Motown Musical Madness at Mt. Rubidoux Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Mt. Rubidoux Seventh-day Adventist Church in Riverside, CA featured an event called “An Evening of Motown.” It was a night of live music from the 1960s and 1970s. Musical selections were played from groups like the Jackson 5, the Supremes, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson and many others. The above video is actual footage taken from within the Mt. Rubidoux SDA Church gymnasium.

But these songs were not performed by some worldly band; they were performed by leaders and members of Mt. Rubidoux Seventh-day Adventist Church. The church sang, ate, laughed and danced the night away – all to the sound of Motown music. Below is the advertisement for the Motown event posted on the Mt. Rubidoux Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Facebook page.

In addition to bringing the Motown music madness into the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Mt. Rubidoux Seventh-day Adventist Church worship team has been exporting the Motown sound into other non-Adventist churches as well. Allan Woodson has served at Mt. Rubidoux SDA Church as worship leader, choir director, minister of music and concert coordinator. [1] He took his Seventh-day Adventist praise team to perform this non-Christian, worldly music at Seacoast Grace Church, a non-denominational Sunday-keeping church. [2] Below is a picture of Allan Woodson entertaining the people at Seacoast Grace Church:

Below is the video of Allan Woodson from Mt. Rudidoux SDA Church and part of his team singing, shouting and dancing to the popular American rock and roll song “Shout” at Seacoast Grace Church.

The Seventh-day Adventist faith is not just one of many faiths in the world. We are supposed to be the Remnant Church of Bible prophecy. And what makes us the Remnant people is the Three Angels’ Messages – not worldly Motown or Rock and Roll music. God raised up the Remnant people for one purpose and one purpose only – to proclaim the final warning message to all the world and especially to Babylon. This mission is what distinguishes us from the world and from the rest of the churches.

Performing Motown or Rock and Roll concerts in other churches to entertain them was never part of God’s plan for His people. It’s the devil’s plan and the devil’s music, but not God’s. He has no part in any of this. We have never been called to participate in the festivities of the world or to partake of their spirit by bringing all this into the church. We are not giving God any glory when the amusements of the world become the program schedule for the church.

“God requires of His people now as great a distinction from the world, in customs, habits, and principles, as He required of Israel anciently. If they faithfully follow the teachings of His word, this distinction will exist; it cannot be otherwise. The warnings given to the Hebrews against assimilating with the heathen were not more direct or explicit than are those forbidding Christians to conform to the spirit and customs of the ungodly” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 458).

Below is the original, classic Rock and Roll song “Shout” that some of our people want to use as part of a new form of “evangelization.” May God help us to resist the modern, cultural pitfalls that are designed to make of none effect the testing truths for this time.