Just because it draws a crowd does not mean it’s correct it just means it’s popular—this is Pragmatism.
What Is Pragmatism?
Pragmatism is the notion that meaning or worth is determined by practical consequences. It is closely akin to utilitarianism, the belief that usefulness is the standard of what is good. To a pragmatist/utilitarian, if a technique or course of action has the desired effect, it is good. If it doesn’t seem to work, it must be wrong. (GTY.org – read more)
Churches like New Hope Oahu who draws in thousands every week to their entertainment-filled, uplifting-messages, and music-and-skits-to-last-a-lifetime church services may seem to be doing something “right” if so many people are drawn to it. But on the contrary, if people are not feeling convicted of their sins and lead to a true repentance of turning away from it, then the entertainment and uplifting stories we crave for is doing nothing but feeding our “flesh” creating more “wrong” than right.
On the other hand, when a church emphasizes the Entirety of God’s Word, Sin, Repentance, Falsehood, Hell, and Judgment it becomes unpopular with plenty of room left over in the pews. And though its primary purpose is to honor God and feed the sheep the pure unadulterated Words of Christ rather than the enticing positive messages that feeds the flesh, it is often times labelled as not having the Holy Spirit, Dead, and Unfruitful.
Here in Hawaii 9 out of 10 times when I ask what church do you attend? The answer is always New Hope. When I ask why? The answer is always: I like their messages, it makes me “feel good”, the entertainment is awesome, and the pastors are funny and are always using their own experiences to explain the bible. Of course, this is a technique derived by Wayne Cordeiro and is actually very popular amongst these man-pleasing, positive confession, word faith, pragmatic movements. However, Jesus once said: “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” (John 7:24) When our Christianity is determined by whether we are comfortable or not, if the messages make us feel good or convicted, the pastors are funny or boring, or on the vast amount of people who attend, we are judging according to appearance and not righteously…It is what our flesh want to see, hear, and touch rather than the plain truths of God’s Word. Basically we are accumulating for ourselves teachers and pastors to say what our itching ears want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3) and do what our fleshly eyes want to see.
I recently spoke to someone who attended New Hope Oahu that I think is worth mentioning. This person was having an online relationship with a married woman, he mentioned to me how he would go to New Hope every Sunday and once service was done would immediately call her in the mainland to share the pastor’s message. He said attending New Hope always made him feel good about himself and Jesus Christ, it made him more interested in Christianity and brought him closer to the gospel. However, I had to cut him off and say if you were really taught God’s word you would have immediately felt convicted for your sins and put a stop to any contact you had with her. Ironically, this is not just one person I know who is living immorally while attending New Hope Oahu.
Now of course every church has someone who is deliberately and willfully sinning, however if the messages that is being taught is making you “feel good” rather than convicted of those sins, then unfortunately your Christianity is only heading down the wrong direction. For like this person who I spoke to, he eventually continued his relationship with this woman even living with her for over 5 years, which currently has led her to spiral even deeper into a lifestyle of horrific sin.
Aimee Semple McPherson Founder of the Foursquare Movement which New Hope is derived from, says her messages were not of Fire and Brimstone, yet she preached a message of Repentance. There is absolutely no way someone can preach repentance and not mention Sin, Hell, and the Judgment and Wrath of God, although like McPherson and Cordeiro who found creative ways of going around it, like the story of this man and the married woman, this technique will only produce more and more lukewarm believers who continually live their lives without any remorse or conviction of the sins they commit.
From the Old Testament to the New the subject of “True Repentance” was imperative in any preaching and teaching of the Gospel. Here are just a few examples from the Old Testament: Jer. 15:7. Ez.14:6, Ez. 18:30, Ez. 18:32 and the New Testament: John the Baptist preached: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:1-3, 8-10, Mark 1:4, Mark 1:15, Luke 3:2-4 ), Scripture teaches us that even Jesus Christ preached that same message of Repentance: “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17), He (even) began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent (Matt. 11:20) and proclaimed: “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32) and even more boldly stated: “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3)…Even His Disciples “went out and preached that men should repent” (Mark 6:12), Peter who once cowardly hid himself after Jesus’ crucifixion also preached the message of Repentance: (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19), John did it (Acts 13:24), Paul did it (Acts 17:30, Acts 20:21), the list goes on and on and on…
It can’t be emphasized enough that if a church feeds your self-esteem with messages that are always positive and uplifting, and if its services are overflowing with entertainment, then you may want to reevaluate whether this “New” hope you have discovered is really “No” hope at all…For a Christian life without no true repentance of sin and without any knowledge of what’s true and what’s false is nothing but “religion.”
Like someone I know who is now attending a solid bible-teaching church after being at New Hope for almost her entire Christian life, she now believes she is finally being fed the entirety of God’s Word…and from her new and improved attitude towards Christ and His Words…I believe her.
In Christ,
Marc
1 Thess. 5:21 