2 to douse any of the 3,000 volunteers involved who so wished at the end of the conference – too many risk assessments were required to haul it out into the crowd.

Despite Hillsong’s undeniable popularity, the church has also been dogged by controversy. Brian Houston’s father, Frank Houston (now deceased), has been accused of sexually abusing children while the influential leader of the Pentecostal denomination, Assemblies of God in the Sixties and Seventies. Although Houston sacked his father as a pastor when he discovered his crimes in 1999, an Australian Royal Commission in 2015 found he had failed to report him to the police – something he has been criticised for by his victims.

A Hillsong statement in response to the Royal Commission’s findings said: “We are confident that the actions of Pastor Brian, from the moment he discovered the news about his father, were done with the best intentions towards the victim. The findings of the Royal Commission confirmed that his actions resulted in the perpetrator being immediately removed from ministry.”

The amount of largely tax-exempt money the church brings in has also raised eyebrows (its latest annual report for its Australian operations reveals revenues of more than 100m Australian dollars). By the exits of the O2 arena, giving envelopes were distributed alongside Bibles, although the church emphasises the money goes back into community work.

In London, its leader Gary Clarke resides in a luxury apartment owned by the church currently estimated to be worth £2.5m. “The church bought it as an investment,” the 59-year-old says. “We call that smart because we can sell it to put into a building project. It’s no different from any Church of England manse in central London, but when you’re new on the block and people perceive you as different, it leaves you open to people criticising.”

Hillsong also adopts a strict stance on homosexuality. In a 2015 blog post, Brian Houston stressed that while the church welcomes all people, “clearly, we do not affirm a gay lifestyle, and because of this, we do not knowingly have actively gay people in positions of leadership, either paid or unpaid”.

Yet those queuing outside the O2 seemed untroubled by such sentiments. “I explain it like a modern church but with traditional values,” says Mirjan Kleimann, a 25-year-old from Hamburg who has travelled with two friends to attend the conference. “They are sermons that preach about the topics relevant today, which we talk about together as friends.”

Jesse Hewitt, a 29-year-old in a baseball cap and white socks, who works in a coffee roasters in London and has been a member of the Hillsong congregation for three years, agrees. “It’s the same faith, same beliefs, but just really relevant,” he says.

The popularity of the likes of Hillsong among a younger generation is prompting the Church of England to take note. Trinity Church in Nottingham is one of a number of so-called “plant churches” where a group is sent up to form a new church.

It was established on the request of the Bishop of Nottingham by Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB), the evangelical west London church that wields increasing clout within the Church of England and has initiated dozens of plants, including Birmingham’s Gas Street Church, which opened in a renovated warehouse in 2016. One notable former graduate of HTB is the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

Everything about Nottingham’s newest church, situated in a former auction house, is perfectly on-trend: house plants, refurbished parquet flooring, specialist coffee from a local roastery, artisan pastries, not to mention its leaders who are all 20 and 30-somethings sporting sculpted beards and trendy jeans.

Indeed, on first impressions, there is little inside the entrance hall at Holy Trinity to distinguish it as a church whatsoever – save the guest wifi password: “Revelation”.

In December 2017, the Diocese of London received £3.9 million to train 15 “planting curates”, who, at the invitation of diocesan bishops, will be deployed to 15 “strategic cities” between 2020 and 2022. According to the Church Times, at least ten are being trained at HTB.

The Holy Trinity leadership team, many of whom hail from London, arrived in Nottingham in September 2016 and moved into the former auction yard site, which had been acquired by the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, in Easter 2017.

As with many of the other church plants instigated by HTB, sermons are intended to be a lively affair, with a church band called The Worship Team performing each week on a raised stage backed by a giant wooden cross. Joanne Arton, a 24-year-old Glaswegian, is the worship leader. She describes the music as a mix of reflective songs and ones where “people wave their hands in worship and receive”.

She says she grew up in a Christian household and, despite losing her father at the age of four, has held on to her faith. “My generation are definitely looking for love and connection and structure in their lives,” she says. “Church offers that.”

More and better information on the Hillsong movement can be found in some of the blogs on my blogroll. Hillsong Church Watch hasn't been updated recently, but is an indispensable source of useful information.

Rochester Cathedral provides more evidence that the Church of England is beyond the possibility of satire

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Matthew 23:27

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; II Timothy 3:1-4

Another piece of evidence for why Mad magazine will soon cease publication of new material--there's nothing left to satirize.

As reported by Rochester Cathedral, June 24, 2019 (bold in original):

Adventure Golf at the Cathedral
July 01, 2019

A bridge-themed adventure golf course in the Nave of Rochester Cathedral this August
Kent’s most unusual adventure golf course will be at Rochester Cathedral this summer. Created in partnership with the Rochester Bridge Trust, the Medieval Nave will be filled with a bridge-themed adventure golf course. The course has been designed to encourage young people to learn more about the engineering behind bridges.

The Revd. Rachel Phillips, Canon for Mission and Growth at Rochester Cathedral, said: “For over 1,400 years, Rochester Cathedral has been a centre of learning for the community. By temporarily installing an educational adventure golf course we aim to continue that mission, giving people the opportunity to learn while they take part in a fun activity, in what for many might be a previously un-visited building.

“The course forms the centrepiece of a ‘Building Bridges’ theme running through the summer. As well as the physical bridge which has stood over the River Medway since Roman times, the invisible but equally historic links between the Cathedral and the surrounding community are also bridges of a kind; we hope that, while playing adventure golf, visitors will reflect on the bridges that need to be built in their own lives and in our world today.”

The course – which is designed and paid for by Rochester Bridge Trust and constructed by HM Adventure Golf – is made up of nine holes, each accompanied by a model of a different type of bridge. It includes the original Roman bridge at Rochester, and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at Dartford, all of which is accompanied by information for further learning.

Andrew Freeman, Operations Manager at the Rochester Bridge Trust, added: “We are always looking for new ways to engage with young people and inspire them to take an interest in bridges and civil engineering. Joining forces with the Cathedral to set up this educational activity within such a stunning setting is the ideal opportunity to reach out to the community and get families and young people thinking about bridges while they have fun.

“Learning through play is at the heart of many of our educational initiatives, as we introduce new concepts and ideas to young people away from the classroom environment.”

Adventure Golf runs from 1st August – 1st September. Previews will run from the 27th July – 31st July. Daytime sessions will be free of charge. More details will be released soon.

As reported by Bobby Hristova of the Canadian newspaper National Post, July 29, 2019:

Church officials at England’s second oldest cathedral have provoked outrage after installing a nine-hole mini-putt golf course in the medieval nave.

Officials said the idea was to attract more visitors to Rochester Cathedral, founded in 604 AD.

“We hope that when people come in, they will know that they’re welcome and they will have an enjoyable experience,” Rachel Phillips, canon for “mission and growth” at the cathedral, told Premier, a Christian radio station.

“So while people are here, having fun and playing crazy golf, they will take the opportunity to reflect on that wider theme of building bridges, that they might find that they would like to pray, light a candle. Maybe talk to somebody.”

But the golf course has met with anger and dismay.

Damian Thompson, former editor-in-chief of the Catholic Herald, tweeted, “St John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, went to his death rather than watch his cathedral fall into the hands of greedy iconoclasts. I suspect he would rather see it lie in ruins than experience this fate.”

Fisher was beheaded in 1535 after being found guilty of treason by not recognizing Henry VIII as Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Army Chaplain Sebastian Hyatt tweeted, “Rochester cathedral’s idea of mission. So devoid of theology, and intent on making money they have forgotten ‘This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven’. Shame on you.”

Bishop Gavin Ashenden, who served as the Queen’s chaplain, told the Church Militant news website, “The sequestration of the great Roman Catholic cathedrals of our country by what became the Church of England was always fraught with conceptual and moral difficulty. It was achieved by political force and at the cost of Catholic martyrdom.

“The Church of England, suffering a reductio ad absurdum has turned its Catholic cathedrals into entertainment centres. Having lost contact with transcendence, majesty and holiness, the CofE has become a branch of the leisure and entertainment industry. Since they no longer know what a cathedral is, or what it is for, it is indeed time for them to return them to the Church that conceived, built and knows how to honour and use them.”

Catholic writer Deacon Nick Donnelly also told Church Militant, “English Catholics care for our ancient cathedrals, even if they are in the possession of the usurping Church of England. We are very aware that the Mass was celebrated at the altars of these cathedrals. What is happening at Rochester Cathedral is sacrilege against God.”

Journalist Tim Stanley, writing in The Daily Telegraph, said, “Cathedrals were designed precisely to remind you of your place in this celestial order, to make you feel small, to awe you into belief. When you stick a mini golf course in a cathedral, it doesn’t bring the community closer so much as it strips the building of its original intent and pushes God further away. It is an act of desecration.”

A Saxon cathedral was first built at Rochester on land donated by King Ethelbert, England’s first Catholic king. Justus, first Bishop of Rochester, was consecrated there by St Augustine. The present building dates back to the work of the French monk, Gundulf, in 1080.

The cathedral defended the joint stating the activity was a free and educational way to reel in younger crowds and families.

It also said the golf course did not affect services with at least three services daily.

“The adventure golf is only taking place in the Nave of the Cathedral, with other spaces available for prayer and quiet as usual,” read a tweet from cathedral officials.

The cathedral’s website states the course is not permanent, running until Sept. 1, when the cathedral will display the Knife Angel statue — a sculpture made up of 100,000 confiscated knives and dedicated to crime victims.

Meanwhile, two hours north of Rochester, Norwich Cathedral plans to set up a 17-metre high “helter skelter” tower in its place of worship for two weeks in August. The tower will sit in the nave of the cathedral, allowing people a chance to climb up for a closer look at its architecture, say officials.

“Wherever you are, or are not, on your faith journey, the space invites you just to be, to explore and encounter the space in your own way, to let it speak to both heart and soul,” reads an article on the cathedral’s website.

And Lichfield Cathedral, in the heart of England, has transformed its magnificent tiled floor into a “lunar landscape” to commemorate the moon landings 50 years ago.

Here's Rochester Cathedral's announcement about their next event (bold, link in original):

Knife Angel

Monday, September 2, 2019 09:00
Sunday, September 29, 2019 17:00

The Knife Angel will be on display in Cathedral’s gardens from the 2nd September until the 29th September.

The Knife Angel is recognised as the National Monument against violence and aggression. It will be the focal point for 28 days of education, reflection, remembrance and prayer in Medway, as it provides a powerful visual symbol of the dangers of carrying a knife.

A collaboration between the Home Office, all 43 UK police constabularies, families of victims and the British IronWork Centre, this awe-inspiring piece is created from over 100,000 blunted and seized blades.

Dean Phillip Hesketh says: “We are fortunate to have the Knife Angel coming to Rochester Cathedral in September. It has already visited many other cathedrals and has provided a valuable opportunity to raise awareness of the devastating effects of knife crime. We hope that it will bring people together in Medway to address what is becoming a national crisis.”

We will be running special sessions for any Medway school who wishes to visit it. For more information click here.

If this isn't enough, this will be coming in November (bold in original):

Beatle Mania

Friday, November 1, 2019
18:30- 22:00

Last years Queen Tribute SOLD OUT and it was so much fun we’ve decided to come back for another year, this time with Beatles classics performed by Rockit Choir and Counterfeit Beatles! Come along and join in...

“There's nothing you can do that can't be done, Nothing you can sing that can't be sung, Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game, It's easy, All you need is LOVE".

TICKETS
Bronze Ticket - £12.50

Silver Ticket - £17.50

Gold Ticket - £22.50

Mainline and Southern Baptist churches in South Carolina are in decline

...I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18b

...Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8b

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves,...
...Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away...
...For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. II Timothy 3:1-2a, 5; 4:2-3

The New Testament prophesies that the last days preceding the return of the Lord Jesus Christ will be times of increasing apostasy, so it comes as no surprise to this blogger to read that even in America's alleged Bible Belt (as in Canada's alleged Bible Belt), nominal Christianity is in decline.

The Lord is still building His church--right on schedule. The churches that are in decline are the ones that "have a form of godliness," but have fallen into apostasy--as indicated, for example, by the presence of women in positions of leadership, and substituting the social gospel for the true gospel--and the gates of hell are prevailing against them.

Many of the new churches that are springing up are using the methods of the Church Growth Movement, marketing Christianity as a consumer product to satisfy the desires of the customer. As the saying goes, "what you win them with is what you win them to," also stated as "what wins them is what keeps them." If worldly entertainment is what attracts people to church, that will be what keeps them there, and they'll leave if they're being sufficiently entertained. There's nothing particularly "consumer-friendly" in the true gospel of Jesus Christ, yet His church has been around for 2,000 years, and will be around for eternity.

As reported by Sarah Ellis of the Columbia State, August 9, 2018 (bold, links in original):

South Carolina churches are shedding thousands of members a year, even as the state’s population grows by tens of thousands.

In the place we call the Bible Belt, where generations have hung their hats on their church-going nature and faithful traditions, an increasing trend of shrinking church attendance — and increasing church closings — signal a fundamental culture shift in South Carolina.

At least 97 Protestant churches across South Carolina have closed since 2011, according to data from the Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist and Southern Baptist denominations. An untold number of other closings, certainly, are not captured by these statistics.

Many churches are dying slow deaths, stuck in stagnation if not decline. And if they don’t do something, in the near future, they’ll share the fate of Cedar Creek United Methodist, a 274-year-old Richland County congregation that dissolved last year; Resurrection Lutheran, a church near downtown Columbia that will hold its last service on Sept. 2; and the dozens of churches that sit shuttered and empty around the state.

At the same time, some churches are growing, and some growing quickly. But they might not look much like the churches your grandparents (and their grandparents) were raised in. From meeting in unconventional places to tweaking their traditions, many churches are adapting, offering something different that many people thought the church couldn’t do for them.

What they’re doing reflects the results of an ongoing conversation among churches: How can they stay alive?

At Whaley Street United Methodist Church near downtown Columbia, the small crowd of remaining members are quick and cheerful to say they’re a “small but friendly” church. A couple dozen people sat spaced out among the wooden pews on a Sunday morning earlier this summer, when the Rev. Joe Cal Watson delivered an efficient sermon titled, “What is church?”

“I miss the days when church and Sunday were so important … the world stopped so we could focus on our faith,” Watson said from the pulpit. Sunday mornings still matter, he told the flock, but how the church treats people and helps people in need are more important.

Whaley Street’s congregation is a fraction of the size it once was when the surrounding Olympia and Granby mill villages were thriving.

The church simply doesn’t know how to grow these days, though it hasn’t stopped hoping for growth.

“We’re open. We’re friendly. But we do have an old-time service,” said Mary Anna Spangler, a member of 30 years. “But the big problem is how do you get (people) in the door and then keep them?”

FAITH BY NUMBERS

The South is slowly catching up to national and European trends shifting toward what many call a “post-Christian” culture — that is, a society with characteristics no longer dominantly rooted in Christianity.

Studies and surveys have documented the decline of self-identified Christians and the rise of “nones,” or the religiously unaffiliated, across the United States for years.

The Pew Research Center describes the United States as in the midst of “significant religious change. ”The share of Americans who identify with Christianity is declining, while those who say they have no religion is growing rapidly.”

In the South, more than three-quarters of adults identify as Christians, and more than 8 in 10 people consider religion to be somewhat or very important in their lives, more than in any other region of the country, according to Pew.

But, as in the rest of the country, a shrinking proportion of Southern adults say they regularly attend religious services — 74 percent in 2014, down 3 percent from seven years earlier. And surveys tend to inflate how often people actually attend religious services, Pew notes.

South Carolina is in step with those trends, and it shows in church statistics, particularly among Protestant denominations.

While Catholics are actually increasing in number in South Carolina, largely driven by influxes of northern and Hispanic newcomers to the state, major Protestant denominations report declines in membership and numbers of churches in recent years.

Consider:

--United Methodists and Southern Baptists, which together account for more than 3,000 churches and nearly 800,000 church members in South Carolina, report five-year membership declines of 5 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

--United Methodists lost 12,707 members and closed 30 churches in the state between 2012 and 2017. By comparison, 29 new United Methodist churches opened in the state in the past 50 years.

--The number of S.C. Southern Baptist churches has held steady at around 2,100 during the past five years — thanks in part to new church plants canceling out closures. Not all Southern Baptist churches report their statistics to the convention each year, but among those reporting, there were nearly 130,000 fewer members in 2017 (568,519) than in 2012 (698,041), according to statistics published by the S.C. Baptist Convention.

“The reality is that 80-plus percent of (S.C. Southern Baptist) churches are plateaued or declining, meaning they haven’t grown by any measurable percentage in 10 years, or they’ve actually lost membership,” said Jay Hardwick, who leads the church-planting team for the S.C. Baptist Convention. “And a large percentage of those are in a window where if something drastic doesn’t happen within five to 10 years, they’ll close their doors. They won’t have anything.”

NOT-SO-SACRED SUNDAYS

A church, particularly a Southern church, used to be a community center.

It was where you made friends and kept up with friends, where you ate supper on Wednesday nights, played on a softball team, sent the kids after school, fulfilled your community service duties, made business connections, got your musical fix in the choir and maybe joined a reading or knitting club.

And being a part of a church once was, essentially, a status symbol for many people in the South.

“Where do you go to church?” was a regular get-to-know-you question; the answer said something about who you were.

“You didn’t have a choice when I was a child. You went to church,” said Happy Meglino, who grew up in a Southern Baptist church and now attends Whaley Street United Methodist with her husband, Mark, and their 5-year-old daughter, Julianna. “My mom played the organ, and my brother and I were going to be there every time the doors were open. And your friends were there, too. … If you were going to be a good Southern girl, accepted socially, you went to church. If you didn’t go to church, mmm, we don’t know about you.”

Now, though, a church isn’t a line you need on your social resume.

“If you just want to be a philanthropic person, there are a gazillion opportunities for you to feed hungry people, clothe cold people, do service projects, build a house,” said David Turner, the minister of music and worship at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in downtown Columbia.

The oldest Lutheran church in Columbia, Ebenezer once boasted a large, multigenerational congregation of families who lived in nearby neighborhoods. The city used to close streets for its annual vacation Bible school.

Now, Turner said, the church’s attendance numbers are lower than ever.

“1950 was great, but it’s not 1950 anymore,” Turner said.

A key issue for the future, Turner says, is whether church leaders will have the knowledge and skill to guide churches toward a new future or be stuck in a past when Sunday mornings were sacred.

Many of the churches that are failing have not kept up with the pace of change in their communities, and they stopped making a difference outside the walls of the church.

When a church becomes more concerned with looking inward at itself rather than reaching outward to the people around it, it’s lost its core function, said Hardwick, the Southern Baptist church planter.

“Relevance has nothing to do with how cool and creative the church is, if the music’s cool and the lights are great and the staging’s just right,” Hardwick said. “Relevance has everything to do with making a difference.

“If this church disappeared, would anybody in our community know or care?”...

...NEW METHODS, OLD MISSION

Fewer than 1,000 feet from the door of Whaley Street United Methodist, upwards of 300 people gather in Columbia’s 701 Whaley event hall on Sunday mornings.

They comprise Downtown Church, a 7-year-old Presbyterian church born, in part, out of a feeling that other churches were “answering questions I wasn’t asking and not answering questions I was,” said the Rev. Amos Disasa, co-pastor.

The founders of the church saw people looking for an experience that a so-called traditional church didn’t provide.

“We sensed a need for a place for people who were persistently asking questions about God and were very interested in their own spirituality but were not opting into the formal institutions that would typically provide those answers,” Disasa said. “They’re weren’t going to church on Sundays, but it wasn’t that they had given up on God. They were disinterested in the institution of a church as it is.”

There’s no one-size-fits-all model of church, especially not in 2018. And there’s also no reason to expect people to show up at any church just because it’s there, many church leaders are recognizing.

“We early on taught our folks we have to be the ones that go out and share Christ and share what we’re doing with folks, because if we open our doors and just sit there and expect folks to come up, it’s not going to happen,” said Jody Ratcliffe, the founding pastor of the 2-year-old Church at West Vista.

The door to the Church at West Vista also happens to be the door to a bar.

One Sunday a month, the fledgling church meets at New Brookland Tavern on State Street, a popular Sunday brunch area. The rest of the month, church happens in living rooms throughout the Columbia metro area.

West Vista’s “house church” model is, in some ways, a throwback to the earliest days of the Christian church, but it represents a major shift from the traditional church model of recent centuries.

In a rapidly changing religious landscape, there is one critical element of a church that must not change, Hardwick said: The gospel message and mission.

Almost anything else is fair game.

“The message never changes, but the methods are always up for change,” he said.

‘EXPERIENCE THE EXPECTED’

As much change as the church is undergoing, church tradition isn’t dead — no more than Brookland Baptist Church in West Columbia is at 8 a.m. on a Sunday.

In many ways, Brookland represents the way church has been for generations.

Families sit together in long pews. They wear dresses and suits and ties and hats. A big, swaying choir fills the stage, and paper bulletins double as fans (though, an usher will hand you a real paper fan if they see you sweating). Golden offering plates are passed.

A robed pastor’s booming, lyrical voice preaches a message that lifts you out of your seat, and when he calls you to the altar, it is no suggestion; you come.

But Brookland is also reaching people — 3,500 of them or so on an average Sunday morning — in ways the church never did before. Big screens flank the pulpit, alternating live video feeds with scrolling lyrics to old-school hymns being played by a full band with, yes, drums and electric guitars.

You can pass the offering plate right along and give your tithe via text message or on the church’s website.

If you didn’t come to church on Sunday morning, you might come for lunch during the week at the massive conference center, which is used for all kinds of events, church- and nonchurch-related. Or your kids might play basketball in the wellness center or catch a quick word from the Rev. Charles Jackson, the pastor, on Twitter.

That’s all part of an evolving strategy to reach the people who are and will become the next generation of Christians, the church says.

“First of all, you’ve got to think about who that next generation is,” said Marnie Robinson, a member and church spokesperson. “The church may be trying to force them to be the church of yesteryear, and they’re not those people. … We need to talk to the millennials as if they are important and teach them the message of Christ; teach them and show them.”

But still, “church is church,” Robinson said, and many people are looking to “experience the expected.”

“When you do church, when you go to church, you expect to hear a good word,” Robinson said. “You expect to experience good music, and you expect a good prayer. Music, prayer and the word — you’ve got worship right there. All the other good stuff that happens is extra.”

Brookland will keep adapting, but it’s not going anywhere, Robinson said. And neither is the greater church, she feels sure.

“The church is one of the oldest institutions in the world, so I don’t think it’s going anywhere,” Robinson said. “How we do church may change, may be changing. But church is not going anywhere, and I take solace in that.”

THE END?

Consistency and tradition were beloved among the rural Cedar Creek United Methodist congregation in Blythewood, and consistency and tradition sustained the church for 274 years, until it closed in 2017.

“I think that most churchgoers like things to be the way they’ve always been,” said the Rev. Alice Deal, who retired this summer as pastor of Cedar Creek’s remaining sister churches on the Fairfield Circuit, Bethel UMC and Monticello UMC. About 40 church members, mostly seniors, remain between the two of them.

A command to change, though, comes from the one they worship, Deal said. “The holy one of Israel speaks through the prophet Isaiah and says, ‘I am about to do a new thing. Do you not see it springs forth?’ I think newness is what we’re called to be open to and to embrace, but that’s not always easy to do,” she said.

Some won’t change, held back by fear or stubbornness or practicality or something else.

But some will reach a point where “the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change,” Hardwick said.

“They realize, man, if we stay the same, we will put the death knell, perhaps, of gospel ministry in this community,” he said. “Then we’re going to be willing to make the hard decision that it’s going to require of us, kind of a whatever-it-takes mindset.”

But for some churches, the most faithful choice they can make is to close and invest their resources elsewhere, Hardwick said.

The futures of Monticello and Bethel are looming.

“I don’t know what the future holds,” Deal said, “but I know who holds the future. In God’s perfect will and God’s perfect time, what God intends for these churches will happen.”

Examples of what I mentioned at the beginning of this post can be found in this report by Miss Ellis in the State, August 9, 2018:

Sunday mornings at Ebenezer Lutheran Church are almost exactly what you’d expect them to be — except, perhaps, for all the empty pews.

At a recent service at Columbia’s oldest Lutheran church, about 40 or 50 people sat in the hushed hall of Ebenezer’s stunning sanctuary. There were a handful of children, many more white-haired heads and at least one homeless person...

...About 180 years younger than Ebenezer, Downtown Church has built its identity, in part, on its willingness to change — to try new things and to let go of things that don’t work or don’t matter or have run their course.

It’s an attractive place for people like Amanda McAlhaney, who shied away from “traditional” churches most of her life. She felt little personal connection there and was turned off by fear-based messages, she said.

What she and her husband, Shawn, found at Downtown Church is a down-to-earth message that consistently translates to their everyday lives, she said.

“For me, this church is just about being a good human being,” McAlhaney said. “I’m always thinking how I’m going to relate this to life, and I think that has been something missing in other sermons (in other churches). … The formality drops or disappears, and you’re just there to worship. … That’s something that’s been really special about it for me, when people just don’t want the formality of the traditional church.”

Turner said he’s trying to push Ebenezer to look for ways to get people into the church through the “side door and back door” — because, these days, people aren’t walking into a church just because it’s there, he said.

“I think you find some way for people to, first and foremost, connect socially, and then you turn it into a spiritual formation event,” Turner said. “We’re a consumeristic culture now, and so you can fight it and you can roll your eyes about it … it sort of is what it is. So I think, get them pulled in, and you can have that conversation after they’re invested in the program.”

Maybe it’s offering a chance to volunteer at a soup kitchen, opening the church as a performance hall during the week or allowing nonmembers to be married in the sanctuary, Turner suggested. The point is to give people another reason, any reason, to connect with the church.

At Downtown Church, it’s easy to embrace change — to try new things and let go of others — because the survival of their congregation “is not the point of existing,” Disasa said.

“We try really hard to be OK with the idea that Downtown Church may not exist someday,” said the Rev. Dawn Hyde, the church’s co-pastor with Disasa. “And it’s not the end of the world. It’s not the end of faith. It’s not the end of God.”