A Little Leaven

"Christian" Pornography?

The church's slide into complete apostasy continues unabated. The latest evidence of this comes from a website that is proposing "Christian" pornography (warning: explicit content). Here is their proposed framework for "Christian" porn.

• It must depict only married couples engaging in sexual acts.
• It must portray sex within the context of a Christian marriage.
• It must be instructional.
• Husband and wife must both receive their due benevolence. (This means that both sex partners must be shown getting equal pleasure and sexual attention from one another)
• No extramarital sex, unless it is to illustrate the downfalls of adultery.
• It must be uplifting and inspirational, focusing on strengthening Christian marriage and Christian faith.
• No profanity.

So basically as long as we're looking at instructional pornography the depicts "Christian" married couples having sex then we should embrace this as edifying and blessed of God.

Holy, Hot Sex

Is Christianity being turned into a fertility cult?

The story of Elijah versus the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel is one of the best known stories of the Bible. What many people don't realize is that those who worshiped Baal were followers of a fertility cult.

With so many "Christian" churches taking their focus off of Jesus and the message of "Christ crucified for sins" and instead placing their focus on sex we wonder if Christianity hasn't been polluted by the false religious ideas of pagan fertility religions.

Here again is yet another website that focuses on 'godly sex'.

Here is how ABC news reacted to this site and its ideas.

X Rated Site or Church Series?

How controversial are all these Sex Sermons that all these seeker-sensitive churches are doing?

Well that all depends on how you look at it.

Did you know that the churches that are doing these Sex Sermons are also the ones manufacturing the controversy?

It's true. Here is how the chain of events works.

1. Seeker-Sensitive Church decides to use Sex Series to fill empty seats or accelerate growth.

2. Seeker-Sensitive Church picks racy and controversial name for their Sex Series along with racy and controversial sermon titles for each sermon in the series.

3. Seeker-Sensitive Church puts up racy and controversial website for their Sex Series and takes out racy and controversial billboard advertising announcing their racy and controversial Sex Series.

4. Seeker-Sensitive Church simultaneously sends out a press release to the media that talks about 'the controversy' surrounding their racy and controversial Sex Series. (this is controversy that they are creating)

In other words, from beginning to end, Seeker-Sensitive Churches manipulate people and manufacture "controversy" in order to make themselves look brave, bold and counter cultural while making their opponents look prissy and legalistic. All of this is done in order to fill seats.

Here's a great example from Flip Side Church.

Click Here to read the press release that Flipside Church wrote up regarding their Sex sermon series. This story was NOT written by Fox News it was written by Flipside Church. Flipside Church wrote every word of this press release including the headline.

Please note: This press release was purposely written to create controversy. Flipside Church was being provocative and controversial ON PURPOSE so that they could get free media coverage and use the controversy that they generated about their sex series to fill their empty seats.

It's all a big marketing scam.

Christian Sex Magazine to Hit Newsstands Next Month

Yes, you read that headline correctly. We simply cannot make this stuff up. According to the Religion News Blog:

Demand for an Afrikaans sex magazine that targets married, Christian women and shatters prissy Calvinistic stereotypes has increased so much that an English version will hit the shelves next month.

The launch edition of Intimacy - which features lap-dancing, submission and a tricky question about parental sex on the cover - follows a 300 percent growth in demand for Intiem magazine, which was launched in 2006.

“We strive to empower Christian women not to feel guilty for enjoying this God-given pleasure which is sex, but rather to embrace it,” said managing editor Liezel van der Merwe. Writing on sex from a Christian perspective had been a difficult challenge, with sex and religion both highly sensitive topics and few guidelines in the Bible, said Van der Merwe.

Click Here to Read the Rest (WARNING: Graphic Content)

God Love Sex

Why is it that these churches think that when they do a sermon series on sex that they have to take out billboard advertising and announce it to the whole world? Do they really think a sex series is an evangelistic tool? Its as if 'Sex Sermons' have become the post-modern equivalent of an "Evangelism Sunday".

Reading between the lines, what this billboard is really saying is "come to church and 'get some'".

More on the 30 Day Sex Challenge

Pay close attention to what the news anchors say at the end of this story about the 30 Day Sex Challenge.

They say that Pastor Paul Wirth MARKETS his church by tackling unusual and controversial topics. In other words, this is a marketing campaign that is using sex to sell his church. They've replaced the scandal of the cross with the scandal of using sex to market their church.

Here is an interesting fact, This is NOT the first time Relevant Church has used the sex topic to market themselves. They did a similar sermon series a little over a year ago in November of 2006.

They seem a bit obsessed with this topic.

30 Day Sex Challenge?

Relevant Church in Tampa, Florida is 'bravely' confronting one of the most pernicious problems of our day. They are going to solve the problem of "people NOT having enough sex". (This is not satire). They've launched a 30 day sex challenge and here is what their website says:

People are not having enough sex. An epidemic of breakups prove the needs that lead to a great sex life are being overlooked. Dirty dishes, frumpy clothes, and a lack of authentic connections are killing the romance. A great sex life is a challenge and takes focus, determination, and planning. Some say it’s an unrealistic goal, but we disagree. We believe you can have a great sex life, in fact we believe God wants you to have a great sex life.

Relevant Church is proposing a challenge encouraging married couples to purposely engage in sexual activity for 30 days and singles to intentionally forgo sexual activity for 30 days.

Below is the graphic that is posted on their site for this 'sex challenge' and their YouTube promo video.

Is this why Jesus came to earth, sweat drops of blood, was scourged, nailed to a cross, hung naked and bleeding with a crown of thorns on His head and died?

______

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.

Further Resources...

1. Christless Christianity & The American Captivity of the Church - Part 1

2. Christless Christianity & The American Captivity of the Church - Part 2

3. Christless Christianity, by Michael Horton

4. Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures, by Dennis Johnson

5. Why I'm Not a Purpose-Driven Pastor

Godly Marriage...Great Sex?

Is 'Great Sex' the real hallmark of a Godly Marriage? And are Christians really 'in the dark' when it comes to sex? How difficult can this be?

Seriously, why should a CHURCH be teaching people how to have 'Great Sex'? Pastors are not trained sex therapists. Plus, doesn't the church have more important things to be doing than teaching people how to have a better sex life?

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

It's not as if being 'great in the sack' is one of the ways that you can identify Jesus' disciples, or is it?

Church's Sexual Billboard Shocks Passersby

Granger's "Pure Sex" marketing methods strike again! This time it is New Life Fellowship in Orange Park, Florida that drank the Pure Sex koolaid by purchasing Granger's sermon series in a box. Like other churches they bought the premium package which includes a media kit and billboard artwork. And this time the media is reporting that some passersby who saw the church's advertisement thought the billboard was for a porn site. (Do you think Jesus is glorified when this happens?)

You can read the rest of the story here.

Pete the Porno Puppet?

XXXChurch's Pete the Porno Puppet has teamed up with unrepentant porn king Ron Jeremy to give church kids Christian reasons to stay away from porn. What are the "reasons" this video gives kids to avoid pornography?

Well the video gives two reasons.

1. Because porn king Ron Jeremy made pornography for consenting adults, not children.

2. For Pete's sake.

No scriptures were given. There was no mention of God's law and sin. There was no mention of Jesus.

After watching this video ask yourself, "Do you want the youths at your church learning about pornography from Pete the Porno Puppet and Ron Jeremy, a man that defends and still produces pornography"?

2Cor. 6:14-16   Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols?

Belly Dance Classes at Church?

Learn how to Belly Dance at North Wood Christian Church in Indianapolis? Sure, why not? Nothing is sacred anymore and if they incorporate Belly Dancing into their worship services we're sure that it will be a 'relevant' way to get some of the men of indianapolis into church.

HT: Reformation Nation

Wally the Wiener Fights Porn

Imagine showing up to church next sunday and finding a 30 foot high erect phallus on top of your church or in the church parking lot announcing a sermon series on Pornography. "Absurd and ridiculous", you say. "No Christian Church or Ministry would ever resort to something as shameful as a giant phallus", you say. Sadly, you'd be wrong. (Warning: Explicit Link)

According to Wally's Website:

Mike and Craig of XXXchurch dreamed up the idea of Wally one afternoon in sunny southern California. XXXchurch exists to bring awareness, openness, accountability and recovery to the church, society and individuals in the issues of pornography and to begin to provide solutions through non-judgmental and creative means. XXXchurch is here to make you think, react and to decide where you stand on the issues of porn. We're not here to sling mud, but to shove the envelope and try and do some good.

Call us old fashioned but the church doesn't need marketing gimmicks in the form of a giant inflatable phallus to fight porn. The church needs to get back to preaching God's Word and the message of Christ Crucified for Sinners.

Jaci Velasquez and Her Hoochie Dancers **Updated**

This is Jaw Dropping Unbelievable!!! This is footage from a Christmas Concert of one the TOP "stars" in "Christian" music performing the spanish version of her song "I Cannot Live Without You".

Isn't the WHOLE POINT of having "Christian Music" is that it is supposed to be an alternative to worldly and secular music?

---

Embed This Video On Your Site!

<embed src="http://64.147.16.238/jw_flv_player/flvplayer.swf" width="425" height="320" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="&displayheight=360&file=http://64.147.16.238/jaci.flv&height=320&image=http://64.147.16.238/jaci.jpg&width=425&link=http://www.alittleleaven.com/2007/11/jaci-velasquez.html&linkfromdisplay=true" />

***

Update: Rather than issue an apology or publicly repent and renounce this egregious behavior Jaci's "people" had this video pulled off of You Tube on November 20th, 2007 & from Google on December 5, 2007. We've reposted it on another service and we will continue to re-post this video. We would like to remind Jaci's attorney and Warner Music Group that we have every right to display this brief video segment LEGALLY under Fair Use of Copyrighted Material.

Squirrels and Sex??

This is an advertisement for the new book "Going All the Way" by LifeChurch.tv Pastor Craig Groeschel. Be sure to watch the whole video so that you can hear the double entendre 'punch line' of this advertisement for a "Christian" book.

Sex Crazy

Here is yet another 'brave' church that is willing to talk about sex. All these churches act like their the "only" church in the world willing to talk about sex. But if you peruse the past exhibits of our museum it becomes very clear that 'sex talk' churches are a dime a dozen.

But this church has some interesting sermon titles. What on Earth does it mean to raise a 'sexually satisfied kid'?

4 Weeks of Sex!

If your sex life is just not up to snuff, you may be going to the wrong church. Eastlake Community Church in Kirkland, WA recently had 4 Weeks of Sex. They even sent out a mailer to all the homes in their community to announce the 4 Weeks of Sex.

Who wants to go to a church that studies the Bible when you can go to a church that does 4 Weeks of Sex? Maybe they should stretch that out and do an entire year or two of sex. Imagine how many people they could rope in if they did that!

Time to Put the Bedroom Back in the Church?!

Is it really time to put the bedroom back in the church? Last time that happened was in antiquity when people used to "worship" Aphrodite. Going to her church included 'visiting the church's bedroom brothel' where you could have a first hand experience with religious sex.

Your Great Sex Life?

Has Christianity become a 'sex cult'?

It's as if these seeker sensitive Purpose Driven churches have re-written Jesus' message so that Jesus said:

"Come to me all who are bored with your sex lives and I will give you spice."

or

"Great sex is the spice of the earth. What good is sex if it has lost its spiciness?"

or

"I have come to seek and save the sexually unsatisfied".

Seriously, are we now supposed to believe that a 'great sex life' is a mark of a Godly and sanctified life? Should we now assume that someone is 'backsliding' if their sex life has fallen into a rut? Should we expect people to stand up at church and give their testimonies about how their sex lives were bland and boring before they became a Christian? Are people supposed to share how Jesus has re-kindled the fire between the sheets of their bed?

This doesn't sound like Biblical Christianity at all.

Church or Sex Club?

This is from The Gathering in Sevierville, Tennessee (a Purpose-Driven Church). They sent 51,000 of these mailers to the people in their community which means that thousands of children were exposed to this scintillating marketing piece when they opened their mailboxes. This upset many parents in Sevierville county (and it should have). Reaction to this mailer can be seen in the video posted in this exhibit.

What ever happened to the idea that, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea?" (Mark 9:42) What about holiness and not causing a brother to stumble?

All of these Biblical restraints are gone because these purpose-driven, culturally relevant, innovative churches only care about the numbers. It doesn't matter what you use to get people to come to church, the only thing that matters to these churches is that their attendance is growing. In fact, The Gathering is reporting that 87 people 'got saved' during the first week of their Red Hot Sex sermon series. So in their mind the ends justify the means. But, how is this ANY different than using Pole Dancers to attract people to a church?

Red Hot Sex!

This video shows the fallout from these types of church marketing campaigns.

HT: Old Truth

They Will Know We Are Christians By Our SEX??

Christian Nudists?!?!

Errr....Ummmm...we're speechless. We've uncovered a link to an organization designed to support those people who seek to be faithful to the Lord AND be nudists.

They even have a Purpose Statement on their website. Does that mean that they are Purpose-Driven Nudists?

Bringing Sexy Back?

Cornerstone Church in Chandler, AZ claims that its current sermon series is "Bringing Sexy Back".

Huh?!

Since when is the Church of Jesus Christ called upon to "Bring Sexy Back?". This is just the latest example of a church using SEX to increase attendance.

Sadly, members of Cornerstone who normally attend the prime time Sunday services were told to attend church at different times in order to make room for all the "un-churched people" who would be drawn to church by their billboard and marketing campaign.

Cornerstone has even taken out a website entitled "How Sexy Am I?"

We suggest they spend some time asking themselves "How Sinful Am I" because Jesus didn't die on the cross so that people can have great sex lives. Jesus died for our sins.

These churches which have bought into using SEX to grow their churches need to consider bringing Jesus back.

***Bonus Content***

Blogger Chris Elrod has an over the top parody piece that addresses the issue of using sex to grow your church. Warning this is NOT a family friendly link. This may be a case of the cure being worse than the illness. Click Here to See It.

'Christian' Newly Wed Show

This video is NOT Kid Friendly At All! That this is done in a church is beyond reprehensible.

Sex God?!

Revolution Church apparently is revolting against preaching Christ-Centered sermons and prefers to preach sermons that are more practical and relevant to the world. Their sermon title's for their summer series sound like something right out of the porn industry. Here are three of them:

Seven Minutes in Heaven [**Sex Party**]

Stripped Bare

Leather, Whips, and Whipped Cream

Yesireee bob that sure is relevant... Too bad it is sooooo worldly that this is inappropriate for a Church that bears the name of Christ.

But, then again maybe Jesus Christ isn't their God. The name of the series is Sex God. Maybe that is what they worship.

Nuns Gone Wild?!

Apparently the Erotic Church Service is catching on here in America. It has been sited at a Catholic Church here in the states.

These photos are from a Mass celebrated for the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate on June 16, 2007, at 10:30 a.m. The presider was Father Charles Faso, O.F.M.

If they keep this up they will draw bigger crowds than the local protestant mega churches.

"Christian" Marital Aids!?!?

***Warning*** This post is not kid friendly.****

Just when you think that Christianity in American could not possibly sink any lower, along comes something that makes you want to throw in the towel.

Below is a screen shot of the home page of a website that sells...er...ummm....well..."Christian" sex toys.

They sell these 'items' all with the belief that they're not pornographic and Christ Centered. Maybe these folks should consider becoming the corporate sponsor of the Erotic Church Service.

Ummm...enough said.

Erotic Church Service

The ultimate in 'seeker sensitive' services has arrived and it is drawing crowds so large that they're having to turn people away. It is called Erotic Church and according to the news story:

'A female dancer dances in a skin coloured stocking in the middle of the church in front of the altar. She crawls about on the floor and wraps herself in a hanging down white cloth. Is this a blasphemous provocation, a scoffing at the Christian religion?

'No it is only one of the items on the agenda of the Protestant Church Assembly. The six-hundred-year-old church, the Church of the Carthusians in the south of Cologne has become the stage for an erotic church service. Nearly one thousand interested people waited outside the door of the former monastery, despite a thunderstorm- but in the end there was only room for four hundred people...

'The vicar arrived in a black cassock and barefoot. He announced that eroticism and lust are not taboo areas pushed aside by God. In fact, "lust has to be lived out", said Armin Beuscher, who tempered his speech immediately, by saying, “we are of course today in this service only able to implement this in a limited manner”...

'The faithful were then asked to take part in an anointing ritual in which they should massage the forehead and hands of the person sitting next to them. Some go further and embrace each other whilst others kiss. The atmosphere gets more relaxed. This is how most church services should be said Birgit Kruger

Click Here to Read the Original News Story

The Dr. Ruth of Christiandom?!

If you are still reading the Bible at church and talking about Jesus and the apostles then you are missing out.

Here's a video from a truly relevant and practical service with a message that will...ummmm...well....embarass you if you accidently brought your kids to the service.

Warning this video is offensive. That is why it is posted here in the Museum of Idolatry.

Here's a Great Technique to Get Men to Come to Church

Want more men at church? Have the women in your praise band wear less clothes.

Guys will be coming from miles away just to have a 'spiritual experience'.

This approach to church adds a new dimension to the terms 'seeker sensitive' and 'felt needs'.