PASSIONATELY DYING - THE CHURCH: ALTARS OF ENTERTAINMENT
Author: Nehemiah Muhiri Mahulo Sr.
Date: May 22nd, 2026
INTRODUCTION
The 21st Century has been mother to some of the most mind-bending inventions, activities, medicine, relationships, philosophy, and most importantly, theology. “Emancipated” Theology has always been the catalyst for cultural revolution. From medieval times till now, we have seen how changes in the church and its philosophy have affected the trajectory of the world. Companies, Conglomerates, schools, universities, and Families are all radically affected when theology changes, even if it is just swayed slightly. These seemingly small changes (“and some which are just blatantly radical”) are not by mistake or accident. The Bible teaches us that once we become Christians, we join a battle with the flesh, the devil, and the world. We have been made aware of the days when the Holy Spirit was under attack, where things were being attributed to Him that are contrary to scripture. We have seen the assault on Jesus Christ and His character. The most grievous of all is the assault on the character of God and his sovereignty, which is usually the first thing to go when the church does not have a firm stance on its Theology. In this article series, we are going to be looking at 8 things that are still going on today, especially in contemporary non-denominational churches, things fatal to the Christian, and when subconsciously embraced, they become death to the church, yet seemingly invisible to the church. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7:5 that a day is coming when wolves will be in sheep's clothing. These wolves are fake pastors and elders in the church, inflicting small but critical errors. You might ask what day Jesus is talking about. Well, that day is here. In this article, we will be looking at the role of the congregation in this pandemonium.
ALTARS OF ENTERTAINMENT
There is a danger in monotonous action; an action that has repeated itself for so long that the reason for its happening has been lost in time. One could say that action no longer needs to exist, but one could also argue that the action, by virtue of its unintended moral neutrality, should exist, due to its lack of external and internal influence. We came across this problem many times when we were young, especially between 7 and 12 years old. We would ask our parents, why should I brush my teeth? Why should I wash the car? Why should I take a shower? Why should I comb my hair? Why should I do my homework, etc?
Now, if our parents were not tired or angry when receiving the question, not only would they explain to us the reason we do these things, but with great care and patience, so that we may understand the reasoning behind it. When our parents received such questions when tired or angry, chances are they would just double down on the command to do the action without explaining the reasoning behind it. Sadly, this is where the church is regarding worship.
Over the decades and centuries, the understanding of worship has been diluted in increments. Worship leaders and church leadership no longer look to the Bible as a guideline for worship; rather, they develop and arrange worship according to how they want to praise God. Completely ignorant of how God wants to be worshiped. This has become such a trend in many mega churches, with some competing on how many new members came to church because of their style of worship. There is nothing wrong with receiving new members who came into the building because of the worship. There is everything wrong with the church developing and arranging worship that only targets new members. This goes into what we talked about in our last article on doctrinal accommodation. The Church's worship has now been diluted into seeker-friendly worship rather than being a moment of sacrificial offering of bodies to God in spirit and in Truth.
The church has been caught in a deadly, monotonous cycle of just playing pleasurable songs that are liked by the congregation in the name of worship. The sad thing is that the more the monotonous activity continues, the more irrelevant it becomes, the more radical its execution becomes. An activity with no moral consequences only ends in paralysis. The journey to that end may be long, but sure.
Many worship leaders have become clever and realised that some songs bring out more emotion in the congregation than others. These songs have been cemented into every setlist the worship team does, due to the predictability of emotion.
The truth is, seeker-sensitive worship does more harm than good. In fact, most churches have realised this because of a turnover in the congregation. Some churches have started borrowing tricks from the world on how to attract and preserve attention. This has been achieved through strobe lights on stage, fog machines, and 50 different camera angles. Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with using lights or cameras in church; this would be categorized under Adiaphorous. The problem comes when the church relies on and uses these tools in a manner that,
Takes from the main focus
Acts as a substitute for the lack of content
Imposes monopoly of attention, the lack of which means no congregants will come.
Worship has become a cycled activity, losing its main purpose as people have slipped into more and more of themselves instead of who the worship is for. We have to be cognizant of who defines our worship. We don’t just sing or play or use any machines we want to because we feel like it, rather, from a place of prayer and a heart that truly seeks to please God, we offer our sacrifice of praise as he commands us to. There has to be a turnaround in the understanding of who owns worship; many communities have been caught up in tradition rather than the true offering of hearts.
This is not limited to only churches that use lights and fog machines, but also to churches that have only a piano and a cajon. The same problem festers in both communities. Worship is not the time for us to pick our favourite genre, keys, and artists and combine them into a regular Sunday live performance with the congregation acting as an extra set of background vocals. Worship is not the time to show the church how high you can sing, how fast you can play, or how many modes you are familiar with. Rather, this is the time to seek God’s face, creating an atmosphere as he commands. Sometimes all God requires is just that one piano and a cajon. Sometimes God may require the fog machine, strobe lights, and the whole shebang.
Our heart, our heart, our hearts matter. Whether on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday, we must always maintain a heart posture of worship. Sunday should not be the only time we seek God in song, hymns, and praises. Our Sunday should be the culmination of the worship and offering we have been presenting to God throughout the week.
OUR WORSHIP MUST BE A LIFESTYLE AND NOT A SUNDAY OCCURRENCE.
We can’t have altars of entertainment springing up in the Body or Christ. Many times, our emotional stimulation gets mistaken as a movement of the holy spirit, and we get it all wrong. Our emotional satisfaction cannot be our driving factor in worship. All worship, not only Sunday worship, has to be sacred and full of the reverence of God. God commands us in the bible, especially to those who serve in churches, “I will be regarded as Holy.” Performance can't be the main agenda of the day when it comes to worship. God is. The amount of gear and lights you have can’t be the main agenda when it comes to worship; God is. The genre, size of the band, and number of instruments can't be the main agenda when it comes to worship; God is.
We, as the visible church, must now move from seeker-sensitive worship into God-driven worship. The good thing is that God-driven worship, in many cases, has blessed many coming to church for the first time.
Scriptural Guidance
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." – Romans 12:1
"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the spirit and in truth." – John 4:24
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." – Psalm 100:4
"But Samuel replied: 'Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice...'" – 1 Samuel 15:22
