The Rise of the Stage and the Entertainment Preacher

The Rise of the Stage and The Entertainment Preacher

The Evangelist has undergone a radical transformation over the past 200 years. What was once a sacred service, has in many circles, become a catalyst for entertainment through stand up comedy, witty anecdotes, and carefully timed icebreakers.

The modern Entertainment Preacher prioritizes relatability and laughter, often spending the first ten minutes of a discourse on personal stories or jokes designed to hook the audience.

However, when we hold this modern style up to the light of Holy Scripture, a startling reality emerges: the entertainment driven preacher is nowhere to be found in the Bible.

Modern entertainment preaching is not a monolith. It comes in several variations, all of which prioritize a specific emotional response or performance style over the somber declaration of the Word. To complete the performance, each variation comes with its own specific costume designed to signal a particular brand of relatability or authority to the consumer.

The Stand Up Comedian: These preachers use the pulpit as a comedy club stage, opening with jokes and using a joke joke point rhythm. Their costume is often the Casual look: designer jeans, a trendy t shirt, and expensive sneakers. This costume says I am just like you, which lowers the audiences guard and makes the humor more effective.

The Fire and Brimstone Performer: This style relies on shouting, pacing, and theatrical anger to create a spectacle. Interestingly, this often comes with the Cowboy or Old School costume: boots, a large belt buckle, or a specific western cut suit. This costume signals a rugged, tough guy persona, turning the preacher into a character from a bygone era for the sake of the show.

The Motivational Storyteller: This preacher focuses on anecdotes that pull at the heartstrings. They often adopt the Modern Day or Minimalist look: slim fit jeans and a simple polo or a high end sweater. This costume is clean and non threatening, designed to make the speaker look like a successful life coach or a neighbor giving friendly advice.

The Intellectual Showman: This variation turns the sermon into a lecture. Their costume is the Professional look: the sharp, high end three piece suit or the academic blazer with elbow patches. This costume is designed to command respect for their intellect rather than the Word, making the audience feel they are being entertained by a brilliant scholar.

This entertainment driven approach has fundamentally altered the atmosphere of the local church. By presenting the Gospel as a product to be enjoyed, it has bred an environment where the congregation views themselves as consumers rather than disciples. This consumerism mentality shifts the focus from what do I owe God to what can this church do for me.

When a preacher uses wit and entertainment to draw a crowd, he inadvertently teaches the people that their presence is a favor to the church. If the music is not loud enough or the sermon is not funny enough, the consumer feels entitled to leave and find a better show.

People no longer go to church to be confronted by the holiness of God; they go to have their felt needs met and their emotions stimulated.

Turning Laughter The modern entertainment model thrives on keeping the atmosphere light. However, the Apostle James provides a command that is the direct opposite of the entertaining pulpit. In James 4:9, he writes:

Grieve mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.

This passage is a call to a deep, agonizing realization of sin. To turn laughter into mourning means to stop the flippant attitude toward life and instead embrace a heavy, somber spirit of repentance. The entertainment preacher does the exact opposite. He takes people who should be mourning over their spiritual condition and he makes them laugh. He takes those who should be wailing in repentance and he gives them a witty story.

We often hear 2 Chronicles 7:14 quoted in happy gatherings, but the actual requirements of the verse are frequently ignored in favor of entertainment. The passage states:

"If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

This is not a formula for a pep talk. It is a call to a crushing humility and a total turning away from wickedness. To humble oneself is the opposite of being lifted up by a witty preacher. True revival requires a seeking of Gods face that leaves no room for the distractions of humor.

In modern church culture, events labeled as revivals or camp meetings have largely become about amusement and entertainment. The atmosphere is often one of self congratulation where participants pat each other on the back and focus on mutual uplift. The goal is to make everyone leave happy rather than to leave them holy.

A common misconception in the modern church is that the Man of God is primarily a cheerleader. However, from the Old Testament prophets to the New Testament apostles, the messengers of God mostly addressed the professing people of God with rebuke, careful instruction, and correction. They did not seek to make the people happy; they sought to make them righteous.

Perhaps the most sobering reality of modern church services is the condition of the people sitting in the seats. Just as in ancient Israel, where being a physical descendant of Abraham did not guarantee a right standing with God, sitting in a church, camp, or revival does not make one a born again Christian.

Truth be told, just like Israel, 99% of the people who are sitting in the camps and sitting in the churches and sitting in the revivals are not even saved born again Christians.

By creating an environment of entertainment and casual joy, the modern church is often amusing people all the way to destruction. They are encouraged to be happy in their current state, never being confronted with the necessity of the new birth.

Charles Spurgeon, the 19th century preacher, saw the seeds of this entertainment culture being planted and issued a blistering warning. He famously wrote:

"The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the Church that part of her mission is to provide entertainment for the people with a view to winning them."

He summarized the tragedy with these piercing words:

"The Church has turned aside from her mission and now she is seen amusing the goats instead of feeding the sheep."

One can search the entire Bible in vain to find a Man of God who used humor to keep his audience entertained. From the Law to the Prophets, and from the Gospels to the Epistles, the purpose of speaking for God was conviction, not amusement.

The biblical Man of God was characterized by gravitas. He was a watchman on a wall as described in Ezekiel 33. If he failed to warn the people with gravity, their blood was on his hands.

The modern entertainment preacher may be popular, but he lacks a scriptural foundation. The biblical model of preaching is one of somber urgency. As the 17th century preacher Richard Baxter famously wrote:

"I preached as never sure to preach again and as a dying man to dying men."

In a world of itching ears, the Church does not need more comedians or wits; it needs men of God who understand that the Word is a double edged sword meant to hearten the saint and convict the sinner, not to entertain the crowd.