The Florida Conference Spanish Camp Meeting Featured New Dress Codes and A New Version of the Hymn “How Great Thou Art” Complete with Loud Drums

On April 28–30, 2023, the Florida Conference of Seventh-day Adventists held their Spanish Camp Meeting, called Building the Kingdom, at Camp Kulaque in High Spring, Florida. [1] During one of the worship services that took place on Sabbath, April 29, 2023, a version of the famous beloved hymn “How Great Thou Art” was sung with contemporary music and loud drums. The classic, distinctive hymn was completely destroyed by the new modern rendition, which sounded eerily similar to pop or rock music.

The following first-hand report was published by Baluarte:

“This past weekend (April 28–30, 2023), my family and I were excited to attend this event, but after witnessing the worship service (singing service), we were very disappointed. The music and singing were literally rock-style. Drums and electric guitar were used, and apart from the clothing of the women singers with their short skirts, they reflected that the worship was not for God. The noise was so terrible that we had to leave the place. That did not look like a Seventh-day Adventist Church singing service. How sad it is to see that Satan is trying to get into our church through music and the Conference that allows it. They were not praising the true God. It makes me sad and angry to see that the Florida Conference is becoming so liberal to the point of choosing a group that sings and praises in such a way at an event as sacred as a Sabbath annual camp meeting. How beautiful are the hymns. I don’t understand why, with such a beautiful repertoire of songs and melodies, it is no longer used for this type of event. In heaven, we are not going to worship in the same way as they did in the camp meeting. Why then do they allow our worship to be done incorrectly (as the world would) now that we are in the end times before the coming of Jesus?” [2]

But it’s not just the music that has become a problem. Dress codes for attending, participating, and leading out in worship have become nonexistent. God has given us biblical standards on dress and music that should not just be part of our personal lives but, most importantly, part of the life of the church during worship. Our Christian standards in dress should reflect the high standards, moral purity, and holy life to which God is calling us. All that we do should be done to the glory of God.

Short skirts are not intended to be comfortable or convenient for the wearer; rather, they are a stylistic design made to catch the eye of the beholder by revealing the maximum amount of skin. Unfortunately, a lot of church members today refuse to accept that fact. They might not have considered it that way, or they might just be dressing according to the latest trends. But make no mistake, the fashion designers had a deliberate provocative purpose in mind, and their goal is achieved when people cannot avoid the unnecessary exposure of the flesh.

No Seventh-day Adventist girl or woman should follow any fashion that takes the minds of their fellow worshipers off the holy purpose for which they have come to church. But how can they avoid this when these distractions stand on the platform before the congregation? This is not criticism. The low dress standards have become so open and in your face. All the members of the congregation, including children and visitors, are forced to look at what is happening on the stage.

Today, church services have become reduced to either fashion or circus shows, with young girls dressed in short skirts standing in front of the congregation and singing “How Great Thou Art.” What is happening in Latin America? What is happening in churches around the world? How can we reduce the holy worship of Jehovah to loud drumming, contemporary pop/rock music, and models showcasing their worldly dress codes, or the lack of clothing?

Let no one suppose that women are alone to blame for this situation. Not at all, no. Pastors and other leaders are responsible for allowing this to occur. We have leaders in positions of trust who are allowing the cancellation of our biblical standards in the church. This is causing us to become indistinguishable from the world around us. We would therefore appeal to our pastors to educate their congregations and their members about inappropriate dress that so often reflects our broken culture.

“Those who are to prepare the way for the second coming of Christ, are represented by faithful Elijah, as John came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for Christ’s first advent. The great subject of reform is to be agitated, and the public mind is to be stirred. Temperance in all things is to be connected with the message, to turn the people of God from their idolatry, their gluttony, and their extravagance in dress and other things. The self-denial, humility, and temperance required of the righteous, whom God especially leads and blesses, is to be presented to the people in contrast to the extravagant, health-destroying habits of those who live in this degenerate age” (Counsels on Health, p. 72).

Sources

[1] https://campestre.floridaconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Campestre-Booklet-2023-LowRes.pdf

[2] https://fb.watch/kphHo4TGeC/