Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats
Spurgeon, C.H.

An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its
impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it.
During the past few years it has developed at an abnormal rate, even
for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments.
The devil has seldom done a cleverer 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 speaking out as the
Puritans did, 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 why did not Christ speak of it? 'Go ye into
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature'. That is clear
enough, so it would have been if He had added, 'and provide amusement
for those who do not relish the gospel'. No such words, however, are
to he found. It did not seem to occur to Him. Then again, 'He gave
some apostles, some prophets, some pastors and teachers, for the work
of the ministry'. Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is
silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they
amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr
roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching
and life of Christ and all His apostles. What was the attitude of the
Church to the world? 'Ye are the salt', not the sugar candy -
something the world will spit out, not swallow. Short and sharp was
the utterance 'Let the dead bury their dead'. He was in awful
earnestness!

Had he introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into His
mission, He would have been more popular when they went back, because
of the searching nature of His teaching. 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!' 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. 'Come
out, keep out, keep clean out' - anything approaching fooling is
conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the
gospel and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the Church had a
prayer meeting, but they did not pray, 'Lord, grant unto thy servants
that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may
show these people how happy we are'. If they ceased not for preaching
Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments - scattered by
persecution they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They turned
the world upside down, that is the only difference! Lord, clear the
Church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her and
bring us back to apostolic methods.

Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to effect the end desired. It
works among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank
God because the Church met them half way, speak and testify. Let the
heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let
the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment had been God's link
in the chain of their conversion, stand up! There are none to answer!
The mission of amusement produces no converts.

The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship,
joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as
fruit from the root. The need is Biblical doctrine, so understood and
felt, that it sets men on fire.