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On different occasions, various churches have come up in discussion. Often, someone will say something like, “Oh, I know that church, that used to be one of those shoutin’ churches.” What changed in those churches? More importantly, what is happening to fundamentalism as a whole? 

1 Sam 4:5-6 And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. (6) And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.

This passage gives us a good look into the response of the Children of Israel when the Ark of the Covenant came on the scene. In their eyes, the Ark of the Covenant was the embodiment of God. In fact, they could not touch it. If they did, they would die! In this passage, we see a scene where the Ark is brought to a scene. When Israel sees the Ark – when they see God, literally, they go nuts! The noise was so loud that the Philistines heard it and believed the LORD was on the scene.

Another place we see the shout is in Ezra.

Ezra 3:11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

Here, the people are rejoicing over the mercy of the Lord. Throughout Scripture, we are commanded to praise God, yet praise, though comely to God, is no longer welcome in many of our churches. We have developed what I will now call ‘neo-fundamentalism’. The absence of the shout and praise in church is only one sign of neo-fundamentalism. Neo-fundamentalism can also be seen in music and lecture. In many ways, church is becoming less of a place of worship and more of a facility of higher education. Do not misunderstand; I am not opposed to ‘teaching’ in the church. In fact, the Pastor is to be ‘apt to teach’ (1 Tim 3:2), but he is also to be an evangelist (1 Tim 4:5). What that means is that there is to be a balance between evangelistic style preaching and teaching. In fact, Paul admonished Timothy saying: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (2 Tim 4:2) 

In the Neo-fundamentalist movement, we also see a flight away from the Holy Spirit. There was a time that the saints of God had discernment and true worship. They were “Spirit-filled” believers. What happened? I believe that the flight away from true Spirit-filled worship is a result of our fear of the charismatic movement. Over the last hundred years or so, we have seen a perversion of worship in the charismatic movement. The charismatic movement is characterized by the un-Biblical mimicking of the gifts of the Spirit we see exercised in the book of Acts. These are gifts such as speaking in tongues, healing, etc. These gifts were given in a specific time to prove the existence of God, to prove Christ was the Messiah and prove the disciples had the power of God. When the Word of God was complete, there was no longer a need for these gifts of the Spirit. In the birth of the charismatic movement, we also saw a resurgence of the use of these so-called gifts.

As the charismatic movement took shape, true believers realized these gifts were not from God and separated from those who used them. Unfortunately, they attributed the Spirit of worship with the false spirit that was being manifested in the charismatic movement. As a result, the devil has stolen true Holy-Ghost worship from most churches.

Sadly, the problem is a little deeper than this. As believers moved away from the Spirit of God, their discernment has progressively failed as well.  As discernment has failed, the leaders of the churches have moved away from our standard, the Word of God.  Today, there are more than one-hundred different versions of the Word of God.  Why are there so many?  I believe it is a part of the Devil's ploy to confuse the believer.  If we believe the Bible is our absolute final authority for faith and practice, which book is right?  If you are reading this in English, you need to read the KJV Bible.  We will not discuss why in this article.  For now, trust me!  As different versions of the Bible have come along, all with their different standards, we have confusion.  Today, if one accepts all of these different translations equally as the Word of God, they have no absolute standard upon which they can rely.  This results in their teaching of no absolute standard - no absolute right and wrong.

Another issue contributing to the loss of true Spirit-filled worship is the lack of preaching.  Even in churches where they are still using the right Bible, the preaching is anemic.  These pulpits are filled by people who want to make everyone feel good. Sure, they may 'bump' a little sin sometimes, but they never seem to really preach on standards or consistency.  As preachers, we are to preach the whole counsel of God.

2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Paul gave Timothy a model of what to preach.  He was to reprove, rebuke and exhort.  Before we go on, let's define these words:  First, to reprove means to blame; to censure; to charge with a fault to the face; to chide; to reprehend. (Webster's 1828 dictionary) In other words, to reprove one means that we should openly accuse them and place the blame for their sin directly on the sinner's shoulders.  Second, to rebuke means to chide; to reprove; to reprehend for a fault; to check by reproof. (Webster's 1828 dictionary) To rebuke is also to reprove someone, but it is also to chide or scold one who is wrong.  By repeating Himself, God is emphasizing the need for preaching against sin and of placing the balme of sin on the individual. Finally to exhort means to encourage, to embolden, to cheer, to advise. The primary sense seems to be to excite or to give strength, spirit or courage. (Webster's 1828 dictionary)  It is after sin is dealt with that preachers are to encourage and embolden the believer.  Where is the fire in our pulpits today?

As I said, there are so-called preachers who will 'bump' sin or mention some particular sin in passing, but not really deal with it. I believe you can pick these churches by the people.  These churches are filled with chameleons.  A chameleon is a person who conforms to or almost blends in with their surroundings.

You may see women who are modest in church, while outside of church, they are dressed like harlots.  Mark them - their pastor has lost sight of 2 Tim 4:2.  Perhaps you see men who sing praises to God in the choir, yet sing the world's songs in the car.  If the preacher's message is not convicting them, he may be a hireling and it is likely that he is replacing the Spirit of God with the spirit of the world.

You may still have people shouting in your church.  There are churches where the crowd is pumped up.  Some churches have people designated as 'praise leaders'  while other churches have pastors who claim to be the praise and worship leader.  The Pastor's job is to PREACH the WORD OF GOD.  If the pastor is doing his job, the Holy Spirit of God will lead the worship!  If the worship is worked up by any MAN, it is contrived and not real!

If you are reading this, and you are a pastor, challenge yourself: are you preaching the whole counsel of God, or are you pleasing men?

If you are not a pastor, ask God to help you get closer to Him, to show you the truth of the Word of God and to give your pastor the power and courage to fulfill his commission.