"YOU" are a Hero and "YOU" Have What it Takes! (Not Really... But, That Message is Guaranteed to Draw a Crowd)

Non-Christians (oops we meant the 'un-churched') are just not going to come to church to hear someone preaching expository Bible sermons (or so the story goes). So why not preach about popular TV shows instead and try to loosly tie them to the Bible? Pastors are already exegeting blockbuster movies and comic books, so adding popular TV shows to their repertoire just makes sense.

Below we've posted the graphic for the upcoming sermon series at South Hills Church in Corona, CA. (This is the same church whose pastor rather than preaching about Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday thought it would be better to preach about dysfunctional relationships. We can't wait to see what he preaches about on Christmas Day. We bet it will be about weight loss or new year's resolutions). Now pastor Chris Sonksen is going to tie the popular TV show, Heroes to the Bible. He plans to let everyone at his church know that they are 'heroes' and that "THEY have what it takes". Sermon Topics Include...

• How courage can help YOU conquer a storm (Noah)
• How faithfulness can keep YOU from quitting (Abraham)
• How generosity can multiply YOUR impact (Rebekkah)
• How commitment can take YOU beyond YOUR limitations (David)

In Sonksen's religion you already 'have what it takes' to be a hero. You just need to learn how to put it into practice. But a careful reading of the scriptures will show you that Noah's story isn't about Noah's courage at all. It is about God's justice, God's mercy and God's salvation. Noah was FAR from virtuous. Noah shamed himself and scandalized his sons through the sin of naked-drunkeness. The story of Abraham is NOT about Abraham's faithfulness. It is about God's faithfulness! Abraham lied about his marriage to his wife (twice) in order to save his own skin. Abraham also fathered Ishmael because he'd lost faith in God's promise. Rebekah was far from generous. She conspired with her son Jacob to trick Isaac into blessing Jacob and steal Esua's birthright. (stealing is the opposite of generous) As for David, we all know how well he kept his commitments. He was a murderer and an adulterer.

Reducing these Biblical stories down to morals or virtues (like Aesops fables) that we can somehow apply to our lives so that we can be heroic completely misses the point. The thing that we all have in common with Noah, Abraham, Rebekah, and David is that we are all wicked sinners. We are not virtuous, courageous and faithful. Instead we are faithless, heartless and ruthless. We are not heroes we are all villains. The Bible tells us that all of us are sinners in need of a savior. In other words, NONE of us 'has what it takes'. We, like Noah, Abraham, Rebekah and David NEED a hero and a savior to redeem us and save us. That's why those Biblical stories are NOT about Noah, Abraham, Rebekah or David, they are ultimately about Jesus Christ.

But, Pastor Chris is a proponent of the infomercial gospel and has bought into the lie that drawing large numbers of people to church is what determines success. He preaches these types of man-centered feel good messages in order to be seeker-sensitive and attract a big crowd.

We wonder if Pastor/Life Coach Sonksen has heard the news that this approach to church has been proven to be completely impotent at making disciples of Jesus Christ?

We wonder if he has the moral character to admit that he's been doing the wrong thing and repent? We wonder if he will stop preaching pop-psych and self-help. We wonder if he will stop pointing people to themselves and will instead point the people in his church to our one true hero, Jesus Christ?

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1Cor. 2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Comments

[Al]

This man is not a pastor, as described in the Bible. He is not fit to oversee any congregation of true believers.

[Mike Longwell]

This is interesting as the church my family and I quit going to becuase they moved to seeker sensitive and now appears to be on the road to emergent church, their latest sermon series, that also starts this Sunday is based on the HEROES TV show. Go to the Copperfield Church (used to have Baptist in their church name) in Houston, Texas and see the front page of their website.

I am wondering where these pastors are getting their sermon series from, espcially since these two churches are doing a sermon series on the same TV show.

[April]

What I want to know is how this church can justify taking out a loan for over 2 million to build/expand. My church is doing something similar, and it bothers me. I don't believe any church should go into debt like that, and then manipulate church members into doling out their cash to pay off the debt. It smacks of reliance on fleshly, man-made efforts, rather than total reliance on and direction from God.

[James]

What a load of garbage. I listened to some of "pastor" chris' past sermons on their website and that guy is nothing but a christianized version of Anthony Robins.

Thank you for pointing this stuff out. I have always hated these types of sermons but could never put my finger on it as to why.

Now I get it! Just look at those sermon titles!! "How courage can help you conquer a storm"

Just thinking about how man-centered and off base this is makes me angry. Noah didn't use courage to conquer the flood. God is the one who saved and rescued Noah and his family! Courage had nothing to do with it!

[NJ]

FBC Frisco (http://www.fbcfrisco.org) also did a series on the "Heroes" TV show early this year. We had been visiting at the time and my 7 year old asked me why they were talking about a tv show in church. They also are known to use a smoke machine for effect during 'worship' which frightened my kid because he thought the building was on fire. Try to find a biblical explanation for either. I couldn't. That is when we left and thankfully found a healthy reformed church nearby.

[Trent Kastman]

This goes to show that Christians need to study and know their Bibles. They need to rightly divide the Word of Truth as stated in 2. Tim. 2:15.

[ianmcn]

You said: "the Bible tells us that all of us are sinners in need of a savior. In other words, NONE of us 'has what it takes'"

True, but I have found my savour, his name is Jesus! I didn’t have what it took, but now I do - I have the Holy Spirit! I was a dirty, sin ridden villain, but by God’s grace I have been born again! Galatians 2:20 says "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me". For a Christian to see themselves as a dirty, rotten sinner is not a response of faith. A faith response is for Christians to see themselves as a Child of God, to put off their old self and be like God in righteousness and holiness and to recognise themselves as heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.

True, none of this is of our own doing, it is only by the blood of Christ that we can say all this so none of us can boast, but it is not boasting to recognise what God has made us! This self-loathing attitude dishonours what God has done for us, and ultimately displeases him because it is not a faithfilled response, and without faith it is impossible to please him.

[James]

ianmcn,

When you stop sinning then you'll no longer need a savior. As for me. I still sin everyday. As a result when I go to church I need to continue have the message of Christ crucified for sinners proclaimed to me Sunday after Sunday.

If I went to a church that didn't preach Christ but instead made the Bible into a guidebook that I had to follow I'd walk away from the faith. These types of church's don't preach Christ they preach 'man'. That isn't Christianity. That isn't even church. It is some type of self-help cult that's attached itself to the church like a cancer or parasite.

[ben]

ianmcn,

We are dirty, rotten sinners in God's eyes until the blood of Christ washes us and makes us white as snow.

We must see ourselves as dirty, unwashed, unregenerate and evil before we can see the need for our salvation and cry out to God for salvation.

Recognizing our fallen nature is not an insult to God as you say, but it is a condition to being saved.

For we all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.

No, there is none righteous, no, not one.

I hope and pray that you will find a church that teaches you properly, or that you will continue to read and discover for yourself.

ben