From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

The worship industry's message to present-day churches is clear: Forget the Bible, except as a stage prop. Forget holiness, because you must attract the world.

¹⁸ Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, ¹⁹ and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

²⁰ Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations - ²¹ "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," ²² which all concern things which perish with the using - according to the commandments and doctrines of men?

²³ These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Satan's Deadly Device

The Apostle Paul under divine inspiration has given us a great and fundamental principle in these verses: You cannot bring the ideas of the unbelieving world, and the trappings of the unbelieving world, into the church, and call it Christian doctrine or Christian worship. You cannot bring anything you want to, out of the world and into the church, put a Christian label on it, and turn that worldly thing or that worldly practice into something that is acceptable to God.

In our last article, we saw that the theological term for this mode of thinking is syncretism - the deadly mingling of man-centered beliefs and practices with authentic Biblical Christianity.

Syncretism is one of the devices that Satan most often uses to lead a Biblically sound church into eventual apostasy. What begins as a subtle mingling of truth and error in worship will inevitably lead, if it is not stopped, to the mingling of truth and error in preaching, teaching, and evangelism. It will lead to the weakening, and eventually the abandonment, of the Gospel message. The visible church in our time is filled with examples and evidences of this tragic downgrade.

The Worship Industry Juggernaut

Some readers may ask, Is it really that bad in churches today? Is the problem really that serious and widespread? The answer is to be found in the phenomenal growth of a multi-billion dollar "worship industry" that is - with the enthusiastic support of many pastors and "worship leaders" - undermining once-sound churches by the thousands.

In our last article, I mentioned that there is a very popular magazine called Church Production. The idea behind this magazine, and other publications like it, is that the so-called worship service should be a stage production in which people are entertained and emotionally manipulated in the same way they would be if they went to a rock concert, a Broadway show, or a theme park. The underlying message to present-day churches is clear: Forget holiness, because you must attract the world. Forget the Bible, except perhaps as a stage prop. If you cannot compete with secular entertainment, your church's "worship" is inferior, and your church will not retain its membership or grow.

Typical article titles to be found in Church Production, its sister publication Worship Facilities, and other publications in the "worship industry" include these:

• "Leading a Worship Culture Change" (in other words, from Biblical worship to worldliness)
• "New Technology, Old Habits: How People Get in the Way of Progress" ("progress" is worship-industry-speak for the movement from Biblical worship to syncretism)
• "Dealing With Negative Feedback from the Congregation" (part of the focus was on dealing with the "negativity" of those who understand the nature of Biblical worship and are opposed to the counterfeits)
• "Affordable Set Design Creates Inviting Environment" (inviting, that is, for the un-churched, who in worship industry thinking are now the judges of what is acceptable in worship)
• "Setting the Stage for Your Easter Service" (sponsored by one of the leading manufacturers of stage and lighting equipment)
• "What to Say In Between Songs: Learning the Skills of Improv From a Comic's Point of View" (the worship leader must also be a comedian)

The worship industry holds well-financed conferences, seminars, and trade shows all over the United States and in other parts of the world to indoctrinate pastors and church leaders in the false teachings of counterfeit worship. Churches spend thousands of dollars (often tens or even hundreds of thousands) to send their staffs to these events, and to hire "worship consultants" to help them implement the tools and techniques of what is deceptively called "the new worship." Nominally Evangelical colleges and seminaries are rapidly establishing "worship institutes" to indoctrinate pastors-in-training in these evils before they ever reach their first churches.

"Whatever It Takes"

Two years ago, I went to a worship industry conference as an observer, to see firsthand what these people were doing and saying. The conference took place in a large convention center in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Several thousand pastors and leaders from churches all over the United States gathered for three days.

Given the nature and purpose of the conference, I expected those attending to be a comparatively young crowd - mainly people in their twenties and thirties, perhaps forties. I was surprised to find that the average age of the several thousand pastors and church leaders present was between forty-five and fifty-five years old. There were also significant numbers in their sixties and seventies.

Why were they there? A recurring theme dominated conversations during the breaks between sessions: These middle-aged pastors and church leaders were saying, "I am here to learn how to do what it takes to bring the un-churched into my church. Whatever it takes, my church is going to do it, and I'm here at this conference to learn how to do it." Bible teaching concerning worship was conspicuously absent. They were there to learn from the unsaved "experts" of the worship industry.

These pastors and church leaders were being indoctrinated to believe ten lies about worship - ten precepts of postmodern worship that are absolute falsehoods according to the Word of God. What are those ten lies? We shall take them up in our next article.

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