Recently I attended a church service in which the pastor was obviously anxious to “get rid of the preliminaries” so he could make the announcements. If there was any time left, he would preach. His practice was to have the congregation sing the hymns so rapidly that nobody could recognize either the words or the music. The pianist broke the little finger on her left hand trying to keep up with “Marching to Zion,” which should have been listed as “Jetting to Zion.”
I have never felt that the worship activities of the church were “preliminaries” to anything. I have always considered every act in a service a vital part of worship. But if a congregation insists on racing through its worship, perhaps one of the following ideas will help.
1. Assign different verses of the hymn to different sections of the congregation, and sing them simultaneously. That way you can sing the whole hymn at regular speed and perhaps get something from it.
2. Work the announcements into the choir selection. A gifted minister of music ought to be able to use the verse of an anthem to announce the various meetings of the church. I have no musical training at all, but I was able to come up with the following example:
Come we that love the Lord,
And let our joys he known;
We need two hundred volunteers,
To man the telephone.
I found it! I found it! (to be repeated)
3. Better yet, work the choir anthem into the body of the sermon. When the pastor signals, the choir can sing an appropriate song to emphasize the point he is making. This means, of course, that the pastor must have his message ready by the Wednesday evening choir rehearsal, and that’s asking a lot.
4. Teach the congregation to read the bulletin. I know this is a radical suggestion, but it has worked in a few isolated churches.
Maybe the best approach is simply to worship God from the heart and forget about the time. Make each minute count, stop preaching the announcements, omit all ad libs and promotional propaganda, and focus on the Lord. You will probably lose some people, but you just might gain a blessing.
EUTYCHUS X
Making (Air) Waves Over PTL
Philip Yancey’s article on “The Ironies and Impact of PTL” (Sept. 21) is not unsympathetic to this arm of the so-called electronic church. However, like so many recent articles of this type, its strong negative implication is unjustified.
I do not understand why PTL’s ministry is seen as being somehow opposed to the local church. Thousands of people have joined local churches or become more effective in their local churches because of the outreach of ministries such as PTL, CBN, and others.
To say that people who watch PTL are too busy watching TV to help their neighbors is utter nonsense.
LYON G. TYLER
Charleston, S.C.
Where the institutional church has dismally failed to teach God’s enduring Word, Jim Bakker’s PTL Club—“hyped” though it may be in some respects—has met a crying need of hungry sheep, and thus has been mightily used of God.
MARY A. MCCOY
Birmingham, Ala.
Every time I read an article criticizing PTL or any religious program, the money problem sticks out as the main concern. I’m sick of it. I will continue to support PTL or any other program that I feel led to. “Feeling led,” by the way, seemed to puzzle Mr. Yancey. I hope some day he feels led to do a better article about Christian television. I believe it has God’s blessing.
MRS. JOE C. EASON
Bowdon Baptist Church
Bowdon, Ga.
Divorce and suicide were the two choices I faced in 1976. I also had a problem with child abuse. In despair I watched the PTL Club and was given a third choice: to become a child of God as a new creature in Christ. Thank God that I made that choice.
Since then my husband and I have had two children. We have joined a church and are becoming involved in the Christian community. My outreach to others has grown greatly.
If it were not for PTL I might never have had the Christian lifeline to reach out to those around me and help.
DIANE PAPAY
North Royalton, Ohio
I honestly believe that Jim Bakker is a genuinely good person who happened to succeed beyond his wildest dreams, only to learn belatedly that he lacked the management skills and personal depth to deal with the problems of running an enterprise the size of PTL. He deserves our prayers.
VINCENT A. ELVINGTON
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Philip Yancey discussed Jim Bakker and the PTL Club very fairly. It was a great satisfaction to read the credit given to him as well as the questions raised.
NORMA S. ASHBROOK
Flourtown, Pa.
“The Ironies and Impact of PTL” is a strong article. While it recognizes the constructive role of the evangelical talk show, it also recognizes the dangers in trying to meet the needs of people by long distance.
I do not always approve of the stance you take on many issues, but you are certainly keeping us folks on our toes.
REV. LAWTON W. POSEY
Charleston, W.Va.
After reading Philip Yancey’s article, I was left with the feeling that the impact of PTL outweighed the ironies. Mr. Yancey skimmed the surface of many of the arguments against PTL, but failed to give any serious comment to the unscriptural aspects of Mr. Bakker’s actions.
REV. RON FLURRY
Grace Baptist Church
Augusta, Ark.
Whether we’re lusting after “Charlie’s Angels” or glued to the PTL Club, we need to be reminded that the Second Coming will not be televised.
DAN HARTZLER
Albuquerque, N.M.
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(signed) Harold L. Myra
Plain and Simple
I commend Frank Gaebelein on his article “Challenging Christians to the Simple Life” (Sept. 21). It speaks very strongly to our materialistic society. Christians have much wealth these days, but their misuse of it bears a striking resemblance to the Book of Amos. We must remember that we are stewards and not owners of all that we have.
PHILIP FAUSTIN
Codirector
Daniel’s Den Ministries
Denver, Colo.
Leon Morris, in “Thinking Things Through” (Current Religious Thought, Sept. 21), writes that “On a visit to the United States, I worshipped on successive Sundays in Honolulu, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.” He then goes on to argue for simple living, stating his belief that we in the affluent world must use less of the world’s resources, and reject “the values of a selfish, affluent, materialistic society.” I agree.
REV. ALFRED C. KRASS
Coeditor, The Other Side
Philadelphia, Pa.
Well, well, well. Everyone likes to ride the newest train going through town. Now the latest kick or fad is “The Simple Life Style.” I see that Frank Gaebelein and Leon Morris tried it out in CHRISTIANITY TODAY.
But they always give us vague biblical theory and very general directions. Never do they tell us exactly what they’re doing and how well it works in detail.
I find it hard to take a kick in the conscience for living in a country where we can afford something better—if we are willing to work for it. If the poverty-stricken of the world would like some of the good life too, all they have to do is boot out the socialist governments they live under and adopt a free enterprise economy under a constitutional republic. Then they can take their hands out of my pocket and get to work.
REV. JAMES MILLER
The Kingdom of God Ministries
Denver, Colo.
Your September 21 cover is positively brilliant. It took my twelve-year-old son to make me stop and get into the power of its communication as he compared the original piously grim-faced couple with your added affluency touch-ups. For him it was a game. For me it was a message more powerful than a thousand words.
KATHLEEN W. SANTUCCI
Culver City, Calif.
Not Very Punchy
Marlene Lefever’s article “Is Sunday School Losing Its Punch?” (Sept. 21) was interesting to those of us involved in the church curriculum enterprise. However, her treatment fell disappointingly short of answering the important question of the article’s title.
A funeral dirge for the Sunday school is already being sung by a small but growing number of churchmen, lay and clergy. If that mournful song is to be turned into a hymn of praise again, a more realistic assessment of the Sunday school movement and its alternatives will be required, while we are still response-able.
The unqualified “no” of curriculum editor Lefever to the question, “Is Sunday school losing its punch?” is hardly a bold step in that direction.
LT. COL. DAVID G. GROSSE
Protestant Curriculum Consultant
USAF Chaplain Resource Board
Maxwell AFB, Ala.
I greatly appreciate the space given to Christian education in the September 21 issue, and the intuitive, perceptive and balanced manner with which Marlene Lefever discussed the development and issues of the Sunday school movement. I hope that our concern with teaching the gospel effectively does not override the importance of its essential content.
The “punch” of Sunday school lies not in our effort but in the fiat of the Spirit.
IVAN GAETZ
Secretary, Christian Education Dept.
The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
Toronto, Ont.
A Real Gem
Scott Curtis’s review, “Fresh Glimpses of a Many-Faceted Jewel” (Refiner’s Fire, Sept. 7), brought an ear-to-ear grin to my face. The music of Michael Kelly Blanchard is definitely something to be excited about! The kingdom of God needs more performers like him who can communicate the meaning of a deep, living faith in Christ in a way that appeals to all ages.
WALT MUELLER
Oakland United Methodist Church
Johnstown, Pa.
Many heartfelt thanks for your “Refiner’s Fire” article on our album “Quail” in your September issue. Thanks also to Scott Curtis for his sensitive review. Many wonderful responses have come in because of your article and we are deeply grateful for the interest and enthusiasm people around the country have shown.
We thought it would be prudent to give our address and phone number so people who have read the column can find us:
MICHAEL AND
GRETA BLANCHARD
c/o Gotz Records
Box 251
Harwinton, Ct. 06791
203-658-5373
