"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:2 (ESV)
By Sandra Aisien
Transformation church: Vision
We exist to Re-Present God to the lost and found for transformation in Christ. We are a multi-church. Meaning we are a multi-generational, multi-ethnic, multi-plying, and multi-campus.
The above quote was taken from the church's website, where its "vision" clearly states: re-present God to both the lost and the found. What exactly does this entail? Are they presenting God as the Bible reveals Him or are they "re-presenting" Him to fit today's culture? Following the many events that take place in the church, the latter seem more befitting to their vision.
The church's popularity has grown since 2015 after, Mike Todd alongside his wife Natalie Todd, became the leading pastors of Transformation church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In just a few years, the church became known for its excessive use of illustrations during sermons, a rather secular approach to biblical expository, nonetheless its apologetic and sugarcoated approach on issues such as abortion and homosexuality (to name a few).
Mike Todd's Easter service: Ransom
Following its Easter service titled "Ransom" on April 9th, 2023, transformation church has been on the receiving end of a major backlash and the reasons are quite compelling, even to a non Christian. Some have gone as far as calling it "blasphemous".
First, the representation of Easter was accompanied by secular music from performers like Beyoncé and Kesha - with some lyrical changes. Second, the atmosphere could easily have been mistaken for that of a music concert or a Hollywood award show; primarily because the scenery was nothing short of an exhibition. As can be seen in this short video, in which women dressed in skin-tight leather pants talk about the size of their derriere.
Beyonce's song by the title "Diva" which has a line that goes:
Na-na-na, diva is a female version of a hustla
was slightly changed by Transformation church:
The dragon was an angel turned into a hustla.
Take a look:
Here are some tweets that are worth reading:
Mike Todd's response
Usually Easter is where we come to cheer with the people who are already on the team. That’s called practice, I want to go after the people who haven’t signed up to play the game yet. I want the person who feels lonely and isolated and like God doesn’t care. I want them to see how amazing Jesus actually is and what God actually did for all of us.
I said, ‘We’re going to go to the edge on this.’ And they said, pastor, how far on the edge are we going to go?’ and I said, “we’re going to do everything short of sin,” “We’re going to reach over and grab the people who thought they were nothing, that God hated them, that God won’t forgive them. We’re going to snatch them back.
Pay attention to how Todd describes salvation: game. Make no mistake, being saved by God cannot and should not be equated as being part of a game, there is nothing playful about the single most important act in human history: salvation through the death and ressurrection of Jesus Christ.
It has become normative of today's "churches" to use sugarcoated and playful analogies to interprete fundamental biblical truths, a practice that only continues to numb people to the reality and the sinfulness of man's nature.
These are the kinds of tactics the book of Ezekiel warns us about when it says: "they encourage the wicked" by promising blessings that God never did to people who have wilful and unrepentant hearts.
Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life, Ez. 13:22 (ESV)
Easter isn't about cheering or making people feel good about themselves rather, it is the remembrance of the sacrifice that brought salvation to the world (John 3:16).
John MacArthur puts it poignantly:
Even the most glorious sunset, when gazed at long enough, will eventually lose its appeal. The scenery becomes so familiar that the senses grow dull to its vivid color and beauty. The scenery doesn’t need changing--only your perspective.
Such is the case with Easter. Our modern eyes have gazed on the wonderful story for so long that we’ve lost our appreciation for its richness. What’s worse, we’ve missed the real story--the forces at work behind the scenes that make the crucifixion and resurrection defining moments for all mankind.
Side by side: Biblical truth vs social trends
We are living in a society/culture that rejects practically everything the Bible teaches, it is one that has redefined marriage and the roles of men and women. Ours is a generation that fails to see the beauty in God's creation and makes it a daily habit to erase reason and objective truths, it celebrates abortion and claims it's a “women’s reproductive right" and the list goes on... We live in a time where television and technology have taken the place of parents, rejecting God's design of parents being the educators in their homes—that role is currently being filled by people in government and cell phones are becoming the sole companion of our children and youths.
We live in a time where being politically correct has become the norm, where you are free to say what you want, until you offend someone with your beliefs or opinions and it is suddenly classified as hateful. It isn't farfetched to assume that this may have become the reasoning behind most "churches" approach to the Gospel, presenting it in a way that people are not offended. But the Gospel is supposed to offend because it reveals our deprived and perverse nature. Only by truly confronting our true nature will we begin the grasp the beauty of the life, ministry, crucifixtion and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
The sad reality is that "Christians" are now taking pages from the world's book on how to lead the church of Christ, forgetting that when we attract people by carnal means, we will be forced to keep them by carnal means—as John MacArthur brilliantly puts it in his book Ashamed of the Gospel: when the church becomes like the world:
It is impossible to elevate human wisdom without lowering God’s truth. Human wisdom caters to self-will, human pride, fleshly lusts, and the desire for independence from God. Human wisdom and the gospel are therefore constitutionally incompatible. (p.123)
Our inability to search the scriptures and let Christ build His church, will only result to a house full of goats not sheep.
Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:15: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth".
Finally let’s remember that it is only the Gospel that matters. So, if 10 years from today Christ should return, let's hope He says to us:
Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. Matthew 25:21 (ESV)
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