PCUSA nuttiness

[ericfromcowtown]

My wife saw this video of a PCUSA Christmas pageant. I don't know what to say. It's so inappropriate on so many levels.

I guess that a bunch of kids having a dance party inspired nativity rave and thrusting a doll intended to be Jesus in the air is a 2nd commandment violation, so watch this nuttiness at your own risk:

 

[Rich Koster]

In the beginning of the video, the guy tossed the scripture away........and there lies the problem with the whole event.


OOPS... I forgot this:

 

[BJClark]

he looked rather frustrated too didn't he???

 

[jawyman]

I watched the whole video and I am offended on so many levels, I am left speechless. The offence to the Gospel and children exposed to this leaves me wanting to cry. Truly a travesty.

 

[Bengibor]

That's Chris Brown's song 'Forever'. It made the news on CNN earlier this year as it was used as wedding hymn at a Lutheran wedding in Mid West with performance very similar to this one, although with more decency and taste.

The guy on this video starts reading St.Luke 2 and then abruptly throws off the sheets with Scripture text and the party may begin. Obviously he considers the Scripture a trash.

BUT, what do you expect from mainline ultra liberal 'progressive' Christianity? PCUSA has been steadily going down the hill for decades

 

[Reformed Thomist]

Yep. This is what'll keep the youth of today coming back.

 

[DMcFadden]

Wow! That other thread is right . . . "Presbyterians" can be rearranged to form "Britney Spears"

 

[Grillsy]

The worst part is that it has a 4 1/2 star rating.

Okay, that is not the WORST part but still very disheartening.

 

[Reformed Thomist]

Wow! That other thread is right . . . "Presbyterians" can be rearranged to form "Britney Spears"

Haha. So it can!

 

[Rich Koster]

The worst part is that it has a 4 1/2 star rating.

Okay, that is not the WORST part but still very disheartening.

Maybe the 2 guys in the sound booth rated it

 

[awretchsavedbygrace]

As I was watching this at work, my computer froze and I was unable to move the mouse. I had to restart the computer, all my work is gone. I guess, I should of listened to the disclaimer " watch at your own risk".

 

[Reformed Thomist]

The worst part is that it has a 4 1/2 star rating.

Okay, that is not the WORST part but still very disheartening.

Secularists and liberals generally love this kind of thing. It shows a church casting aside its ugly, intolerant, repressive nature and 'opening itself up to the world'... secularizing itself. This makes it non-threatening, unlike real churches.

 

[Claudiu]

Was this planned...? From what it looks like it was but idk. Can't imagine people actually sitting around making plans on doing this.

 

[Marrow Man]

This could just as easily happen in an average "evangelical" church, not just a mainline. Any place where more contemporary means of displaying the "gospel" in place of the sufficient Scriptures could just as easily churn out this kind of garbage.

The message seems to be: the story in Luke is boring and we've heard it a million times before, so let's jazz it up a bit so that it's cool.

 

[Claudiu]

The worst part is that it has a 4 1/2 star rating.

Okay, that is not the WORST part but still very disheartening.

Secularists and liberals generally love this kind of thing. It shows a church casting aside its ugly, intolerant, repressive nature and 'opening itself up to the world'... secularizing itself. This makes it non-threatening, unlike real churches.

What these churches are doing is like what Big Dan T did..."its all about the money boys"...in order to get more people to come, to get more money.

at 3:15
[video=youtube;ZDd_ryixqyA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDd_ryixqyA&feature=PlayList&p=F85D5C8DDD275076&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=69[/video]

 

[Edward]

No, the saddest thing is that Highland Park Presbyterian is one of the best churches left in the PCUSA.

 

[Scott1]

http://www.layman.org/News.aspx?article=26604

HPPC's 'Nativity Dance' goes viral

By Edward Terry, The Layman, Posted Wednesday, December 16, 2009


Inspired by the "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" video, which more than 33 million YouTube users have viewed since July, the Highland Park Presbyterian Church's "Nativity Dance" also has gone viral.

With approximately 4,000 views in only one day, it's by far the most popular video posted to the HPPC Upstream Youth account on YouTube. It's also among the top 15 videos posted on YouTube under the search term "nativity." The video is at the top of Google's search for "nativity dance" and it's been picked up by various blogs and social networking sites.

The best part, HPPC's Youth Minister Dr. Lars Rood said, is that the light-hearted video could be a tool for sharing the Gospel.

"This video may not be something that draws kids closer to Jesus, but at least they can go to their friends and say, my church is trying new things," said Rood, adding that young believers often struggle with sharing their faith with peers. "Maybe it will open some doors to help kids talk about their faith or their church."

Presented at HPPC's annual Club Christmas event on Dec. 13, the video begins with the standard reading of Luke 2. The youth, many with attentive stares and folded arms, quickly loosen up and turn their heads when loud dance music interrupts the reading. Soon adults portraying Mary, Joseph, angels, shepherds and the Magi dance down the aisles in the same style as the famed wedding dance video. The 5-minute presentation concludes as Mary leads the cast in a final dance as she holds high the infant Jesus in celebration.

So far, the video has had the viral effect Rood was hoping for. After it was posted, Rood monitored Twitter and Facebook to see word of the video spread. A neighborhood blog posted it and received a month's worth of hits in only 24 hours, he said. HPPC's senior pastor, Dr. Ron Scates, shared it with pastors across the country as well.

Rood is especially proud of how the youth have recognized the effort the ministry staff put into the presentation.

"It's easy in youth ministry just to get up and teach. A lot of times that's what (the youth) expect," he said. "When they saw them doing something different from what they normally see, they were completely excited."

The closest thing to a criticism came by e-mail from a seminary professor who kiddingly pointed out that the Magi did not arrive until years later. Rood said many older viewers have told him they weren't so sure at the beginning of the video, but later found themselves smiling.

"To have the opportunity to laugh and see something fun and celebrate something done well has been a real positive thing," Rood said.

.

 

[DMcFadden]

This could just as easily happen in an average "evangelical" church, not just a mainline. Any place where more contemporary means of displaying the "gospel" in place of the sufficient Scriptures could just as easily churn out this kind of garbage.

The message seems to be: the story in Luke is boring and we've heard it a million times before, so let's jazz it up a bit so that it's cool.

Tim is on target. Actually, it is difficult to think of this in any venue other than a broad evangelical church "youth ministry."

 

[JoyFullMom]

I am astounded.

 

[Marrow Man]

No, the saddest thing is that Highland Park Presbyterian is one of the best churches left in the PCUSA.

 

[py3ak]

The "Wedding Entrance" dance is already so lame it's been spoofed by The Office. Using popular culture as the seasoning or vehicle for your message is not a good idea even when your message is basic, noncontroversial consumerism, let alone eternal realities. And this for several reasons:
1. Trying to be cool is never cool. The essence of being cool is to pull it off effortlessly (which, ironically, means that those estimated as being the coolest are merely the ones with most time and money to put into feigning indifference stylishly).
2. Popular culture moves quickly. It's a nimble marketing department indeed that can keep up. And if you don't keep up, your effort backfires and you're exposed as a desperate and incompetent wannabe, than which there is nothing lamer.
3. The world can always offer higher quality worldliness than the church. In the worldliness department, the church can only offer the intellectual equivalents of margarine or aspartame.
4. Dignity still has a commanding authority; but there can be no dignity where the chariot of the eternal word is harnessed to the vaporous horses of viral web phenomena.
5. It's probably the case more often than not that the seasoning or vehicle of pop culture is fundamentally inconsistent with the truth. Relating the Gospel to pop culture usually involves doing something completely irrelevant, or straining and twisting to extract some minuscule moral platitude from whatever ephemeral buzz-generator impressed you.

 

[Claudiu]

The "Wedding Entrance" dance is already so lame it's been spoofed by The Office. Using popular culture as the seasoning or vehicle for your message is not a good idea even when your message is basic, noncontroversial consumerism, let alone eternal realities.

Oh yeah I remember that. I remember I felt weird after seeing it.

 

[Herald]

MODERATOR NOTE:

I watched the whole video while holding my nose. When the dancing Mary came in, carrying the baby Jesus, I had enough. That's a 2nd commandment violation, and thus, I deleted the video.

 

[Berean]

In the beginning of the video, the guy tossed the scripture away........

Isn't that what the PC(USA) decided to do?

 

[Turtle]

All the presenters traveled through a dimly lit room with dark sunglasses over their eyes, and moved their hands and arms as though they groped. I'm wondering if there was a moral somewhere in that after all...

 

[BJClark]

I for one will not be passing the video along, no need to share that garbage w/ anyone else..and make them more 'popular'

 

[Andres]

No, the saddest thing is that Highland Park Presbyterian is one of the best churches left in the PCUSA.

Correction: Was one of the best churches left.

 

[Rich Koster]

In the beginning of the video, the guy tossed the scripture away........

Isn't that what the PC(USA) decided to do?

I wouldn't pick on the PCUSA as a solo defector. The "entertain the crowd" mentality has infected all too many meetinghouses in the USA (and possibly elsewhere too).