I’m sure the critics and the warmongers entered this article with an expectation of brotherly carnage. You know, “biting and devouring” one another until we have stripped one’s reputation down to the bone? Sorry to disappoint, but that is not the purpose of this article, though I’m sure some will have licked their lips and salivated over the potential for another “brotherly feast.”
Credit Where It’s Due
Let me first give credit to the masterful and tactful way that Pastor Mark Brown delivered his thoughts to a complex audience of 37,000. The mark of one who knows and lives a sermon is realized in his or her ability to communicate touchy issues in a way that avoids crass, rude, and street-worthy articulations. Shock value is never needed when one is comfortable with a message due to a lifestyle that has already established the message.
Second, I must give credit to the General Youth Division of the United Pentecostal Church for platforming voices that reflect sincerity, integrity, anointing, and a dedication to “being real.” For too long across the broad spectrum of Pentecost, we have seen a path to the pulpit realized through personality, charisma, and factors of “coolness” and “hype.” Over the past several years, I have seen the opposite of this trend occur and, for that, I am deeply thankful and appreciative.
You see, I grew up in a generation that began to shift from the authenticity of men like Scott Graham and Nathan Reever toward a more “relevant”, “cutting-edge” group of youngish men. As a young man, I had been exposed to the “older” generation of men such as Darrell Johns, Jack Yonts, Anthony Mangan, Larry Booker, Ron Libby, Wayne Huntley, and so many more.
There is no other way to really say this, but we went through a period of time where the effects of platforming relevancy and “coolness” was realized in the rubble of ruined ministries and countless younger men and women feeling as though the compass was no longer pointing true North. Those presented as strong were found to be weak and the proclaimed anointed were found to be relics of yesteryears; at best, men living on the residue of their early years of consecration. In short, everything suddenly failed to appear as it has always appeared.
We will always have a press for relevancy and a desire for the cutting-edge since we live in an increasingly humanistic and idolistic society, but I am so thankful that I am seeing qualified David’s emerging from behind the shadows of Eliab’s and Saul’s. So, on that note, thank you….
The Message
By now, most of you have seen or heard mention of the message preached by Pastor Mark Brown at the National Youth Conference of the United Pentecostal Church International. Likely, by now, you have seen byte-sized tweetable mentions of his sermon such as those listed below.
- What you watch affects how you pray
- You are outside of your mind if you think Lee Stoneking stays up all night playing video games to get where he is.
- No matter the level of talent, none of us are exempt from doing something with our talent
- Don’t seek fame; seek secrecy. God will exalt you in the right time
- Obedience is better than prominence
- Pride will either promote the flesh or it will protect the flesh
- Praise will help you gain ground, but only prayer will help you sustain ground
- We keep lowering the bar for fasting and the level of Bible reading that we are tripping over what we’ve created
- Lowering the bar to get more ministers through is a theological and practical nightmare
- Demonstration is never a recognition of dedication
- When you go to the Philistines for your weapons, you will always be at their mercy. The need for sermons, books, and songs from elsewhere is anathema to us. At it is because we set the bar so low.
- Do you think Jack Cunningham prepared for last night by binging on Game of Thrones?
- Do you think Vesta Mangun stayed up all night before preaching Because of the Times watching the Office, seems to be a cult classic among our movement hearing people reference that show…
So much was said and so much was addressed in the message and, if you are wise, you will purchase the sermon and listen to it with a mind that is saturated with prayer and fasting. In the message, we all clearly heard from God and I have no doubt that God used Pastor Mark Brown. I challenge and urge everyone to listen to the message. It is real. It is anointed. It is a word from God to this generation. But, and let me be very candid, there is an elephant in the room.
The Elephant in the Room
Let’s stop ignoring reality and cease from acting like a pink elephant is not in the room blocking our view! Everything that was preached was SPOT ON. Everything that was said was poignant and truthful! The only problem is that–for so many of those listening–the message was revelatory.
Game of Thrones, the Office TV series, and Netflix. How have we reached a point where the church has become so mired in the entertainment industry that a show glorifying lifestyles and humor contrary to the Word of God is mainstream among so many of us? How as the Office become, as Pastor Brown stated, “a cult classic among our movement?” How have we reached the point where, as a generation, we have failed to see the true impact of such entertainment on our prayer lives, in our churches, on our anointing, and in our devotions to the Word of God?
I know Apostolic Pentecostal churches right now whose stand on entertainment has shifted and the shows mentioned by Pastor Brown are openly enjoyed and tolerated. In fact, many of these churches are now attending movie theaters. Many of them are now allowing home-based consumption of movies that feature nudity, vulgarity, gore and violence. Frightfully, the smorgasbord of sin perpetuated by Hollywood is no longer related to PG-13 and R-Rated films, but they are no comparisons of TV-PG and PG films which so many are now watching without bothered conscience.
Take a look at the parental guide for Incredibles 2, a movie that I a large segment of the church community has watched on multiple occasions. I read through a review that makes mention of a key character uttering, “What the…Fhhhh” with the beginning of the F sound fading into silence. Seriously! What are we allowing and doing! How have reached the point where we are excusing this contents entrance into our homes? I know people at this very moment that sing, preach, and are used in ministerial activities throughout the nation who are regular viewers of the Office. They know every character, key episodes, the songs, pithy quotes and statements, and the crude innuendos dropped throughout most episodes.
Let’s take a look at the show and what review sites have discussed:
- Occasional uses of B****, A**, He**, etc.
- Male character is shown to have erection through pants during episode
- Promotion of sexual promiscuity (fornication)
- Crude use of private parts, masterbation, and etc.
- Post-it note drawings of body parts, male and female.
- Sexual misconduct and harrassment, cast in a “humoristic” way
Do I need to continue? Again, how have we reached a point where so many Pentecostals are familiar with shows like this and are avid fans of something that is absolutely laden with vulgarity, fornication, and anti-biblical behaviors and speech? We can’t even begin to dive into the trash that comprises the Netflix viewing buffet where popular shows enjoyed by many Pentecostals, such as the Flash and the Arrow, that feature scenes where same-sex individuals kiss intensely. This, of course, says nothing of the insurmountable filth platformed by the streaming giant that contains queer-orgies, unhappy wives engaging in lesbian escort services, shows that glamorize serial-cheaters, college teachers working through sexual feelings for a student, drug overdosing and major drug usage, and–to quote directly from a review of a show– “there’s something in it for everybody and it explores every sexual viewpoint: promiscuity, infidelity, abstinence, asexuality, masochism, domination, sadism, bondage, pedophilia, eroticism, homosexuality and everything in between.” (Daily Nexus). Any many “Christians,” get to scroll through this poisonous collection as they search for entertainment they deem “acceptable.”
The End of the Matter
I am getting uncomfortable even putting this article together and, while I could continue to drag you through the filthy rot of the available entertainment and film industry, I believe it begs us to consider where we currently stand as a movement (UPCI, WPF, ALJC, PAW, Independent, etc). The epidemic of pornography is already a monster we are having to deal with on a broad scale; why are we tolerating and glossing over this elephant in the room?
I believe we owe it to ourselves to share this article a hundred times each. I believe we need to sit down together at the table of conversation and engage in dialogue that challenges these disturbing trends. I believe we need to hit our knees in prayer and, as Pentecostal movements, find a place of repentance so that we can address and change these things occurring among us! Pastors, you may not watch or have a desire to watch any of these things, but the younger generation is gorging on entertainment that is harmful to our very culture of consecration. If ever we have needed a clear voice, now is the time!
So thank you Pastor Mark Brown for bringing to the forefront of Apostolic awareness things that are wrecking our fundamental consecrations. Thank you for a genuine spirit and a passion and commitment to purity and revival. Thank you for speaking to pursuant generations in a way that most men no longer will. Thank you for allowing God to use you. Thank you for challenging us all. Thank you for making us think.
2023 UPDATE: This article continues to be the most read, shared, and engaged with article on the blog. Unfortunately, it has become an affirmation primarily to those who already agree with the fundamental tenants of Mark Brown’s message. I have not heard of anyone confronting these issues addressed by resurrecting strong guidelines for their local church communities. The elephant is still in the room and it is growing larger. Will the owner of courage in 2023 please stand up and defend purity in an age where flickers as a relic of yesteryears?