Feeding The Sheep, or Amusing The Goats?

 ~Archibald Brown 

“A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

An evil is in the “professed” camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most short-sighted Christian can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years this evil has developed at an alarming rate. It has worked like leaven, until the whole lump ferments!

The devil has seldom done a more clever thing than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. From preaching the gospel, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses!

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church. If it is a Christian work, then why did not Christ speak of it? Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ...and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel.

No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to Him. Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people--or because they confronted them?

Again, providing amusement is in direct opposition to the teaching and life of Christ and all His apostles. What was the attitude of the apostolic Church to the world? "You are the salt of the world"...not the sugar candy. You are something the world will spit out... not swallow.


Had Jesus introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into His teaching, He would have been more popular. When "many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him" I do not hear Him say: "Run after these people, Peter, and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow; something short and attractive, with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it! Be quick, Peter, we must get the people somehow!"

No! Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them...but never sought to amuse them!

In vain will the epistles be searched to find any trace of the “gospel of amusement.” Their message is, "Therefore, come out from among them and separate yourselves from them . . . Don't touch their filthy things." Anything approaching amusement is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other message.

No! They did not cease from preaching Christ! They had no time for arranging entertainments. They turned the world upside down. The need of the hour for today's ministry is earnest spirituality joined with Biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.

Lord, clear the Church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods!

....with some editing.