Pimping for Jesus

By Paul Proctor
May 21, 2005
NewsWithViews.com

Pretty offensive title, isn’t it? In fact, I hope you WERE offended and winced a little when you first saw it. After all, it SHOULD be offensive to anyone who claims to love the Lord. I’m sure many were offended when Jesus called the Temple in Jerusalem “a den of thieves” before driving out the money changers and turning over their tables. It wasn’t easy for me to put the name of our precious Savior beside such an ugly word; yet, “Pimping for Jesus” is exactly what the leaders of today’s “transformed” church and “new spirituality” are doing; and I can think of no more accurate way to describe it.

What is a harlot? She’s a prostitute, right? And, isn’t a prostitute a woman that seduces passersby to join her for fun, fantasy and illusion? Does she not appeal to the flesh of potential customers by using her charm, beauty, talents and tempting attributes; adorning herself and behaving in such a way as to lure and entice prospects with promises of pleasure, delight and gratification? And, is not the “Great Harlot” spoken of in Revelation commonly accepted as the false church of the end times; the one who is confused for the Bride of Christ but is only a whore in grand disguise, pursuing, deceiving and ensnaring the world with her own religion of rebellion?

Dictionary.com defines the word “pimp” as: “One who finds customers for a prostitute.” What’s more, pimps are paid handsomely for doing it, not by the “johns” (customers) but by the working girls that are recruited, trained and managed by them. If the end times church is indeed the Great Harlot, would not all the church growth consultants, leaders and change agents that have set out to “transform” the church into something more worldly, desirable and marketable, qualify as Pimps for Jesus?

While unveiling his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan at Angels stadium in Anaheim, California, where the parking lot was “filled with tailgate parties, a children's music concert, a motorcycle jumping exhibition and a jazz band,” Rick Warren suggested that his followers “will do, whatever it takes to establish God’s Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven.” Don’t pimps establish their own territories or Kingdom’s on Earth where prostitutes are sent out to “reach,” “impact” and “engage" the culture around them by doing “whatever it takes” to accommodate lonely and desperate souls in need of stimulation, entertainment and relationship?

How do we know that those of the church growth movement, who claim to love and serve the Bridegroom are actually betraying Him, you might ask? It is because they are taught by men skilled in proud and pretty lies to make the most of THIS life and all of its carnal and self-aggrandizing opportunities; to hone their craft (talents) and draw as large a crowd as possible through people's appetites, egos, lust and pride, (aka, "felt-needs") to target their customer base and work the streets like the slick professionals they are, rather than preparing in humility and obedience under the guidance of God’s Word and power, for a life to come. You see, the world that harlots love, pursue, embrace, transform, celebrate and profit from is not the Bridegroom’s Kingdom, but that of His enemy.

“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world…” – John 18:36a

Gillian Flaccus wrote, in a recent Associated Press article, published on May 13th in the San Deigo Union Tribune, that trouble began for Hollywood First Presbyterian Church when Rev. Alan Meenan “launched the Contemporary Urban Experience, or CUE, services more than two years ago…an alternative service staged by the church at a nearby nightclub that offers live rock music and a casual atmosphere that doesn't frown on flip-flops and nose piercings.”
The article goes on to say, “the weekly Sunday service has attracted some 350 twenty-and thirty-somethings…” and that “many work in the entertainment industry.”

Rev. Meenan acknowledged, “He hadn't been a perfect pastor but blamed dissension on traditional members who were unwilling to embrace his new direction.” That’s right; he said “HIS new direction.”
Now, lets just stop right there.

Here is a perfect example of how these pimps pass the blame for their own moral failure onto others. I cannot even count how many times my Readers and Yours Truly have been accused of causing dissension in the church by publicly objecting to the unbiblical things that have been financed and implemented under our noses in the name of Christ when, in reality, it was the pastor that initiated the changes that actually caused the division.

Rev. Meenan: "There are those who sense a loss of involvement in their church and target me as a result.”

Actually, Reverend; there are those who sense harlotry at work and know very well who is responsible for it.

Rev. Meenan: "Change is essential to our future and change is working for good in Hollywood."

Apparently not…

Here we have the usual false premise (change is essential) followed by a bias and bogus assessment (change is working for good in Hollywood) that ultimately divides and conquers a local congregation under a cloak of righteousness; where a crisis is created out of little more than conjecture, envy and ambition, brought on by falling numbers, followed by a compromising solution (alternative worship service) that is ramrodded through by a pigheaded pastor in search of greatness, resulting in another attempted “transformation” (takeover) that weakens and divides the church and moves it further away from God’s Word and into an ecclesiastical civil war. Satan laughs…

Shall we worship Jesus Christ in Spirit and in Truth while fellowshipping in the flesh with the world’s disobedient and demon possessed? Did Jesus send us out to sponsor Halfway Houses for Him where God’s children and Satan’s spawn could enjoy each other’s company and find common ground? Is that what evangelism has become? It is if you’re Seeker-Sensitive and/or Purpose Driven.
Here’s what the New Testament teaches that pastors like Meenan refuse to teach, accept or even acknowledge from the pulpit:

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” – 2nd Corinthians 6:14-17

You see, CGM pastors never teach scriptures like these to their congregants because it drives a stake in the heart of the church growth beast; and Pimping for Jesus has become so loud, luscious and lucrative that the biblically ignorant, spiritually obstinate and morally apathetic Church of the Next Big Thing finds it extremely hard to resist.

Lest you think what’s going on at Hollywood First Presbyterian Church is just an isolated incident; even a prominent secular publication like Business Week Magazine recognizes the radical new direction of “Christian” evangelism; so much so that they dedicated most of their May 23rd, 2005 issue to the subject, containing articles with titles like: “Earthly Empires,” “Supersizing Salvation,” “Meet the Prosperity Preacher,” “Evangelism Gone Entrepreneurial," “Church of the Mighty Dollar” and “Fashion of the Christ.”

And, as he sipped on his Starbucks, another pimp was heard to say: “But the message hasn’t changed…”

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” – 1st John 2:15-17

Related Articles:

1, Pastor's downfall highlights Protestant identity crisis
2, Rick Warren Hits Home Run With Announcement of Global Peace Plan
3, Earthly Empires

Name That Tune...Genre

By Bob's Bride

Into my heart, into my blood,
Your passion I'm feeling,
All because of what you do to me...

I wake up in the morning and feel you next to me,
I'm alive, it's because of you...

I don't want to lose it,
It's all because of you...

The above "song" was sung by a raspy female voice, drowning beneath pounding, screaming heavy-handed guitar strains on a station calling itself "The Extreme (We're not your grandma's station...)"--not something to brag about.

Now, given the above rather suggestive lyrics what artist comes to mind? Madonna? J-Lo? Britney Spears? Jessica Simpson? The latest hot female rocker on American Idol?

If you said "yes" you're not 100% correct, but you are well within the ballpark. You would be totally correct thinking the genre was that of popular rock music...

However, you might be shocked to know that the above "song" was sung by some "nobody" who appears daring enough to label her song "Christian." To some it won't be so shocking, based on what they've heard coming out of what some have the audacity to call "Christian" rock. Given the worldly sound of "secular" rock it doesn't take long to realize that the so-called Christian rock does not sound any different. And what about the station boasting they "are not your grandma's station"? Yeah, for some reason they call themselves "Christian" too. And I'm my monkey's uncle. This station does not require that all band members who submit "songs" for airplay be Christian (I couldn't have guessed), and it titles itself "family broadcasting," while boasting "music" for the "teens to early 20's." If the above lyrics are what some Christians consider family values today, no wonder unbelievers are so perplexed over Christianity and many scratch their heads at the support the Religious Right is giving the President and his war in the Middle East. All parents, beware, they're hiding this offensive rock music behind a "Christian" mask and delivering it to your kids! Jesus did not call the devil the Father of Lies for nothing.

I don't know about you, but when I heard the above song on the radio yesterday, quite by accident, it made me both blush from the seductive and sexually suggestive brashness of the words, and become angry that someone would dare disrespect my holy, divine Savior by claiming to be singing those offensive phrases to Him. People really need to wake up.

This "artist" wants someone to think she is singing about/to Jesus, rather than her boyfriend of the moment? I bet Jesus was the last person to come to your mind when you read her lyrics, wasn't He? I think He was the last person on her mind, too. So, who does she think she's fooling? We'll get to the answer for that in a moment. What I can't figure is why these so-called "artists" can't just be honest and admit they are not trying to sing about God or His Son, and that the reason they continue to pump out this garbage and sell it under the accommodating "Christian Rock" category is because they can't make it in the mainstream world, so they need to sell their records to anyone willing to buy them in order to make a buck to live on. The secular world doesn't even want to hear these people's records, so they're taking their junk to the next best thing: the undiscerning Christians who have become too weak to stand up and defend their Savior and call this junk the "doctrines of demons" that it really is. Don't believe me? I recommend God's word for the answer and expanation. If more Christians were reading their Bibles in submission to Christ then they would not be so sucked in by the world's carnal culture and they would stand up and be the stinging salt and the bright shining light Christ said His people are to be. Christians are supposed to have a testimony and it is near difficult to have one without being different, "called out" and "a people separated unto God." Living lives of obedience for Him instead of self, they would call this fleshly fodder what it is and cast it back from where it came, with a "no, thank you, please." Perhaps the reason the Spirit of God instructed Paul to harp so much on "fleshliness" and its opposition to godliness was because He knew it was going to end up being such a problem in the ages. It has definitely become a serious problem in our modern day, in our own free country, in our own back yards. The Bible is clear that friendship with the world makes one the enemy of God, so, Christian brothers and sisters, let's take a good look at what we are deep into and compare it to the word of God, the final word on all things.

So, who is this CCM singer fooling? She is fooling those who continue to listen to her blatant blasphemies, who somehow talk themselves into believing it is "Christian entertainment." Entertainment isn't even mentioned nor promised to us in the Bible. God never said, "Thou shalt be entertained." Of course it isn't necessarily forbidden either; it can't be if it's not mentioned, but God gave us brillian brains to discern differences between what He said is good and what He said is bad. We are certainly not to seek entertainment from a world that rejects the One True God. Christians are commanded to be Spirit-filled, sober, and vigilant, not sitting around sucking up and soaking in every single piece of feel-good worldly fun and filth that comes our way from the lost world that God commanded His saints to be separate from and refuse to make a friendship with. Just because someone has slapped a "Christian" label on it does not mean it is Christian in the forgotten, true biblical meaning of the word. How did this become such a problem? Just listen to what is coming out of the so-called "Christian" radio stations who can't and won't find the dividing line God has made so clear in His word. It's about obedience, and the more we walk in the world He said to come out of the weaker we become in hearing His voice and being His disciples. We need pastors and fathers and leaders who understand vigilance and stick by it for the sake of Christ and His real gospel.

What else happens when Christians forsake His truth to become disciples of the world? Weak believers at best, and false converts at worst. Something Jesus told us was to be sure not to cause one of these little ones to stumble. How many teens will this counterfeit "replacement" for mainstream, vulagar rock take down the deep end just like the real thing, before it's too late? I have seen what the stuff does to teens and young adults. How many Christians scratched their heads when the leader of Creed finally came forward and admitted that they are not really Christian, not really born again, but "closer to the devil" than most know. What about when U2 came out and admitted the same thing several years ago? Most Christians who haven't given up rock music yet still believe U2 are Christians, although Bono himself told Rolling Stone Magazine the naked truth, expletives and all. That's not a picture of my Jesus, the one in the Bible. What about Jessica Simpson prancing and strutting around the stage wearing a skimpy t-shirt that reads "Preacher's Kid" on the front, two sizes too small for her chest? Isn't this enough to tell us that this is just the world playing dress up to fool believers who willingly embrace their ways, having gone to sleep because they've become too comfortable, by choice?

Do you think I'm being too harsh? How about Jesus when He cursed the fig tree? Was He too harsh? How about when He threw the unholy money changers out of His Father's temple, calling them thieves? No, He was being honest, because God is 100% honest, and He has commanded us to follow Him and be like Him. And if we follow God then we must be honest, too. Being such is to be obedient to Him, despite what the world might think of you. Real love tells the truth. Real love is honest because it cares more about others and less about self. Real love lovingly corrects and reproves, and it cares enough to be blunt when someone is facing the eternal perils of hell.

The truth is lyrics like those above are nothing short of being Madonna-esque in nature and they are affecting God's kids, making weak, defeated vessels out of them, too like the lost world to effectively witness the kingdom to the lost.

Madonna would be proud of such CCM lyrics; she who brags about not being a prude. Afterall, she did haughtily chant in a concert a few years ago about how she doesn't care if she goes to hell. She sang, "Gonna sound my drum, gonna ring my bell, and I don't give a d**mn if I go to hell..." Then came all the other suggestive and filthy lyrics she wrote after that--some of which were banned from radio play, believe it or not. She has said in interviews some horribly blasphemous things about Jesus and Mary Magdalene, which the discerning, intelligent mind doesn't need much prompting here to figure her meaning. In the meantime, pray for her soul.

Isn't it amazing that the crude spirit in which the above CCM lyrics were written is the same spirit of Madonna's blasphemy toward the Lord God of the universe? It is also the same spirit that permeates and influences the entire gamut of the rock genre. Ask for a rock singer who does not seriously idolize Aleister Crowley and his Satanic, occult dogma. You would be hard-pressed to find even one who was ignorant of who he was. The list goes from Aerosmith to Zeppelin, all who claim Mr. Crowley's heavy influence on their lives and music. So, why do so-called CCMers such as DC Talk, Amy Grant, the Newsboys and more desire to copy blasphemous people like the Beatles, Grand Funk Railroad, and the Stones, who openly admit their connection to the occult world through various devices, mainly drugs and witchcraft? These bands have long been convincing preachers to modern youth, and the message really does stick and it provokes action, proving that no music is truly neautral. It is as powerful as opium to our modern society and it influences for good or bad. Jesus' command to come OUT of the world and be separate from it applies also to anyone claiming to belong to Him who copies the vile works of these bands, knowing the subject matter of their songs. These people do not hide their message. There is a spirit alive in the rock music of the fallen world, and it celebrates the lusts and nature of the human will that is at emnity with God. It is a familiar spirit, but not the Spirit of God, for God's Spirit has no part with the spirit of darkness.

"Beloved, test the spirits to see whether they be of God..."

I threw my rock records into the trash quite a while ago. I could not take one single day of having that junk in my home once I'd heard the hideous remarks my favorite "artist" said about the One who bled and died for me on a cross at Calvary nearly 2,000 years ago. May all Christians everywhere ponder how strong their jealousy for their Savior really is. Come out of the world and be separate. Isn't HE worth the price? He forsook all for us; let us forsake all for Him. Let us give Him our full obedience and closely adhere to His word of life.