BAPTIST CHURCH POLITY
LECTURE 31
SPECIAL CHURCH EVENTS
Is everything that your average independent Baptist church does, right? Can every aspect of what goes on at church be fully supported by Scripture? If it’s not in the Bible should we totally abandon it? Is there a certain ‘special event’ that your church has had that bothered you some? Are rallies, retreats, revivals, conferences, campaings, camps, VBS, etc., something that every church should be involved with? Are these optional? Are any of these unwise?
Scripturalness of Special Events
I don’t know of any scripture that would support any of these ‘special events’ specifically. Though, there are a few passages that could indirectly support at least some of them.
Does this support Rallies or Retreats?
Acts 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Does this support VBS?
Matt 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Does this support Preacher Conferences?
Acts 21:17-20 And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
Does this support Retreats?
Mark 6:31-32 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.
I can’t say that any of these are really supported of those special events; but, it’s worth considering.
Blessings of Special Events
Of course, the main reason a special church event is planned is because it is thought that it will be a great blessing for the church. Why else go through all that trouble to prepare for it?... So, we know that they are viewed as a blessing. What are the tangible blessings of some of these events?
Rallies: fellowshipping with other Christians of similar belief; helps motivate the participants
Retreats: allows the adult to get away from all the stresses of life and focus on the
spiritual. Good fellowship.
Revivals: the speaker usually has a motivating message(s). People seem more open to
change here.
Conferences: allows for extra church teaching and preaching in that week. There is
usually a topic focused on.
Camps: youth can fellowship with other ‘Christian’ youth. Kids tend to look forward
to these. Decisions are made for God.
Campaigns: many are motivated to invite others to church
VBS: children will come often come to these who wouldn’t come to your church otherwise
Thus, there are some ‘blessings’ that can be obtained from these special events. But, at the expense of what? Are there any dangers with these?
Dangers of Special Events
Many of these special events seem centerred around ‘hype’; let’s try and get something ‘exciting’ going on here at church so the people will get motivated. Let’s have a special speaker come in. Let’s have a big Sunday School campaign. Let’s invite a bunch of churches over for our mission’s conference. Let’s try and outdo last year. We will keep coming up with more and more new gimmicks to try and get you ‘sorry’ church members motivated, excited, commited…(scarcasm is obvious here). This philosophy is dangerous and often produces compromise and a cheapening of the mission of the Lord’s churches.
2 Cor 11:2-3 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
If other churches are involved, there are several dangers to be aware of. One is the difference in standards. Their idea of conservative dress might be quite a bit different than yours. Another potential danger is the possible difference in doctrinal beliefs. They might be universal church and pro-ecumenical. This might rub off on some of the members (over time). And another potential danger is that you do not really know any of these folks that will be closely fellowshipping with your dear flock. You don’t know who has what problems; who is a flirt; who is into drugs; who has a history of sex offending, etc..
These are ‘potential dangers’, and not a prooftext to avoid special events.
Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
But, there are some other potential issues with these special events:
Rallies: can’t kids get excited for the Lord without having such? Can’t a rally be incorporated into your own church’s children’s ministry. Do you really want to invite a bunch of kids from other churches who may or may not be ‘good’ for your kids to be around? Rallies tend to be quite flesh related. A bunch of hype in order to get the kids to go and then you have some preaching in the evening. Would they go if it was just going to be basically spiritual in nature?.... And, there is usually a rather high price tag to attend these events.
2 Cor 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
John 2:14-17 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
Retreats: can’t adults get away from it all right there with their own church family? Isn’t the church equipped to handle this need of the ladies or the men? Do the men really need to take off 2 or 3 days of work and be away from their family in order to be spiritually refreshed? Pastor, do you want your beloved men chumming around with a whole host of men that may or may not be ‘good’ for them to be around? And, there is usually a rather high price tag to attend these events.
Revivals: isn’t the Pastor more than capable enough of ‘reviving’ the people he is to be shepherding? A Revival speaker is flown in to do the job that the Pastor can’t seem to do. Are there really such an ‘animal’ as a Revivalist? Evangelists go from church to church that they themselves have planted and pastored, not to other men’s churches! Why only have revival at these times (once or twice a year)? What is ‘revival’ anyways? Is there an actual ‘moving of the Spirit’ that produces what many call ‘great revivals of the past’? And, there is usually a rather high price tag to have this event.
Conferences: Preachers’ conferences often deal with a lot of church politics. There often is a lot of arm twisting to get pastors behind a certain cause. There is a lot of pushing for a rallying around the ‘cause’ (fellowship, group, state, association). Preachers usually drag their church into all the ‘politics’ that is pushed on them at the conferences. There is a lot of rubbing elbows with those of universalist belief, or who promote wordly Christian music, or who have mediocre standards.
Mission conferences usually end up bankrupting the church. First of all, there is a lot of money involved in travel, lodging, meals, and love offerings for the many Missionaries that they might have. Secondly, the church gets all excited about giving to Missions (praise the Lord), but their eyes are usually bigger than their wallets and the church takes on some more Missionaries to reach the max of the Faith Promise pledge, and then the money often doesn’t come in, and the church is in arears perpetually.
Campaigns: why does a Pastor see the need for a bunch of hype and gimmickry in order to get members to invite people to church? It might be because the members won’t typically do it unless they have some fleshly motivation…like an award, or a Restaurant coupon, etc.. These ways of the world ought not be done in the house of God. These campaigns tend to be numers driven; more more more more! They also seem to get a bit ridiculous as there are more and more had in a year and the seeming need to have each one outdo the other in uniqueness and hype. Roundup Sunday, Old-Fashioned Sunday, Fill-your-pew Sunday, Invite your boss Sunday, Indy 500 Sunday, etc.. Some churches always seem to have some ‘crazy’ campaign going on to keep their members hyped and motivated.
1 Cor 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
Camps: So many kids have testimonies of how they dedicated their lives to the Lord, or got saved, at camp. Praise the Lord for all of that. But, there are potentially an equal number who parents have seen go to camp and come back more backslidden than when they went! There are usually two main crowds at a teen or Junior camp: the spiritual crowd and the flesh crowd. The spiritual crowd is usually quite a small group comparably. Teen camps are notorious for being a ‘checking out the opposite gender’ meeting. Also, these camps are beloved so much by the kids because of all the crazy and exciting activities that are provided for them. The spiritual side is usually not the most important part of their testimony when they return back home. There is little adult oversight (relatively) at these camps. The standards that mom and dad have for their sweet ‘baby’ are not enforced (necessarily) at these camps. They often say there is such and such a dress code (but it is usually poorly enforced). They say they have conservative music, but if it doesn’t have a good beat you can feel and doesn’t make the kids want to jump around, then it isn’t ‘effective’ in the camp leaders’ minds (apparently). And, the cost is quite a financial burden on the parents who send their kids. Can’t a church have its own ‘camp’? Does a church ‘have to’ send the kids to a camp each year? Can’t those that minister to the Junior age group and the Teen group find more scriptural ways in getting these kids excited for the things of God? Sure they can… but it breaks from tradition.
Mark 7:8,13 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
VBS: Oh the planning, the planning, the planning, and the money, that is needed for ‘putting on’ a ‘good’ VBS. There is so much competition out there with other ‘churches’. You want yours to be the best. And, yes, praise the Lord when you have those young visitors come to the VBS; and praise the Lord if some of them get saved! Amen! But, what would you say to the concert promoter that says that lots of kids will come to hear these CCM Rock bands that are lost, and some will make a profession of faith? Does that make the CCM concert acceptable? VBS typically is a program that is put together by less than conservative groups (many of them Baptist). The ‘parts’ to the program often are centerred around some well known worldly theme (Mission Impossible, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Apollo Moon Mission, Crocodile Dundee, etc.). Why not just simply go around and invite the young kids of the community to the church services (Sunday School, or Wednesday evening, etc.)? Can a church not have a VBS and still be an evangelical church? Can a church have VBS but make it in such a way that it isn’t based on hype, gimmickry, and being numbers driven? And, if I didn’t mention it already, VBS is usually quite costly to the church.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Support the Mission
Matt 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.