Sometime ago, I was invited to minister in a youth program. The church that invited me is well known to me. Just before my ministration, they projected the video of a comedian who cracked jokes in a comedy show. The youths watched and laughed.  

They did this to entertain the people. As a guest preacher, I looked on. The time that could have been used for the word was shared between me and a comedy video. This is a concern for me, it is the sad reality of the modern church.

In a bid to keep crowd coming and to make our prople not to miss the world, we have imported entertainment to spice up our meetings as If the presence of the Spirit is not enough. Comedy business is not outrightly a bad business but it is not for the church. Comedians should not ply their trade in the church. It is disheartening to see how these guys are paid handsomely but the one who brought the word of life gets a shabby treatment.

We use entertainment as a substitute for the lack of God's manifest presence in our meetings. I can't imagine Jesus, Paul, Peter and the apostles infusing entertainment into their meetings to keep crowd. The presence and power of God was enough to sustain the people's attention.

I got another invite years back. On the poster of the program was the picture of a nollywood actress. They called it guest appearance. I wondered why someone who is not coming with something to edify will grace our poster, probably to attract crowd. She sat with us and the people gave her attention. This is one of the ways we shut out the Holy Spirit in our meetings.

The church is not a show biz centre. We are not trying to compete with the world when it comes to entertainment and showbiz. Some so called gospel musicians sees this desire to have some entertainment&show biz vibes in the church, they'll charge churches heavily and then come to perform on the altar with some using worldly slangs during their ministrations.

Dear pastor, the bible calls the church the pillar and ground of truth. Our meetings should be a gathering where we can draw from the well of the Spirit. It should be a meeting where each person have something edifying to offer and we return home full of the Holy Ghost. Your meetings should be about the word&the things of the Spirit.

Stop looking for a church where you'll be entertained. That's not the purpose of the church. Seek a church where they preach and teach Christ. A church where Christ is the focus and the people are discipled to pattern their lives after him.