Lifechurch.Tv is one of the fastest growing churches in America. And if there is one church that attracts the most college students in Stillwater, OK it is certainly this church. And why not? It appeals to many college students: Rock music, Flashy advertising, Messages they can "relate" to and a young hip pastor, above all its just "fun."
That is how many who go to this church would describe why it is so appealing to them. Though I would argue differently, so I'll go through reasons I believe it appeals to a mainly high school to college crowd (Do Note: Lifechurch is not the only church I am talking about here, it and many other churches have the same agendas and practices. Plus Lifechurch is right around the corner, and I know many people who go there):
1) Christianity-Lite
Lifechurch.tv has a way of talking about the subjects that really appeal to college students. Ones that are easy to swallow, not too dogmatic, and certainly not judgmental or harsh. Take a look at the topics the church preaches on (Categories) and go to the right hand side and look at the drop box of categories, its apparent that no where in the box are subjects such as sin, judgment, repentance, Christ, God, justification, holiness, sanctification, etc., etc. Not to say they don't speak of these things ever but instead the emphasis is on things that college kids seem to think are the "real issues" (i.e. Sex, Relationships, Finances and who knows what else...UFOs, Near death experiences, ghosts, and so on).
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths" -2 Tim. 4:3,4
2) Justification by Senses
Lifechurch.tv and many many like it are largely based on the senses, such as sight (strobe lights and disco lighting and neat computer graphics), hearing (loud, energizing, motivational music), or emotions (softly played music to get the person worked up, and feel sorrow, godly or not (2 Cor. 7:10)), and feelings (if you 'feel' like God is doing such and such, He is!). As I have said numerous times, emotions are not the justification or the proof that the Holy Spirit is working within us. This inevitably leads to those who have a false assurance of salvation, most of the time people are led up to the altar and told to commit or receive Christ, check the box and never doubt it. So thats what people do, they check the box, say the prayer and never give it a second thought. Most if asked "How do you know you're saved?" Would answer, "because I went up to the altar, because I prayed the sinner's prayer, or because I believed." The questions that should be asked is, "Do you still believe!?" Can you say right now, "because I believe Jesus Christ is the atonement for my sins and took upon the wrath of God that was due to me. He is my Lord and my Savior, I wish to follow His every command, to be holy and to strive to enter the narrow gate."
"The heart is deceitful above all things,And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" -Jeremiah 17:9
3) A Tv Pastor and Internet Church
Here is a major problem I have with Lifechurch. Accountability and church discipline are nowhere to be found. I can assure you both principles are thoroughly biblical (see passages such as Matt. 18:15-17, 1 Cor. 5, 2 Cor. 13:1-5 to start). I find it hard to believe that a church with a pastor who should be looking over the flock (tending the lambs John 21), is able to do so from a campus 40-100 miles away. Apparently they have campus pastors as well, but if any Lifechurch goer is honest I am sure they don't speak a whole lot to them. The internet church, is very bothersome, in that it maintains no accountability as well.
"[An Overseer/Preacher] must hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict." -Titus 1:4
4) Shaky Beliefs
This is one that is common in churches such as Lifechurch, a misunderstanding of the condition of man. In their What We Believe section on their site under the title "Human Beings" there is one sentence which stands out in my mind: "Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called 'sin.'" You will notice in the verses below it that they have a decent verse for every other sentence used in the rest of the statement, but one will be hard pressed to find a verse in the bible that has any resemblance to the sentence used here. The bible in an over-all sense doesn't even give the slightest hint of such a belief.
Where do we have a potential for good? In Romans 3? "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." Or Jeremiah 64? "But we are all like an unclean thing,And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away."
And where is sin labeled as just an attitude? Its no attitude it is our entire being: "We all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others"(Eph. 2:3). It was our slave master, "God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered"(Rom. 6:17).
We do not need an attitude change. We need a heart change! We need a nature change! We are vile wretches in the eyes of God, not with bad attitudes but depraved souls! Until this is realized the sermon topics will remain as sex, relationships, finances, missions and never Christ, repentance, holiness and mortification of sin.
5) Last (not really last there is plenty more to be said), but not Least
This one particularly gets me. Though I think you must read for yourself: The 3-month Tithing Challenge, as they define it, "it is a money-back guarantee." Essentially you tithe 10%, and if after 3 months you are not blessed (Which I suppose they define what a blessing is: perhaps more money, a car, a new phone, or a boyfriend/girlfriend), then you get back all of your money. Basically taking all faith out of tithing and using a Malachi verse which has little to do with what they believe it to mean. To me this is appalling...but I shouldn't have to go into great detail of why...
"Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness." -Psalm 37:3
Lifechurch.tv has fallen into a dangerous pragmatic, seeker-sensitivism that is slowly suppressing all sound doctrine out of the church and tickling the ears of those who do not wish to give up their sin and fully commit to being holy before the Lord. Too often are churches like this looking for ways to drawing the lost in and forgetting to present the Gospel to those who are already there.
Yet, people will continue to find reasons why this type of evangelism is good and honoring to God. They will insist on how many baptisms or people they had that "received" Christ, therefore justifying the means by the ends. How culturally relevant this is to today, and how judgment and repentance is so last century. Though, not often can one give a reasonable argument from scripture to defend the practices used in many of these churches.
Alibi: Not every single thing about the church is evil. I am sure the pastor preaches on good things from time to time and uses the bible to preach. I am sure he has a zealous heart, but not always is sincerity and zealousness proof that what they say is true (ex. The Pharisees were pretty zealous). We must test a church upon scripture, and pray that they would be led to honor Christ in disciplining, discipling, teaching (the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), loving, correcting, rebuking and sacrificing for the church.
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