Posted on 02/02/2024 7:31:17 AM PST by Morgana
In the summer of 2011, Senior Pastor and Founder Brian Smith launched the First Heavy Metal Church of Christ. Branded with hard rock and metal messaging and ethos, it’s clear he’s targeting a very particular audience:
According to the church website, “(We are a) bible-based church for those that would probably never step foot into a traditional church building because of snooty self-righteous, judgmental, legalistic so-called “Christians”… You know, the kind that tells you that you will go to Hell for drinking a beer, but yet Jesus turned water into wine! The kind that tells you that you will burn in Hell for smoking a cigarette because it is “harming the temple” while they are 150 pounds overweight and double-fisting McDonalds every day… Please do not blame God for these imposters… They are NOT accurately representing Jesus plain and simple.”
Like many themed churches before it, there is a focus on us-vs-them mentality, along with a distinct lack of maturity and learnedness, exemplified by the casual cussing and crass humor that permeates the content and the sermons (which are based on heavy metal song titles and bands and are really bad) Worship is eclectic, but usually involves a metal band doing hard rock or metal worship.
Smith, who is part of a secular metal band, Saint Hellion, describes himself as a “Rebel Evangelist for Christ” and a “rocker” through and through. He says “I’m not your stereotypical preacher. That is not my call. I am inked up, bald and prefer an Iron Maiden tee shirt over a dress shirt any day!”
His church leans into the ‘metal’ image. Visiting the church site for the first time gets you this message:
Their Facebook page is, in a word, grotesque. Along with posting pictures of tattoos and status updates like this, it is interspersed with crude, coarse, and frankly disgusting content.
Furthermore, it regularly features pictures of nude men and women, including a series of senior citizen nuns in skimpy bikinis for no discernible purpose other than to shock and titillate.
Sadly, this ‘church’ is growing, and recently announced church plants in New Jersey and Paintsville.
What a shame.
IMAGES ON LIKE but you are better off not seeing them.
Pretty sure God’s got a sense of humor too. Humans gonna human.
Do they preach the Word? Do they try to bring people to Jesus? Then they are doing fine.
Frankly, I would rather visit a heavy metal church than a “mainstream” one with a lesbian pastor.
“Sadly, this ‘church’ is growing...”
Oh no. They might even get people to crack open a Bible who would never do so otherwise. The horror.
And his us vs them mentality is to detrimental. The only time that's any good if the "them" is Satan or his followers. His fellow Christians aren't the ones having the government flag citizens for buying a Bible. It's the god-denying Dims.
They’ll all be deaf within 3 years.
Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: the one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.Phil. 1:15-18.
Paul talked about those who preached Christ but not out of the true Gospel of the Grace of Christ. This "church" here looks wacko but even so, Paul rejoiced because Christ was being preached. But I'd watch out for thses guys.
(We are a) bible-based church for those that would probably never step foot into a traditional church building because of snooty self-righteous, ***judgmental***.......
But he’s not huh Moe.
Sacred music can come in many forms and still remain sacred. Metal is not one of those forms. The genre is rebellious, bottom line. Rebellion is what the devil does, not the disciples of Jesus Christ.
Sacred music doesn’t all have to be Bach or Fanny Crosby of Isaac Watts; but it can’t be metal, it can’t be raunchy. The songs are screamed, not sung; the words can’t be understood; no congregation could possibly sing-along. Thus there’s no valid point to doing it.
“Just being me” is not a valid point. Christianity is quite the opposite of “just being me”. Christianity is transformation, renewing and denial of self.
Amen.
A friend of belongs to a small group , if I recall correctly it’s called Bibles & Bourbon. Bunch of guys, fellowship time, some Bible study and time to talk about it, and then some bourbon.
Sounds great to me.
[[his us vs them mentality is to detrimental]]
Agreed- he poo poo’s other Christians while looking for acceptance of his particular style of preaching, but he doesn’t allow for the fsct that others need to hear strict preaching while others don’t. THe holy spirit .isteth where he will, ie he works where he will for his own purposes and it takes all kinds to reach the masses, not jusy one particular style. The important thing is to be readily available to God to work through hem both to reach people in the unique manner that each requires. God knows people and knows what they need o hear and when and how they need to hear it.
Paul said he was thankful for preachers who weren’t exactly inline with his own teaching and work, basical,g stating thst God uses even those who teach in some error (thouh I’m sure there is a limit as to how much error), and that the basic word of God is still getting out to people, reaching those who needed to hear from a different style.
That isn’t to say “all church denominations are biblical and ok”, because some clearly are wolves in sheep’s c.othing, antichrists, preaching heresy. But where there are somewhat minor differences and styles, and humble hearts, God is able to do great things and reach people uniquely as they need o be reached.
I am in rebellion against all forms of wokeness and political correctness.
I am in rebellion against the LGBT agenda that has been infiltrating and taking over churches.
Depends - what’s their doctrine? Is it truly Biblical or just another church that says God loves LgBTQIA and “bad Christians” are the problem?
Yup- I jusy commented on that before reading your post.
Mike warnke was a Christian comedian (who sadly was seduced by popularity, and lied to gain more “cred”, got caught and ruined his career) who sued tO hold rock concerts outdoors witH well known bands which would draw in a lot of folks, and he’d giv3 a comedy routine and preach to the crowd and present salvation plan which many at the time accepted. His concert/comedy routines were able to get through to folks who would never have thought of going to a church.
He was quite popular back then, a d funny too- and he reached a lot of folks who were really down and out dud tO the hippy lifestyle, drug use, sexual promiscuity, etc.
Christ came to heal the sick. Mike was being used at that time to reach out to those in need. He got one of criticism, but also praise as well for reaching folks who needed help.
There’s nothing wrong with rebellious music - Jesus himself was a rebel. There’s good metal music out there with a positive message of fight against tyranny.
Theres also “bad” metal out there too but that’s true of every genre.
https://youtu.be/eU2GcuAm6EI?si=U5c0UMNDpA1bqltQ
Depends on what you’re rebelling from. The first wave of Christians were rebelling against Rome. One could easily see modern Christendom as rebelling against secularism.
Pretty sure this was all thoroughly covered in the Bible. Apostasy just getting warmed up heading into End Times. Doubt we’ve seen anything yet. Gonna get worse.
(We are a) bible-based church for those that would probably never step foot into a traditional church building because of snooty self-righteous, ***judgmental***.......
Yeah, I hear this all the time about someone being judgmental, whether Christian or not. But the one spouting is never judgmental you know.
Gonna be a lot of surprised people standing before God. some for the good and some for the bad. Best we heed the scriptures now, and that goes for all of us, not just those who don’t know the Lord.
“Just being me” is not a valid point. Christianity is quite the opposite of “just being me”. Christianity is transformation, renewing and denial of self.
Exactly. Suffering with Christ, carrying our cross, putting self last.
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