Loud Music and Evangelistic Meetings

HIS FAME SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE REGION

Daryl James is a part of the team at Grace Canberra. We have been working together for a long time. Both of us are part of the group of churches sponsoring the Rev. Kong Hee outreach meetings in Canberra. The group of churches is called, "His Fame" taken from the Acts verse that says, "His fame (Jesus') spread throughout the region." There are just under thirty churches involved and we have been meeting together for a year and a half every Wednesday morning for an hour of prayer. In my memory of twenty two years, I don't think a city wide prayer meetings for pastors has lasted this long. The idea for that prayer meeting came from Daryl and it's a terrific bonus.

Part of the mother tongue for us here at Grace Canberra is to support the idea of the church in the city working together to see the kingdom of God come. That's why we support these meetings with Kong Hee. If the gospel is being preached and if the churches are working together to make it happen, then it would be major hypocrisy for us to do otherwise.


THE SOUND IS TOO LOUD
One of the things that people objected to when we went to pray at Parliament House last year (same group of churches) was the level of the sound. There is a cultural issue here that seems to be adopted by a lot of churches that comes from the world of most people under 35. The sound is too loud.

I feel this also. I don't like the noise and I don't like the message that it sends. Forget the culture. The message is that what is coming from the stage is more important than everything else and it doesn't really matter what happens beyond the edge of the stage because no one can hear anything else. It is a rock concert culture, pure and simple.

Not I wouldn't be one of those people who says it is anything like 'evil.' It isn't. In my view it is a case of the church adopting a part of contemporary culture. My own view is that it is unhealthy for a start and it makes the wrong point to me.

RESOLVING THE DILEMMA
So I am presented with a dilemma. My core values make my calling from God to be one with my brothers and sisters in reaching people for Christ in the city is clear, but my preferences are totally unrepresented. I am aware that other people share this dilemma and so I offer a resolve that I consider to be worthy of the God of all glory:

I am going to buy a packet of ear plugs. I am going to use them myself and if the people I take to the meetings find the noise too loud I will offer them what I have. I will say, "silver and gold I do not have, but such as I have I give you....take a pair of ear plugs!" In other words I think there is much more to be gained by me taking steps to avoid the problem with my ear drums and packing into the scrum with the other churches than staying at home in quiet protest. To stay at home will be to miss one of a very few opportunities to stand on the battle line with brothers and sisters in Christ who want to see people saved. We have the opportunity to stand in a place with one mind and one heart: a mind that honours the good news of the gospel and a heart that wants to see people in the city come to Christ.

If the sound IS too loud, I will have my say at the appropriate time so that my brothers and sisters have the opportunity to hear my heart and respond in whatever way they like.

I hope you will join with us in taking up the opportunity.

Have a listen to this paraphrase of Philippians Chapter One:

"Some preach Christ with music that is so loud that it hurts my ears and but others with music that is great to listen to....... the former preach Christ using some values from contemporary youth music culture.....but what does it matter. The important thing is that in every way and with whatever kind of music Christ is preached. And because of this I will wear ear plugs and you can count me in." (15-18)

Brian Medway