Recently, I read about a revival,
which offered to have its practices closely inspected
by the media. The reason for allowing such investigation
was for the purpose of maintaining integrity. Yet,
on the other hand, it looks remarkably like shooting
oneself in the foot. The media does not generally
make money on good news. Their job is to find problems,
and pass the information on to the public.
In respect to many other revivals
which have had close media attention, this group
scored fairly well, yet there were accusations of
misused funds, and crowd manipulation.
The thing which stood out most in
this story was the way in which the leaders appeared
to be "working the crowd." The pastoral
staff spoke of the daily events of this revival
as being orchestrated by God in a spontaneous manner,
yet in planning for services, they apparently worked
hard to hold the conductor's baton. Activities were
arranged to induce crowd excitement. It sounds a
little bit like a concert, or the job of the organist
at the sports arena.
This illustrates an obvious weakness
in today's "event oriented" Christianity.
Once our focus becomes the event which we organize,
our goals become event based as well. Numbers, such
as attendance, and offerings, become important.
Crowd response is tracked, and becomes a gauge of
the success of the event. Although these things
may be valuable in determining the well being of
church life, they are not infallible proofs. In
fact, they may be remarkably fallible.
The Adrenaline of Crowd Response
Perhaps the most seductive, and
potentially deceptive thing which we can gauge is
"crowd response."
The question we must ask ourselves
is this: "Is it adrenaline, or is it God?"
Crowd response can be deceptive.
Because someone likes my sermon, doesn't mean that
it has any lasting impact upon their lives. They
may have been entertained, and yet not spiritually
impacted.
For the preacher, this means that
the crowd laughed, and maybe even cried during touching
stories. The congregation responded with hearty
Amens, and got excited during the message. Yet,
it is possible for there to be emotional entertainment,
without personal transformation.
For the teacher, this means that
people took good notes, and were intellectually
challenged. Perhaps a few people responded with
exclamations like, "wow," or "Yes,
deep word brother." Attention was well kept,
and people came forward after the message asking
questions, and seeking the teacher's expertise.
Yet, it is possible to have intellectual stimulation
without personal transformation.
Crowd response can be deceptive.
Crowd response can also be seductive.
The thrill of moving people to tears, and laughing;
of challenging them think a little deeper, and to
be looked upon by them as an expert in your field
- these are attractive powers to have over others.
Adolf Hitler held a charismatic
power over multitudes, yet he offered no positive,
life transforming grace. Famous musicians, actors
and actresses, and sports stars often have this
same power. To equate charisma with power is to
gauge authority by a worldly standard - even worse,
a hellish standard. The intoxicating power of the
bowing masses has driven Satan himself toward certain
destruction for millennia now.
Crowd response can be seductive.
Each time we look back to judge
the quality of an event, or a gathering which we
have assembled, we must ask ourselves what criterion
we use to make our judgment. Is it adrenaline, or
is it God?
