“From what God has shown me, there needs to be a scourging among the ministers, that the slothful, dilatory, and self-caring ones may be scourged out, and there remain a pure, faithful, and self-sacrificing company” (Testimonies, Vol. 1, p. 130).
Adventism is being modified to imitate our culture. Instead of influencing society with the gospel, our worship is becoming like any other worldly rap concert. In the video above, you will see the kind of performance you would expect at a worldly music festival. However, what makes this situation worse is the fact that the person in the video is an ordained Seventh-day Adventist pastor who is rapping on Holy Communion Sabbath in front of the church congregation. That is the new example that is being given to the youth, visitors, and members. This is the kind of worship and entertainment that the younger generation has become accustomed to, thanks to certain leaders.
In the video, you see Pastor Jacob Serns from the Texas Conference celebrating holy communion and rapping at the Benbrook Seventh-day Adventist Church in Benbrook, Texas. Serns is the pastor of this church, where he is supposed to be commemorating the Lord’s Supper, a symbol of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for our sins. But instead of encouraging a sense of reverence for the solemnity of Christ’s sacrifice, Pastor Serns integrates the elements of the rap culture—beats, music, rhyming, lyrics, cheering, clapping, and shouting—and makes them part of the Holy Communion Sabbath service. At the end, he declares he is having “way, way too much fun.”
That’s the problem. The sacred worship of Jehovah has been turned into a giant entertainment spectacle. It’s all about fun and flattery. This is about pleasing the eyes and the ears. You can shout the name of Jesus in a rap song, but that doesn’t make it Christian, and calling upon the name of the Lord with worldly music doesn’t make it holy. This actually creates confusion and is misleading people about what God requires when it comes to worship. This bedlam of confusion has never been part of true Adventism and never will be. Worship is being revolutionized to deceive the very elect.
When this type of confusion is tolerated in the church, it will just spin out of control and multiply. This is true in any church and with any person. When error is embraced, it only opens the door for more dangerous falsehoods to come in. When we begin making excuses to accommodate apostasy, the wrongdoing will never be dealt with, and soon full-blown rebellion follows.
“Before the last developments of the work of apostasy there will be a confusion of faith. There will not be clear and definite ideas concerning the mystery of God. One truth after another will be corrupted” (Signs of the Times, May 28, 1894).
“Divisions will come in the church. Two parties will be developed” (Selected Messages, Vol. 2, p. 113).
“God will arouse His people; if other means fail, heresies will come in among them” (Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 707).
“If doubts and unbelief are cherished, the faithful ministers will be removed from the people” (Testimonies to Ministers, p. 409).
“We are living in the last days of this earth’s history, and we may be surprised at nothing in the line of apostasies and denials of the truth. Unbelief has now come to be a fine art which men work at to the destruction of their souls” (Selected Messages, Vol. 2, p. 147).
The good news is that during this time when Adventism is being shaken, God will have a “little company” of faithful believers who will heed his counsels and survive this period of testing. The faithful remnant will stand unmoved by all the confusion and chaos that surrounds them daily, and because of their unwavering faith, God will use them during the final crisis to bring salvation to others under the power of the Latter Rain.
“The leaven of godliness has not entirely lost its power. At the time when the danger and depression of the church are greatest, the little company who are standing in the light will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the land. But more especially will their prayers arise in behalf of the church because its members are doing after the manner of the world” (Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 209).
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I couldn’t even finish watching this… And this was communion Sabbath?? Yikes! People think that it doesn’t matter how you dress in church but the more I see people dressing casually, the more the worship has become casual – if it can still even be called worship. Could he ever get up there in a communion suit or pastoral robe rapping like that? Also, is this the new kind of pastor being churned out by our Adventist Seminaries? Do Andrews and their counterparts teach Rap 101 in addition to their social justice and pro-LGBTQ courses?
How exactly did you get from a rap message to God to social justice and LGBTQ? There are a lot of bridges leading to one that have nothing to do with the other.
Brothers and Sisters this Pastor is a Freind of mine and trust me I know he is treading new ground here that clearly should not have been treaded but as his Freind I want you all to know his heart is on reaching people for Christ and His church has a majority of none pre Adventist coming to his church and learning about Jesus. This church was started 5 years ago and now has at least 100 members and there is an Adventist church where there was not one. Please be kind to our Brother in Christ. He has since stepped down as Pastor and needs your Prayers right now not your criticism. And the church who loves there Pastor needs him now during a critical time when they are going to be moving to another facility but instead have lost there Pastor in whom they Love. Would you be happy to see the members leave the church and have no Adventist presence in this town? Take a moment and Pray for them and him, don’t play the devils advocate here. Your criticism and comments have accomplished there work he is no longer pastoring. Don’t rejoice with n this instead remove this Post and begin fasting and praying for your brother and church members in Christ. Anything else other than this is just Evil.
We do hope that you as his friend, with the priviledge of one on one contact and communication with him, have done your part in bringing the truth to his eyes!
Is Pastor Serns church a “breakaway” from the traditional SDA church? Is his church recognized by the conference in his area? These things need to be answered, and then people would look at the worship in a different light. I am far removed from all of it, however, I feel that maybe his churches are a “breakaway” from SDA and they believe differently about worship and possibly some other things, I don’t know.
I would be nice if someone would clear this up with facts. ADVENT MESSENGER needs to give us facts!!
I completely agree! This is straight foolishness!
Where are they getting these so called “pastors”??? They are the furtherest thing from being a pastor. God help those that were in the audience clapping and yelling this man on in his diabolical performance.
You know condemnation is not new to the church. But to not seek him out to find out where his heart is. It just judgement he lives Jesus and loves Jesus. Search your own heart before condemning others. They are all bible based songs. Seek first to take the plank out of your own eye first. Praying for you.
Shout it to the mountaintops, sister! Maybe they’ll read the content and not listen to the scary beats next time.
““Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Matthew 7:1-5 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.7.1-5.NIV
NIV Bible is not the word of God.
Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse. Esther 8:8
Well, Morgan, since you quoted the NIV, we cannot countenance your position, so be gone. /sarcasm
Please. Morgan is spot on here. You folks are something else.
Kjv then
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”
Matthew 7:1-5 KJV
Brother, I believe you are quoting scripture out of context. Now is not the time for such diversionary tactics. We are to call SIN for what it is. Golden Calf Worship on Communion Sabbath! What is Next? Naked Adventist Men and Women Worshiping on Communion Sabbath? I Cannot rule it out. Satan is honored by all this, and God and HisTruth is Trampled in the Dust beneath contempt by such pastors as above.
Moses Condemned Aaron for not preventing such Apostasy during the Wanderings of Israel in the Wilderness when the Golden calf was made. Will God Excuse his Professed Remnant who should know better? No He will not.
The Exodus 32 Account
7 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou
broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8 They have turned aside
quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf,
and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O
Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9 And the LORD said unto
Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10 Now therefore
let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them:
and I will make of thee a great nation. 11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and
said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought
forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?* 12 Wherefore
should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in
the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce
wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and
Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I
will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of
will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. 14 And the LORD repented
of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
15 ¶ And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the
testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side
and on the other were they written. 16 And the tables were the work of God, and the
writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. 17 And when Joshua heard the
noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the
camp. 18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the
voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.†
19 ¶ And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf,
and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands,
and brake them beneath the mount. 20 And he took the calf which they had made, and
burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made
the children of Israel drink of it.
21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought
so great a sin upon them? 22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou
knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. 23 For they said unto me, Make us gods,
which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land
of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath
any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there
came out this calf.
25 ¶ And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them
naked unto their shame among their enemies:)‡ 26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the
camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons
of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. 27 And he said unto them, Thus saith
the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from
gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his
companion, and every man his neighbour. 28 And the children of Levi did according
to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
Brother God will not wink on such Apostasy now. We are to Judge actions with the righteous standard of God. However God has not granted Permission to Judge another’s heart. The way the above Pastor is Going his congregation will be Worshiping who they think is God in the Nude Sooner rather than Later with Sensuality and Debauchery the end Result.
Zephaniah Describes the Condition of the Laodicean Church in his whole book, but Especially Chapter Three.
Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!* 2 She obeyed not the
voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to
her God.† 3 Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they
gnaw not the bones till the morrow. 4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons:
her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. 5 The just
LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his
judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.‡ 6 I have cut off
the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by:
their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.§ 7 I said,
Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be
cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.
8 ¶ Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the
prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms,
to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall
be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
11 In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me:
for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty
because of my holy mountain.
I’m going to shout this so those in the back can hear:
Worshipping. A. Golden. Calf. Is. Not. The. Same. As. Someone. Rapping. The. Message. Of. God.
Once we come to this understanding, it will be a lot easier to have a relevant discussion about this topic.
Firstly I do not use out of context. Secondly, Sister please, not brother, thirdly I know firsthand this pastor & this church!
No one has obviously listened to the words or the sermons. No one has seen the love, kindness, compassion of our congregation. Which obviously is not any of these comments or this article! Jesus himself stop the Pharisees from condemning the woman due to their own sins. No one is perfect. Even a pastor is a man. There is much worse going on in the world then to condemn a heartfelt song wrote for our Heavenly Father to help spread the Good News, which we are all called to do
The World’s Greatest Need.–The greatest want of the world is the want of men,–men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.–Education, p. 57.
So the main purpose of our coming together to worship the sovereign God of the universe is now to be entertained?
Exodus 32:4 And he (Aaron) received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them:
Evidently, worship forms that are based on heathen practices, are met with the wrath of God in the courts of heaven.
An incredible false equivalence is being reached for if you’re comparing speaking in rhythm and rhyme to melting gold into a calf and worshipping it. If you could just once look past the method of delivery (which plainly is not within your cultural level of acceptance), and focus on the message, this would certainly not bother you as much as it seems to.
How many pastors do this? Is this a “standard” practice in ALL Adventist churches or is it one guy doing his thing? It is not correct to make it sound like the entire worldwide SDA church is involved in this.
JAMES; My church (SDA) does not worship in this manner. ADVENT MESSENGER needs to clarify this with facts. Some say Pastor Serns church is a
“Breakaway” church from the traditional SDA churches. I don’t know this as a fact, however, if it is a “Breakaway” the worship conducted by him would be looked on in a different light.
A little more feedback and then I’ll let it go.
Lest we rely upon the biased dogma of human beings, let us peruse the Scriptures themselves:
Psalms 150, penned by none other than King David himself, says “Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.”
If David’s worship was good enough for God, why should I deviate from that? By the way, you won’t hear me begrudging the critics for their positions on Biblical worship. But if you think God intended for man to praise Him by avoiding syncopation, insisting upon 4/4 time signatures, including only pianos or violins, and asking their neighbors to refrain from moving their legs during the song service, you are incorrect. The Scriptures themselves attest to that.
One more thing. I’ve met dozens of the members of this church personally. I’ve supped with them. I’ve visited with them. I’ve sang to them as their loved ones lay dying of the maladies of this world. I’ve prayed with them, worshipped with them, and conversed with them. I’ve done the same with the “heathen, diabolical” pastor you Pharisees so crudely bludgeon. I will tell you this. The Bible clearly states “You shall know them by the fruits of their spirit.” I have met no more fruitful congregation than this one. You would be privileged to worship among them. And you know what else? Despite your pejorative refrains, they would still welcome you with open arms.
God bless you all, despite your biases. And Happy Sabbath to you as well!
God is holy so we must worship with holiness.David did many sinful things like, killing, fornication, adulting, lying, deceiving etc that’s doesn’t mean it was or is right
https://youtu.be/ADRSdBHcL2w?si=yLKdO-8sLDFy5qON
https://youtu.be/50Pzx4iNyCY?si=n9cphdupKzVJWkpf
Alas my brother, we surely need pastors but these should be converted Christians first let alone seventh-day Adventists with a special message for our time.
There is no hate like Christian love. You have all proven that to me in the comments.
Not even a good rap or even in tune! Hated the song, hated the concept, hated that it was during communion. Sickening.
This pastor lost his job.
No he didnt
WILSON; He resigned
Brothers and sisters don’t forget Satan has his people working full time to mislead the flock. anyway someone who has the spirit of God knows that that isn’t from God. Satan’s followers just follow him
The world loves it’s RAP music, RAP beat and RAP artists, an indisputable product of the world’s entertainment industry… clearly not born of a holy spirit. What we have witnessed here is the mixing of the common things of the world with the sacred themes of heavenly origin… which is defined profane. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him 1John2:15. We must pray for our pastors and leadership of which many are under the spell of trying to be culturally relevant by combining the common with the sacred. The sacred themes of salvation have the power to stand on their own. And can only stand on their own, as they are not of human origin. Yes, we are not to judge this pastor, rather love him, pray for him and be concerned for his Christian growth and that of his congregation. Scripture does counsel us to discern the spirits 1Cor12:10, and try the spirits whether they be of God 1John4:1. The nature of judging verses discerning and trying are a very different process.
Those who defend their position in favour of psychedelic worship styles, misapplying scripture and misquoting David, are surely not ignorant of other bible passages and the need to compare scripture with scripture, line upon line, precept upon precept to understand God’s will in this day of atonement;
Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments (Amos 5:23).
You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end (Amos 6:5-7).
World music in church is mixing truth with error. It is Baal worship in verity. Music is not just the lyrics , there is a place for music in praise but not every kind of music (including beat and tune) is fit for the sanctuary especially on such an important communion service. Unconverted and unsanctified hearts yearn for world music just like what we saw in hippie movement of 1960s and 1970s. There is nothing new under the sun. Scriptures are indeed our safeguard:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him ( 1 John 2:15).
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God ( Colossians 3:16).
Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, Ephesians 5:19)
Finally brethren, 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).
May God help all those being deceived by this hippie movement, the psychedelic Worship, hipster Christianity.
honestly, in their minds, i don’t think any who criticize this video, condemn the pastor. myself, i could not watch it all. what i do find wrong is the approach. all thru the bible we are cautioned to not take the worldly things into our life, or worship. we are called to be separate, different, than the world. could there be those, especially of youth, to be drawn to Christ? maybe. yet what condition might they be in or remain in? i’ve been reading lately in Prophets and Kings the history of Solomon. in it, there’s a chapter on “the wise mans fall.” in all of Solomons wisdom, he forgot to seek the Lord in everything, and in his own wisdom believed himself able to win all his pagan wives to God. we all know how that story ended, shrines and idols, even temples erected for their gods. i think we shouldn’t incorporate any worldly things, ideas, practices, even in music, into our lives. having said and believing that, i will say that there is some secular music with lofty, or high virtue, songs about topics that point to the good, not the base. the one who mentioned that we shouldn’t be influenced by those outside the church, but should influence the culture and society is correct. after the death of Jesus, and then Stephen, by the end of the 1st century, the apostles and disciples had taken the gospel of Christ into India, even to China to the east, and as far as most of northern Europe, perhaps even into England and the British Isles, in just one generation, and turned the world upside down. i don’t think they did that by accepting cultural practices into their message, but by the power of God. i’ve said this before though, there are worldly ways that the devil will use to draw our young ones, and older, away, as is said, “by any means necessary.” he doesn’t care, even in just one point. if our people, young, older, are being drawn away, one thing we should consider is this. is there something we are lacking? that’s a legitimate question. in the message to the angel of Laodicea, Revelation 3:20, remember, this is addressed to the church, us, me, “i stand at the door and knock.” where is Jesus in this picture? He’s wanting in. perhaps, just consider, though we have let Him in, invited His in, perhaps there’s some portion of the house we have kept closed? is Jesus coming soon? we don’t know the day and hour, yet as we look at events and what’s going on in every aspect, we see things like they’ve never been before. (i’m speaking from my age. some things i’m sure anyone under 40-45 might not remember or know) personally, i think it could be real soon, if things continue as they are. are we of those who think that with a twinkle of the eye or a snap of the fingers at His return He will change us in character, or should we not be letting Him who overcome the world, change us now. i think He is waiting on us.
It might be helpful to watch The Distraction Dilema Chrystian Berdayl…
There’s certainly a lot to know about this issue.
I really like all of the points you have made.