Showing "The Chosen" during midweek services

[BrotherTony]

Our church is going to be showing "The Chosen" during midweek services and talking about the show. It seems to have gained a lot of support in the church I attend, though I am not on board with this decision. I believe it would be detrimental and overly humanizes Jesus Christ, taking away from his deity. Care to give any input along with the poll..please, feel free to do so. 

[Invicta]

I don't know what The Chosen is so I can't comment except to say that as far as I know, our church won't show any films, if that is what it is.

[Pastor Matt]

I don't know really anything about the movie yet so I can't talk about that certain movie...but I'm not a fan of replacing a service with a movie. If we were to show a Biblically sound movie, I'd rather have it on a night that does not replace a service or Bible study. 

[BrotherTony]

2 hours ago, PastorMatt said:

I don't know really anything about the movie yet so I can't talk about that certain movie...but I'm not a fan of replacing a service with a movie. If we were to show a Biblically sound movie, I'd rather have it on a night that does not replace a service or Bible study. 

The Chosen is a series...I don't know how many seasons, as we watched the first three in a couple of sittings so that we could give an honest opinion to friends who were asking about it. I'm not in favor of showing it in the midweek services, or at any other time in the church. I don't believe it belongs there. 

[Invicta]

On 3/8/2023 at 9:21 PM, BrotherTony said:

The Chosen is a series...I don't know how many seasons, as we watched the first three in a couple of sittings so that we could give an honest opinion to friends who were asking about it. I'm not in favor of showing it in the midweek services, or at any other time in the church. I don't believe it belongs there. 

I don't agree with showing any visual representation of Christ, so I would not wish to see any film like that.

[BrotherTony]

On 3/12/2023 at 4:17 AM, Invicta said:

I don't agree with showing any visual representation of Christ, so I would not wish to see any film like that.

Thankfully, our pastor has decided to do these things at a time other than the midweek service. I'm thankful for that!

[Disciple.Luke]

On 3/13/2023 at 1:31 PM, BrotherTony said:

Thankfully, our pastor has decided to do these things at a time other than the midweek service. I'm thankful for that!

Glad to hear he changed his mind. Just out of curiosity did explain why he reversed his decision?

I couldn't really think of any appropriate reason to have any form of visual entertainment in a church building. Maybe recorded testimonies on the monitors before baptisms but certainly not for just entertainment.

I personally would prefer to not even use musical instruments as I enjoy hearing Acapella voices of congregation praising God. I don't have anything against appropriate instruments.. Acapella is just my preference. 

But I would definitely be opposed to theatrical entertainment with the exception of the children's Christmas programs and things like that 

[BrotherTony]

1 hour ago, Disciple.Luke said:

Glad to hear he changed his mind. Just out of curiosity did explain why he reversed his decision?

I couldn't really think of any appropriate reason to have any form of visual entertainment in a church building. Maybe recorded testimonies on the monitors before baptisms but certainly not for just entertainment.

I personally would prefer to not even use musical instruments as I enjoy hearing Acapella voices of congregation praising God. I don't have anything against appropriate instruments.. Acapella is just my preference. 

But I would definitely be opposed to theatrical entertainment with the exception of the children's Christmas programs and things like that 

Some of the members thought that though there will be a Bible study around this, it wasn't appropriate for a regularly scheduled church service...Bible studies among willing participants on the subject are another matter as long as it's not a service time. So, he is trying to get it set up as a study. Though I really like our church, our people, and the pastor's sermons, I would be far happier if he were using the KJV instead of the CSB. I would be more comfortable with hymns instead of CCM, and I would be a lot more at ease with the doctrine in some of those hymns over the "Jesus is my boyfriend" type ideology in CCM. Plus, some of the ideology in some of the CCM (Reckless Love of God?????.....Really????) is humanistic and antiscriptural. Nothing God does is reckless. This is ideology being perpetrated on the church by the pastor's wife who is our "worship" leader and choir director. Don't get me wrong, she's a wonderful woman who loves the Lord...but that doesn't excuse bad theology in any way, or the nepotism in the church, or the world creeping in and moving us further left like the proposed series mentioned. 

[Pastor Matt]

@BrotherTony I've been fooling around with ChatGPT-OpenAI, so I figured I would ask this question. The database only goes back to Sept of 2021, so I used the word movie instead of the chosen. Here was the reply....

Question: Should my church show a movie during midweek services?

Whether or not your church should show a movie during midweek services depends on several factors, including the purpose of the service, the nature of the movie, and the preferences and expectations of your congregation.

Here are some things to consider:

1. Purpose of the service: What is the purpose of your midweek service? Is it primarily a time for worship and Bible study, or is it more of a fellowship and social event? If the purpose of the service is primarily to deepen your congregation's understanding of the Bible and to provide a time for reflection and prayer, showing a movie may not be the best use of your time.
2. Nature of the movie: What kind of movie are you considering showing? Is it a faith-based film that aligns with the beliefs and values of your congregation, or is it a secular movie that may contain content that is not appropriate for a church setting? If the movie is not faith-based, it's important to carefully review it beforehand to ensure that it does not contain objectionable content such as profanity, violence, or sexual content.
3. Congregational preferences: What do your congregants expect from midweek services? Do they prefer traditional worship services and Bible studies, or are they open to more contemporary forms of worship and engagement? If your congregation is more traditional, showing a movie may not be well-received. However, if your congregation is more open to contemporary forms of worship, a movie may be a fun and engaging way to provide fellowship and community-building.
4. Time constraints: How long is the movie, and will it fit within the time constraints of your midweek service? If the movie is too long, it may be difficult to find enough time for discussion and reflection afterwards, which can detract from the overall impact of the service.

Ultimately, whether or not your church should show a movie during midweek services is a decision that should be made thoughtfully and prayerfully. It's important to consider the purpose of the service, the nature of the movie, the preferences and expectations of your congregation, and any time constraints that may exist. By carefully weighing these factors, you can make an informed decision that supports the spiritual growth and development of your congregants.

 

lol, look like the computer is taking the easy road here. lol

[BrotherTony]

I agree, @PastorMatt! I have tested ChatGPT...and I have to say, I don't really want to use it at all! LOL 

[Disciple.Luke]

On 3/14/2023 at 4:17 PM, BrotherTony said:

Some of the members thought that though there will be a Bible study around this, it wasn't appropriate for a regularly scheduled church service...Bible studies among willing participants on the subject are another matter as long as it's not a service time. So, he is trying to get it set up as a study. Though I really like our church, our people, and the pastor's sermons, I would be far happier if he were using the KJV instead of the CSB. I would be more comfortable with hymns instead of CCM, and I would be a lot more at ease with the doctrine in some of those hymns over the "Jesus is my boyfriend" type ideology in CCM. Plus, some of the ideology in some of the CCM (Reckless Love of God?????.....Really????) is humanistic and antiscriptural. Nothing God does is reckless. This is ideology being perpetrated on the church by the pastor's wife who is our "worship" leader and choir director. Don't get me wrong, she's a wonderful woman who loves the Lord...but that doesn't excuse bad theology in any way, or the nepotism in the church, or the world creeping in and moving us further left like the proposed series mentioned. 

I've visited a lot of churches that are similar to what you're explaining. I definitely sympathize about being conflicted with the leadership choices.

This may be kind of off topic but I've never actually been to SBC congregation. There are only two that I know of here. One is on the other side of town in a neighborhood I've never even driven through. The other isn't far but I checked out their website and I noticed that the ENTIRE staff down to the secretary all had the same last name or related in some way. While that may not be anything negative for me it makes me a little uncomfortable to think of a single family making all the decisions for the congregation.

What I really wanted to ask you about the CSB and if it is common for SBC Pastors to use it?

I will check the CSB along with other translations when I'm doing study and just want to see how certain verses are worded differently, but I don't use it regularly.

I haven't heard much negative about it as far as the overall translation, but the HCSB/CSB was translation and printed by people associated with the SBC right? That's what I read on Wikipedia but just wanted to verify it.

I felt like HCSB was a decent project and was surprised that they decided to revise it so quickly to the CSB.

I did notice that it has good reviews by Calvinist like Alistair Begg but is also praised by Tony Evans who is more "Free Grace" oriented from Dallas Theological Seminary so it appears it's a balanced translation.

So I guess I'm just wondering if the CSB is popular among the SBC if it is in fact true that it's one their translation projects?

 

[BrotherTony]

I, too, was shocked that many of the churches that fellowship as SBC went to the CSB after such a short time with the HCSB. I'm not a fan of the HCSB, but, our church used it for several years until the new "revisionist" CSB made its way into view. Our pastor started using it and sees no potential problems with it. I disagree. It's heading towards being an "all-inclusive" sort of language inside. We don't use it ourselves...we still take our KJV to services. 

[Joe Chandler]

On 3/16/2023 at 3:37 PM, BrotherTony said:

I, too, was shocked that many of the churches that fellowship as SBC went to the CSB after such a short time with the HCSB. I'm not a fan of the HCSB, but, our church used it for several years until the new "revisionist" CSB made its way into view. Our pastor started using it and sees no potential problems with it. I disagree. It's heading towards being an "all-inclusive" sort of language inside. We don't use it ourselves...we still take our KJV to services. 

The first thing to go is the manuscript, then the music, then the message. Why are you still there?

[BrotherTony]

18 minutes ago, Joe Chandler said:

The first thing to go is the manuscript, then the music, then the message. Why are you still there?

We are currently visiting other churches. Until the Lord directs us to the church he wants us in, we have a mission to try to accomplish here.

[Pastor Matt]

12 minutes ago, BrotherTony said:

We are currently visiting other churches. Until the Lord directs us to the church he wants us in, we have a mission to try to accomplish here.

Is Connecticut too far?