South Africa

David & I recently visited South Africa.  We were made keenly aware of the suffering of children and other members of the Body of Christ are enduring due to poverty, the Aids scourge and political upheavals in their land.

In South Africa we visited George, a city in the Cape Province where my brother, Phil and his wife, Maryna run a feeding program for children at seven squatter camps (by the end of the year they will have ten centers set up).  The squatter camps are hastily set up and many times the home or shelter is only a few pieces of sheet metal.  Many of the children are orphans, as their parents have died of Aids.   At the present time 2000 children are being fed four times a week.  The children come with their plastic containers in hand.   For most of the children, this is the only nourishment they receive.  They are also taught that Jesus is the Bread of Life.  It is certainly a ministry of “throwing out a life-raft” to try, by the Grace of God to be a witness for Christ in that needy area.

TRANSFORMATION =

The Paradigm Shift

Jewel Grewe

In the book, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong says:    “…change will probably be radical, if not total.  Those whose lives are dedicated to serving the Church of the past will resist these suggestions with a vehemence that always emerges from threatened hierarchies and dying institutions….But the seeds of resurrection are present in the exile, and in time those seeds will sprout and bloom.  When they do, we will once again be able to see continuity between the Church of the past and the purged and opened church of the future.”  Pg. 198-199

Our last few newsletters have dealt in depth with the shift taking place in the church which many of us are witnessing first hand.    The Vision for Transformation is described as a “process” with “core” themes.   General Systems Theory has now come to the church from the market place and is being given “spiritual-sounding” terminology to make it appealing to the generation that has been raised on Outcome Based Education.    The new paradigm criticizes and challenges traditional beliefs, values and authority.  In the education system, ridicule, intimidation and rejection is used to conform children.    The predetermined outcome becomes the goal, i.e. “transformation”.    There is a much larger goal in this new system of thinking which is simply to create a framework that integrates leaders of religion, business, politics and civil society.   

Since the year 2000, there have been new pressures to establish the global management system which President Clinton called the Third Way – one that allows governments to yield responsibilities, but not control, to “private” and “civil” partners who will be required to implement the vision.

In an article on the Web, Berit Kjos says it so well: 

“. . political alliances are already being established from coast to coast, not by law, but by an army of willing and often well-meaning religious leaders.  Those who share the UN vision of the 21^st Century community usually lead the parade.  They seek a global village of peace and social equality – unified, not by faith in the Biblical God, but by faith in human nature and a pluralistic god-spirit operating in and through each person.

Christian evangelism doesn’t fit this utopian vision.  It offends people of other faiths.  It threatens the religious leaders who have built their platform on humanitarian ideals rather than the Bible.” www.crossroad.to/text/articles/ConformingChurch1-00.html.

In looking over a recent PERSPECTIVE (Assemblies of God  Ministers Letter – July 2003), the following information regarding the upcoming General Council in Washington, D.C. was of interest:

Faith-Based Initiatives Leadership Seminar.  “This seminar will emphasize how ministries to children can be enhanced through faith-based initiatives.  In addition to a workshop on the how-tos of grant writing, prominent government leaders will speak on methods for incorporating faith-based initiatives with existing programs for students.”

As the call for  “Transformation” increasingly sounds, don’t be mislead by what seems to be “popular”.  Question what the “networking” is all about.  What does it really mean to be part of implementing a vision that incorporates a system that includes merging local ministries with programs that have been instituted by the government?   

As the church becomes more and more involved with  government will there be similarities between the church of the third millennium and 17^th Century England?

“October 1662 was a dark month for the church of Jesus Christ in Scotland, comparable only to Black Bartholomew’s Day in England two months earlier.  The then two thousand English pastors and teachers had been evicted for their unwillingness to comply with the terms of the Act of Uniformity.  Now all Scottish preachers were required to seek preordination at the hands of the bishops - - a measure to which few could submit in good conscience. . .  Those who would not comply should lose their ministries forthwith, their pulpits being declared vacant. . .

The “compilers of this retrograde legislation imagined that most of Scotland’s preachers were like themselves, loving security and income above consideration of conscience.  They anticipated that no more than ten men would prove awkward and refuse reordination.  In the event, over four hundred Scottish preachers chose poverty, homelessness, suffering and even death rather than the path of compromise.”  (Seeing the Invisible: Ordinary People of Extraordinary Faith (Durham, England: Evangelical Press, 1998), page 14)

Berit Kjos quotes this in her article referred to earlier, then goes on to say:

“The framework for control is in place.  So is the process for managing, molding and monitoring “healthy communities” and “healthy people” around the world.  (Three centuries ago, this nation offered a shelter – a place of refuge from the persecution that has pursued God’s faithful followers since Christ died on the cross.  When our nation shuts its doors to Biblical truth, where will Christians hide?

Change Process

What is so amazing is that the “change process” is happening now in many evangelical churches.  The Word of God used to be the standard on which a church defined their position.  People knew how to pray and get the Mind of the Lord for their church.  Today when a new pastor is to be called, a letter may be sent out to the congregation to inquire to what they are looking for in a pastor.   To many, the music is the most important part of the church service because people feel that is the “worship”.   So, those folk would desire a pastor who focuses on “praise and worship” with little time actually spent in the ministering of the Word. 

There have been many areas in which the “change” has occurred, but none has been so drastic as MUSIC.   The “transformation” in Christian Music has already brought about the “paradigm shift” in that area of the church.  Congregations that either don’t care or have been marginalized because they dare question are singing meaningless words with no doctrinal content.

Recently (May 11, 2003) in The New York Times, a lead article was entitled, “Lord Help Us Really Rock – The New Faces of Evangelicism in New Jersey”.  To quote from the article:

“The strobe lights spin and the floor shakes with a heavy techno beat.  Packs of teenage girls in spandex tops giggle as they dance in awkward surges.  The boys mill around on the edges.  One juggles Day-Glo balls with a pair of sticks.

It is the second Friday of the month, which means that hundreds of teenagers are flocking to the Fire Escape – a  multilevel nightclub with a live-action disco video game and an Internet café.  Downstairs, in the Underground lounge, girls lip-synch to the band’s grungy renditions of Christian worship music.”

This is where young people come to get an introduction to the Gospel? 

A message from one of our readers:  Carol Guffey

It is not my purpose to  debate Rock music in the Church! or even debate Spirit West Coast! But rather to reveal Satan's plan to still use the vehicle of Rock Music, only now it's the music that goes under the title of Christian, to lead this generation away from the worship of the true God unto the worship of the god of the new age, a god of ALL faiths.

Satan is in process of doing a swichteroo, just as we saw Beatle George Harrison do in his song My Sweet Lord. The beginning of the slide show showed the bands who were truly worshiping God, showing the progression to nonsensical, entertainment groups whose content really have nothing to do with winning kids to Christ, and progressing to the rap groups, and heavy groups like Toby Mac, Skillet, Stavesacre, Mordeci, Disciple, Mortification, IC3, P.O.D., Creed, and dozens more who are slipping in to every rock festival across the US and around the world. 

Here's a link to a very informative web page and revealing article absolutely vital to what I am trying to convey.  

Rock Musicians find a Higher Calling Through Faith.

www.almenconi.com/news/feb02/022802.html. 

Just a few paragraphs:

"The human carpet that covers the dance floor at Avalon is rising and falling in a synchronized frenzy; a mohawked crowd-surfer blithely rides the wave. Brain-warping levels of feedback spew from a mountain of speakers, and the screaming sweat-soaked singer crumples and jerks in time-honored fashion. The band, southern CA rap-metal outfit P.O.D. is generously pierced and lavishly tattooed. The volume is deafening. The subject is the Lord.

In the world of religious rock, circa 2001, giving praise and wreaking havoc seem indistinguishable, and love of Jesus and love of tongue studs peace-fully coexist...  finding common ground in the new spiritual alternative nation;   ...the masses are embracing hard rock with a positive message... "Contemporary Christian music is the fastest-growing  segment of the music industry.

As for the thousands of impassioned, upturned faces in the crowd; its hard to say who's flush with spirit and who is moved by the sheer power of bulldozer beats and gargantuan guitars. The bottom line is that by fusing rock's brash irreverence and the holier attributes of religion, this group and others have bucked the common notion that the two are mutually exclusive. It's bigger than Christian music or rap or rock. Nobody wants to be boxed up. It won't happen overnight, but we will start seeing the change. You don't get the sense that these bands are preaching the gospel so much as celebrating life.

As the world shifts on its axis, the line that has historically separated mainstream rock from Contemporary Christian Music is growing fuzzy. Affiliation with a particular...denomination, or deity pales in comparison to the common thread of faith...I think the walls are starting to come down."

This says it all. Out of their own mouths, it's a common thread of faith which unites them, not a particular deity and certainly not the one true God of the Bible. This is serious stuff comin' down the pipe.

And why is the ContemptChristMusic the fastest growing branch of the music industry? Why is the world embracing this music?

God tells us why?  "They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." 1 John 4:5,6.

A recent article from MTV News: P.O.D. GUITARIST IS REPLACED.  The Christian rock band P.O.D. (Payable on Death), one of the successful "crossover" acts that is popular in the secular field as well as the contemporary Christian, replaced its guitarist in February. When Marcos  Curiel left the band, he testified that P.O.D. is a party band and that he is tired of pretending to be one thing for the fans and then acting differently behind the scenes. He said: "I hate the   facade of putting on a mask in front of fans and then behind the scenes acting like someone else. I just want to be myself all the time." He challenged P.O.D. fans that think the members of P.O.D. live consistent godly lives: "Dude, what do you think P.O.D. does behind the scenes? Do you think they're  angels?" (MTV News, Feb. 19, 2003). Parents who think that Christian  rock is a safe alternative for their children are sadly deceived. 

A New Book Available through Discernment Ministries

Recently I attended a Friday night concert at Moody Church in Chicago.  Naively, I thought it would be most enjoyable as my memories of Moody have always been quite positive.    I sat through the first fifteen minutes in misery and kept thinking it had to get better.  Unfortunately, it only got worse.  The screaming and the strobe lights made my head ache.  Worse still was the ache in my heart.   Why have the lines between the world and the church become so blurred.  It seems that I’m always embroiled in a controversy over music.   Why do I have to stand and sing meaningless words over and over when there are so many hymns of the church that are full of theology and content.    I have no doubt that the church has been “processed” quite thoroughly when it comes to music.  I’m told, “don’t listen to the music, only the words.”  Sorry, I can’t hear the words.  The music drowns them out.    It is with great joy that I can offer the following book this month.  Please, get a copy, read it quickly and pass it around.  Oh yes, a purchase one for your pastor at the same time.   It isn’t just another book on Rock Music, but a book that gives a clear perspective of the Contemporary Christian Music scene and why one man decided to leave it!  We pray that voices that are “crying in the wilderness” today will be heard.  The cry is not from self-interest, but from genuine concern for the multitudes who are “going with the flow” and jumping on the bandwagon rather than determining truth from the vantage point of scripture:

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat;

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there  be that find it.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.   Matt. 7:13-15

EXCERPTS FROM:

"WHY I LEFT THE CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC MOVEMENT" 

BY DAN LUCIARINI

[After describing an experience he and his wife had in observing a powerful storm carry thousands of butterflies across a large lake and deposit them roughly on a sandy shore, the author makes the following application:] "In the 1990s, this movement blew into our church services accompanied by powerful forces, and anyone who got in the way was like the butterfly, swept away by its proponents, wounded during the violent journey, and finally dumped on the beach to perish. Some may never fly again, because their spirits were too tattered and torn by the storm's forces. Others had their souls weighed down by the immorality, deception and divisiveness that accompanied the CCM

storm. (p. 15)

"I realize I am also challenging a very powerful stronghold in the church. CCM is well entrenched now, perhaps even the favored music style in the Majority of fundamental and evangelical church services. CCM has taken deep root in the lives of many believers, and some will find what they read here very painful because it will tug hard on that root. Some pastors will not  like what I have to say because they too have embraced this movement. But I believe that the use of CCM in praise and worship is a man-made phenomenon and should be exposed as such because it lacks a strong biblical foundation and ignores God's instructions for acceptable worship. Using it for worship has produced wrong attitudes and encouraged carnal lifestyles; both are damaging the unity and effectiveness of Christians. I also believe the real motive for adopting CCM for praise and worship was not, as we were often told, to evangelize those from outside the church, but was rooted in a need to satisfy our own desires for our favorite music." (p.18)

"In his effort to create a non-judgmental atmosphere, the pastor promoted a 'God accepts us as we are' philosophy, with which CCM seems to go hand in hand. This was a pastor who once accepted tickets to a Doobie Brothers rock concert and defended his choice by claiming that if Jesus were alive today, he would be at this concert because he spent time with sinners. This teaching produced a church that attracted people who wanted God in their lives but did not want to change their lifestyles." (pp. 28, 29)

"Another strong musical influence in my life at this time was Promise Keepers, the well-known men's movement based in Colorado. Promise Keeper music uses predominantly rock styles including classic Seventies-style rock. I attended huge stadium rallies where the Maranatha Men's Band ministered in music."  (p.30)

"During our weekly practices, the praise band would often switch into a rock and roll 'jam session'. As the leader, I could have discouraged this but I chose instead to indulge my own appetite for rock and roll. To put it bluntly,

I was having fun! As I look back on this, I see how hard it was to restrain the rock music beast and prevent it from taking over completely." (p. 31)

"Now I want to summarize the reasons I had to leave the CCM scene.

Firstly, I could no longer accept the premises undergirding the CCM philosophy.

Our key premises were that music is amoral; God accepts all music styles; And no one should judge another's preference or tastes. As I dug into the Bible to prove them right, instead I saw that they were man-centered, illogical, and misrepresentations of basic biblical principles.

Secondly, when I saw what the Bible teaches about true worship and what it really means to be in the presence of God, I became sickened at the way my generation so glibly used profane and vulgar music accompanied by vulgar dress to offer up worship and praise to a holy God! And no one involved seemed to notice what we were doing.

Thirdly, to preserve my marriage and to be faithful to God in all things, I needed to separate from the Temptations that were ever-present in the CCM setting: the ego gratification and attraction to the female members of the worship team." (p. 34)

"Discipleship is not a self-esteem journey; growth means change, change always includes loss, and loss is always painful. You cannot keep all your old habits and pleasures. . The 'Come as you are, God accepts you where you are at'

doctrine is closely aligned with the tolerance movement that is popular in our secular society. . Jesus did not accept her [the woman caught in adultery in John 8]--he commanded her to change. . The honest 'seeker' must conclude that this 'come as you are' teaching of God's unconditional acceptance is at best misleading. We cannot come to God just as we are, with our sin unconfessed or ignored or draped all over us, and still expect his acceptance. We cannot drag our favorite worldly music, dress and language into the church, and expect a blessing!" (pp. 38, 39,40)

"Acceptance doctrine is so pervasive in some fellowships that Christians are no longer allowed to question another Christian's behavior or personal preferences. If you confront another in love, you will be accused of judging them. If you dare quote chapter and verse from the Bible, you will be called a Pharisee. If a church has any practices that step on the toes of anyone's personal preferences, then it is considered to be a legalistic church. . In this new Church of Acceptance, showing tolerance for worldly affections and behaviors is far more important than exercising biblical discernment. . In this thoroughly biased atmosphere, it is easy to see why a Traditional is afraid to speak out about music styles." (pp. 40, 41) [The author uses the terms "Traditionals" and "Contemporaries" to describe Christians committed to traditional or contemporary music.]

"When we brought rock music (and all its musical cousins) into the church service, we invited along with it a spirit of immorality with which that music is unavoidably associated." (p. 42)

"I believe this aptly illustrates a major problem with the Contemporary's notion of worship; that God wants to affirm us through worship, to make us feel good about ourselves with the result that we will have this grand experience of feeling higher and higher. . worship is not looking up and

feeling good, it is bowing down and feeling lowly. .. It is certainly biblical to feel happy in Jesus but I now realize that a good personal feeling is not part of biblical worship. When we try to feel an experience of affirmation from worship, we are not worshipping God. We are worshipping our own egos." (pp. 56, 57)

"I am now convinced that God will not accept our worship when it is offered with music styles that are also used by pagans for their immoral practices.

If I am wrong, why was he so harsh in judging Israel when they sacrificed to him using the pagan high places and rituals? He is a jealous God. If you grasp this principle alone, it will change for ever the way you lead a worship service. . The true heart of worship is the heart that bows before God and submits to his Word, no more and no less" (p. 57)

"It is time to expose the hypocrisy of those church leaders who justify CCM by claiming they use it for evangelistic purposes in their seeker services.

Nonsense! The truth is, these churches use it in their services for the 'saints' as well. One of the major problems with seeker-oriented music is that it must not only 'sink' to appeal to man's fallen nature, but is also bound to stir up the believer's sinful nature, his 'flesh', as Paul called  it. At the seeker-sensitive churches we attended, the music was ostensibly designed for the unchurched but that excuse was really just a smoke screen obscuring our real reason for bringing CCM into the service. The bottom line was that we simply wanted to use our music in the church, not what we

perceived as our parents' or grandparents' music. We have the same self-centered, self-indulgent spirit of the 1960s and 1970s but now it has been given a veneer of Christian dedication." (pp. 62, 63)

"The self-indulgent spirit entered the church with the baby boomers. The urge to change church music coincided with our rise to church leadership positions in the mid-1980s. The pastors leading the seeker-sensitive movement are baby-boomers. . The '70s boomer group has sometimes been dubbed the 'Me generation' and now we are bringing our pervasive 'Me-ness' into church leadership and practice. . This besetting sin of our generation will seep into every aspect of church life and ministry." (pp. 64, 65)". we have become preoccupied with perfecting a music ministry that strokes the ego and fulfils the desires of carnal believers, to the detriment of the more serious disciples in our midst." (p. 66)

"Rock and roll is a musical style that was created for immoral purposes by immoral men, and has always been used by the world to express its immoral attitudes in song." (p. 68)

"When you combine the sensual dancing with the immodest dress of the women on the platform [in the praise teams], you place a very large stumbling block in front of the men of the congregation." (p. 71)

"I lay the blame of splitting churches over music at the feet of Contemporary leaders who insist on the adoption of their music agenda without regard to the conscience and discernment of others." (p. 76)

"And more and more often, when it comes to a choice between losing long-time members of our church or our pet music programs, Contemporaries decide that people are also expendable." (p. 76)

"Decades of rock music in our culture have permanently stamped that music style with the dimension of immorality. Changing the lyrics and substituting Christian musicians cannot remove that stigma." (p. 91)

"Music concepts may be amoral or neutral, but all music styles have a moral dimension because they are so easily and unavoidably associated with some worldly attachment." (p. 91)

"When someone says, 'Show me where the Bible says that rock music is evil',  you could reply: 'Show me where the Bible says that.':

*God is pleased you chose the same music style as Madonna, Hootie and the Blowfish, and the Dave Matthews Band.

 *you should vigorously defend the favorite music style of this world.

 *it's OK to use the same music style as the sex and drug culture.

 *God waived that "abstain from all appearance of evil" clause just for you.'" (p. 96)

"We took teens to concerts given by popular CCM artists. These were not the 'radical' heavy metal or hip-hop artists, but the middle-of-the-road performers who seemed to be good role models. But we noticed that the artists, probably under the influence of their recording companies, imitated secular artists in music, concert performance techniques, dress, hairstyle and merchandising. Everything seemed to be geared to making money by winning fans.  The poor teens were manipulated in the same way as when they were listening to their secular teen idols. They were hooked in the beginning by safe, careful lyrics and moderate music but the artists always progressed to an edgier, rockier and harder music style with a lifestyle and image to match. And the teens followed along. The CCM artists became role models for different kinds of immorality: indecent dress, rebellious images, improper crushes on married men by young girls, lustful interest in sexy females by adolescent males." (p. 117)

"Traditionals are initially assured by the Contemporaries that the two styles can co-exist peacefully. In reality, what happens over time is a steady slide down the slippery slope, away from all traditional music into the latest, 'edgiest' contemporary styles." (p. 119)

"I found it unbelievable that a pastor who was dead-set against rock music, and preached that he would never allow a drum set in his church, would then allow musicians to sneak the drums and rock music in through the back door

of accompaniment tapes." (p. 120)

"When the drum set finally appeared on the platform, I believe the church reached the steepest and most dangerous part of the slope. More than any other instrument, a drum set is the key instrument of contemporary music styles." (p. 121)

Also on CD (played on any CD player)

THE CO-OPTING OF AMERICA  (from the Radio Show Steel on Steel – John Loeffler interviewing Charlotte Iserbyt, Sarah Leslie, Robert Klenck  & Steve Goss.                                                             $12.00

Videos still available!

Sarah Leslie

The Cell Church (2 videos) by (with copies of

overheads used)                               $15.00

Opal Reddin

God’s Ecumenical Mandate vs Today’s Ecumenical Movement                                            Two

What is True Pentecostal Preaching?          Videos 

Why a Christian Cannot be Demonized.          $15.00

Research Video

See a “prophetic” conference first hand and understand why you need to “question” new teachings that are invading the church.        $7.50

Featured Books:

Come Out Of Her My People  by Paul Shirk
What are the differences between moral government (one that is based on Biblical principles and values) and Christian government?                                                                $11.00

Reinventing Jesus Christ - The New Gospel
by Warren Smith
The New Age has become popularized and increasingly on the rise in every area of society. Read this timely book.                                           $7.00

New Wine and the Babylonian Vine  

by Roger Oakland
Jesus warned global spiritual deception would be a sign of His soon return - a counterfeit bride masquerading in the name of Christ, would become the religion of the Antichrist. This book examines the current global ecumenical movement in light of the Bible.                                  $12.00       

Be sure to order your copy of the book:  WHY I LEFT THE CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC MOVEMENT by Dan Lucarini                $14.99

The Alpha Course is becoming more acceptable now in the U.S.   You need to get this book for your pastor!  It is better to be forewarned and thus forearmed. 

Alpha, the unofficial guide – Overview
by Elizabeth McDonald
This work represents a completely fresh approach to the topic and comprises material not to be found elsewhere.                           $10.00           

Power Encounter - A Pentecostal Perspective
by Opal L. Reddin, Ed.                                              $15.00

A Timely book!   Demons in Believers? Territorial Spirits? Generational Curses? Binding and Loosing?

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