What are the Best Churches in the UK?
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What we say: – The answer to ‘what are the best churches’ is often reduced to which ones appear to have the biggest and best congregations – and the best worship music. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Don’t assume a huge congregation is the ‘fruit’ of a great church. Many large organisations have come and gone that were not at all ‘good’ and I don’t need to list them here as you will know what I mean.
The best Churches are the ones where you can get real Bible based teaching – the hard stuff and the nice stuff. A good church is where your cell group has some older more experienced and wiser people than you who are able to counsel and advise in matters they have already experienced themselves.
I’ve been to many a cell group that is just a group of young people guessing – I’m not happy when I see churches allowing older (more experienced) people being marginalised (don’t worry I’m a young person but I recognise young people today are getting very watered down teaching in many churches and are not taught the value of being accountable to older people).
Biggest isn’t always best! – it may be more exciting at a big church that has thousands of members and amazing worship bands and musicians but always check out the teaching!!! Some of the super-churches and some of the smaller ones too are following the ‘successful’ modern church model and leave out the more ‘tricky’ teaching – especially where money is concerned and most learned a while back that the best way to get people into your meetings is to use music. The fruits of Good Bible teaching is GENUINE love and compassion. Loads of self improvement sermons is NOT the way to grow – it’s part of it but you can’t leave out the harsher side of Jesus teachings. OK – check out the teaching;)!!
A Note on Worship & Music
Music is more powerful than words in many ways since it speaks to the soul and affects the emotions regardless of language and it is therefore quite easy to manipulate people emotions during and after services. Really good musicians know this very well and if you trace some of the more modern forms of music – especially music with constantly repeating patterns or beats, much of it started with rhythmical trance type drum patterns and beats designed to stir up spirits and stir the emotions – these that have since had western melodies added to them and turned into what we now call Jazz and rock and roll. The term ‘rock n roll’ was originally used to describe sex in the back of a car! Now the term ‘rock’ id more fashionable but just be aware where a lot of these chords and forms of music have come from ok:) Do some research yourself if you are unsure and remember that music will affect you in ways that will not always be apparent. Music has the amazing property of seeming innocuous – the very reason that it’s so heavily used in advertising (notice how an old melody can stir memories of the past – no bad thing but proves the power of music to affect the emotions, mind and body) and also the reason that so much money time and energy is poured into writing pop songs with catchy tunes that grab the attention (and money) of kids. Notice that most pop songs are devoid of meaningful lyrics – since the record companies well know that it is the music – not the words – that carry the most power. Beware and take care od what you listen too:)
In spite of the above – don’t get too anxious about this since as the Bible says, nothing in itself is evil (including musical notes!). It’s the spirit behind the music that is able to assemble the notes and play them in a way to either harm or heal. Musical notes in themselves can never be evil – but like in every other walk of life – God has given us the ability to build structures – in this case musical structures, chords, words and music that can hurt or heal. Muscicians – you have a responsibility to focus attention on God – not yourselves – a very hard thing to do and the test of a man or a mouse;)!
Misuse of Music in Churches
Note: Music is meant to stir our emotions – to worship, to praise creation and God – but be mindful how how it is sometimes misused by churches more interested in your wallet than your spiritual health. I belive that in this age of modern hi-tech imagery and new media it can be difficult if not impossible to tell the 2 motives apart – hence the Bible says that many in the last days will be drawn away and follow false teachings and teachers who very artfully will manipulate people using amazing music, careful words – even lead people astray by not teaching certain hard to swallow truths in the Bible.
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