Worship has its Planet Shaken
The shock story emerging from Planetshakers this week of the double life of one of its stars Michael Guglielmucci has generated an unprecedented level of online debate within a community that doesn’t usually debate. The result is that critical issues are being addressed by the grass roots of the worship scene. Issues that are long overdue.
The multi million dollar worship juggernaut, birthed within Australia’s multi million dollar mega churches, run by a few powerful untouchables has hit a major obstacle and is damaged. Whether this proves to be an opportunity to face critical issues and learn is open to question, and only time will tell.
The following issues are emerging:
Church Culture
People are questioning the ‘don’t touch the anointed’ buffer zone that powerful mega church leaders have around them. You simply don’t question the hierarchy of these churches unless you want to be on the outer, or totally out. There is a desire for accountability amongst leadership.
Rock Star Worship
People are questioning the rise of the Rock Star Worship singer/musician and how this has taken the emphasis away from God.
Rock Star Pastors
The same feelings about Worship stars are being expressed about Rock Star Pastors. The degree to which this has become a media issue is connected to the star following leaders have. This is being questioned.
Hopefully the issue will cease to be Michael. His specific issues should be dealt with by the relevant people, and not debated about online. I do personally feel comfortable discussing the issues that arise from this for the wider worship scene, but not MG personally. My concerns about the worship industry have been expressed previously in this post.
Worship is now a multi million dollar industry in Australia alone, let alone the rest of the world. Read that again – MULTI MILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY.
Worship Music is now a genre all of its own, with its own chart listings, and it’s own stars. Read that again – worship now has its own stars. The biggest stars in worship generate millions of dollars of sales. Their faces adorn their albums, their faces are beamed onto giant screens above their heads. Worship stars now attract a massive following, a following that people are prepared to invest plenty of cash in.
In some cases, worship has simply become an end in itself. It is not always for God, sometimes possibly just about God. Worship no longer exists for sacred purposes, it now very definitely serves COMMERCIAL purposes.
In an environment like this it is imperative that Christians reflect very carefully about motives. Because worship is now so closely linked to a multi billion dollar industry it is complex. At some point, the line is crossed, and without genuine discernment, we can find ourselves stepping over it.
I hope that this will be the wake up call the senior leadership of the Pentecostal juggernaut heed, and quit riding the wave to where ever it goes. If not, MG will simply be another in a long line of casualties in a culture that will continue to set people up to fall a long way and hurt so many more in the process.
Lets put God on the pedestal, make it as high as you want because he will never fall or fail. Put anyone other than God on a high pedestal and you will set both them and yourself up for failure.
An excellent post! How easy it is to get distracted from the real aim of glorifying God. How dangerous it is to dress our own desires up as some sort of spiritual exercise. We (including me) have to regularly examine our real motivations; is it about God or more about me?
The strong connection between personalities and worship songs certainly pre-dates the modern scene. We still have a generation in our church that have their favourite hymn writers, and a number of them ost popular enjoyed widespread recognition during their own lifetime [many only became well known once they had passed].
The difference these days is the advanced communications we possess and the enhanced capacity for individuals to be elevated to start status. another key difference is that a popular hymn writer from ages ago did not usually perform on a gigantic stage, complete with lighting rigs, a.v. and pyrotechnics worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. They didn’t get ‘merchandised’, and they certainly never had any ‘praise pits’ at the front of any of the ‘concerts’ they ‘performed’ at.
I think as consumers we pretty much have desired, and been delivered a product. However, I genuinely think this issue will lead people back to the [dare I say it] ‘heart of worship’.
Good Points bro. These things need to be discussed because God is Holy and we need to honor and praise him in the way thats pleasing to him not us. Remember Cain and Able? ALot of these mega churches and smaller ones of the same type eg evangelical etc… have bright colourful stands and tables in their foyers selling cds, books, conference forms, concert tickets, books, courses and other items. It just kind of paints a picture of money money!!! I just wonder if Jesus came in, would he turn these money making tables over. Another point is the lack of emphasis on Gods word in alot of the preaching. They would use one or two sciptures to emphasize a whole sermon. Rest of the time they would tell feel good stories or jokes or new age motivation or a personal experience story. Again nothing wrong with that but the main focus needs to be Gods word the Bible as thats whats really annointed. Another point is the dress code of the worship leaders in alot of these churches. Marketing says that sex sells and this is what alot of these mega churches use. Women worship leaders wearing tight pants and tops with cleavage are a common place. How can a young man focus on God when a ‘babe’ with cleavage and tight pants is singing her heart out in front of him. The same goes for the man, wearing tight tshirts that are almost singlets and having rockstar haircuts. It will bring in the young girls thats for sure. We might think we are focused on God but our minds are deceitful. The problem is the church is trying to replicate what happens in the ‘world’ and put it in a church setting. And they use all the marketing tools just like the ‘world’. It should be the other way round. The church should be influencing the world.
Sadly [or gladly], no hairstyle I’ve ever had, or clothes for that matter has ever remotely attracted women to my church…
You can only work with what God has given Gordon….
I have attended a lot of pentecostal churches over the past 26 years and have always been a bit put off by the reving up the audience style from most of the worship leaders. It has always been interesting to watch those worship leaders on the weeks it is not thier turn on stage what a contrast just a normal joe in the crowd gone is the leaping and rah rah look how much i love God antics.Indeed our motive for doing anything for God or others has to be kept in check.