WHEN SHOULD A CHURCH ADDRESS A CURRENT EVENT?

Here is a helpful blog article on preaching and current events by Trevin Wax. . .

When does a current cultural event necessitate a change of plans in your Sunday morning church service?

That's a question that I've been pondering in the aftermath of the Charlottesville protests a few weeks ago. The event took place on a Friday night, escalated on a Saturday, and culminated with a terrorist attack.

On social media, multiple people counseled churches on how to respond the next morning. Some called for condemning supremacy and Neo-Nazis by name. Others offered prayer for pastors who were revising their sermons or penning statements to read before the church. This sentiment popped up a few times: If your church doesn't address this tomorrow, find another congregation. The social media fever implied that failing to speak on the issue indicated you were taking the side of supremacists.

I am the primary teaching pastor in my congregation. On that Saturday night, I spoke with two other pastors on staff. We decided that one of the pastors would speak from Ephesians 3 before the Lord's Supper, emphasizing reconciliation at the table of the Lord, who has broken down the wall between Jew and Gentile. Since I was already in the middle of a sermon series on Exodus, I found a few places in my sermon where a condemnation of racist ideology fit well.

In other churches, pastors took different approaches. Some posted thoughts on Facebook. Others made a statement during the service. Others incorporated the events into a time of prayer.

But the bigger question remains: when should a church change its program in order to address a current event?

Here are some principles I've considered for future occasions. These are my initial thoughts and I welcome counsel from others in the comments.

1. Is this a history-making event that demands the church's immediate response?

When I say "history-making," I refer to events that instantly change the conversation and atmosphere for everyone in society. September 11 fits this category. So did the assassination of John F. Kennedy. They are generation-shaping moments that call for the church's voice.

To not respond to these events would fail to speak to the fears, worries, and concerns currently overwhelming the congregation. If North Korea or ISIS were to set off a nuclear bomb in the United States, for example, it would be foolish to continue on with the next sermon as if everything was just like the week before.

2. How "top of mind" or "close at hand" is the recent cultural event? 

Timing matters. When a terrorist attack occurs just before a Sunday service, or when an Orlando nightclub is attacked on a Saturday night, or when a hurricane is wreaking havoc in Houston, you should realize that most of the congregation will be reeling from the news as they arrive at worship that morning.

When we decide not to address something (either through prayer or preaching) that is on nearly everyone's minds, we lose an opportunity to show how the gospel applies to all of life. We miss the opportunity to provide hope in a dark moment. Consider the emotional and psychological state of congregants gathering for worship, and then bring the light of the gospel to bear on the situation.

3. Are you in danger of leading your church to be driven by current events?

We should take care not to change a program or revise a sermon too often. It is not the purpose of the gathered church to address every world tragedy or big political event. Where would one stop? In a given week, there is news from all over the world that could, in theory, swamp the service.

We should be careful not to let the world set the agenda for a worship service. Yes, we need to be aware of suffering and pain in the world. (And this is one reason why corporate prayer in a service is ideal: you can incorporate burdens and requests into a time of prayer on any Sunday. This is what we did at our church the previous two Sundays as we lifted up the victims of Hurricane Harvey.) But worship should lift our eyes from the swirl of worldly worries to the King and kingdom that transcends the momentary cloud.

Worship that lifts our eyes to Jesus is not escapist; it is a spiritual discipline that reorients us to God and His purposes. Choosing to not address a cultural concern should never be motivated by fear or cowardice (as was often the case in churches in the Civil Rights era). Neither should it be an excuse for inaction. Instead, keeping a transcendent view in worship should help empower long-term sustainable action in the world, because believers have had their hearts re-focused on what does notchange.

4. Are we in a cultural moment where the church's guidance may be necessary?

Answering this question is a judgment call. Pastors may consider addressing a cultural issue because, as shepherds, they want to lead the flock well. I put Charlottesville in this category. At our church, our pastors wanted our congregation to have no doubt where we stood when it comes to anti-Semitic and racist ideology. By bringing it up, we were also saying, You may not think this is worthy of mention, but we do, and here's why.

Pastors must judge wisely and carefully on matters related to their own congregation and when they sense their guidance and voice is required. Different churches may come to different conclusions on a particular event.

When the Popular Youth Pastor Gets Arrested Again

This analysis could describe some other mega ministries as well.  -David 

The city of Birmingham, Alabama, has been buzzing in recent weeks over the second arrest of the city's most well-known youth evangelist.  Matt Pitt, founder of The Basement, first ran afoul of the law in the early 2012 when he was arrested for impersonating a police officer while flashing blue lights at cars on the interstate. Pitt pled guilty and continued to lead his large ministry, which had as many as 7,000 in attendance at monthly gatherings, until a warrant was issued for his arrest two weeks ago. He was arrested again last week and now sits in jail for violating his probation. Why was he booked this time? He impersonated a police officer a second time, though in this case he flashed his honorary sheriff's badge at a concerned resident while telling him that he was police officer.

Until last year, the press for Matt Pitt, 30, had been overwhelmingly positive. His testimony began when he left college in 2004 because of a drug overdose. At the end of his rope, he cried out to God while lying on the floor of his parents' basement. Pitt says he is not exactly sure what happened in that moment, but he wanted his friends to experience the same thing. He met with a few friends in the basement of his parent's home for prayer and Bible study. Within a year, more than 100 cars lined the street as crowds worshiped in the basement of the Pitt's home. They later moved from church to church, only to find that they outgrew every venue. 

The Basement attracts teenagers with high-energy music, stirring dramas, and Pitt's rapid-fire style of preaching. He has described himself as "an ADD kid trying to reach an ADD generation." The crowds made him famous. He has been featured on CBN and TBN. The Basement moved to monthly meetings to accommodate Pitt's busy outside speaking schedule, and the crowd began meeting at one of the largest and fastest-growing churches in the United States, Church of the Highlands. They left that location in 2011 to meet in large civic venues in downtown Birmingham. So in a short period of time Matt Pitt went from praying with some guys in his basement to one of the nation's most prominent youth evangelists and then to being arrested twice in 18 months.

How Did This Happen?

As a pastor in the Birmingham suburbs, I have been drawn to this story. But my fascination has little to do with his arrests or the bizzare 12-minute local news station interview where he compared himself to Martin Luther King Jr. and accused the police of targeting him when he started reaching "black kids." Nor am I mostly intrigued by the drama of that same TV station reporting his parole violation to the police, who chased him down after he jumped off a 45-foot cliff. Instead, I want to know how we got here. How did this happen? 

Southern church culture, including Birmingham, celebrates nearly anyone who claims to reach teenagers. We often assume the inherent goodness of any ministry that draws large numbers. And we idolize reaching the next generation to the point that we largely ignore what we are winning them with and what we are winning them to. Despite warning signs, youth pastors continued to take busloads of teenagers to The Basement and Christian radio relentlessly promoted Pitt's meetings.

All the while The Basement's theology was largely ignored. Viewing the videos on The Basement's website reveals an exciting atmosphere that lacks substantial understanding of God as revealed in his Word. Pitt's sermons might have been "in your face," but they did not point teens to the Bible and the gospel message revealed in it. Much of the public also ignored the Bible's teaching about character in leaders because Pitt claimed to have a "calling" from God to lead this ministry. And who could question his results?

But internal calling is only part of what it means to be a gospel minister. The apostle Paul insisted that a man who would lead must not be a new convert. He knew young leaders can become puffed up with conceit and fall into the snare of the Devil. Unfortunately this concern seems to have been valid in the case of Pitt, as members of his board said he refused accountability as more mature men sought to mentor him.

Southern churches rightly desire to reach teenagers, as we should want to see every person in our region come to Christ. But this aim will not be accomplished with a more exciting atmosphere, louder music, and a central charismatic figure who can rouse teens. Churches would better reach the next generation if they emphasized compelling biblical preaching and intergenerational discipleship, and if they empowered parents to teach the gospel to their own children.

Our teenagers do not need someone who can put on a great show so much as they need people to love them, teach them, and model the Christian life for them. Such faithfulness would do more to grab the hearts of our teenagers than a large, loud event ever could.

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Editors' note: Learn more about the kind of churches we need in the American South when you attend Engage the South, an Acts 29 conference hosted in Birmingham by Beeson Divinity School and co-sponsored by The Gospel Coalition. This one-day event on September 24 features talks from Matt Chandler, David Platt, Bryan Loritts, Kevin Smith, and Ray Ortlund.

Scott Slayton is the lead pastor at Chelsea Village Baptist Church in Chelsea, Alabama. He graduated from the University of Mobile and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to Beth for ten years, and they have three daughters. He blogs on life, theology, the church, and mission at scottslayton.net.