On November 4, 2023, G. Alexander Bryant, the President of the North American Division, visited the Market Street Seventh-day Adventist Church in Oakland, CA, for their 100-year anniversary. Before President Bryant got up to speak, the church’s choir performed what has been characterized as dynamic worship—a style of worship that is gaining wide acceptance in the church today and is represented by loud, lively, contemporary music, booming drums, dancing, swaying, and an electrifying atmosphere.
The North American Division President Once Again Endorses Dynamic Worship with Drumming, Dancing, Swaying, and a Bedlam of Noise #sda #adventist #adventista pic.twitter.com/GGQFTIqn8g
— Advent Messenger (@Advent1844) November 13, 2023
The Market Street SDA church’s dynamic worship service and music delighted President Bryant, who said the following:
“Don’t you just want to lift your hands to Him? God is in this house. Let’s give the Lord another ‘Hallelujah.’ Let’s say a special praise, amen, to the choir, amen, for allowing the Lord to use you in such a marvelous and spectacular way. You lifted our hearts heavenward. I would like to say congratulations to the Market Street Seventh-day Adventist Church for a marvelous accomplishment. On behalf of the 1.2 million members, brothers and sisters, from around the Division, what a wonderful and blessed and beautiful day this is.” (Twitter [X] video).
Even though men on earth recognize and acknowledge the various cultural styles of worship, God does not recognize strange worship forms that are not in accordance with His expressed will. The Lord’s messenger, Ellen G. White, continually counsels us to raise our standards in music. She said:
“Music, when not abused, is a great blessing; but when put to a wrong use, it is a terrible curse. It excites, but does not impart that strength and courage which the Christian can find only at the throne of grace while humbly making known his wants and with strong cries and tears pleading for heavenly strength to be fortified against the powerful temptations of the evil one. Satan is leading the young captive” (Testimonies, Vol. 1, p, 497).
“Music is often perverted to serve purposes of evil, and it thus becomes one of the most alluring agencies of temptation. But, rightly employed, it is a precious gift of God, designed to uplift the thoughts to high and noble themes, to inspire and elevate the soul” (Education, p. 167).
She also tells us when and how music is perverted and abused:
“The things you have described as taking place in Indiana, the Lord has shown me would take place just before the close of probation. Every uncouth thing will be demonstrated. There will be shouting, with drums, music, and dancing. The senses of rational beings will become so confused that they cannot be trusted to make right decisions. And this is called the moving of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit never reveals itself in such methods, in such a bedlam of noise. This is an invention of Satan to cover up his ingenious methods for making of none effect the pure, sincere, elevating, ennobling, sanctifying truth for this time” (Selected Messages, Vol. 2, p. 36).
Since God is the object of our worship, let us pay attention to His instructions. Sacred music can and will bring us closer to Him, while the devil’s music will only drive us further away. Let us reject Satan’s counterfeits and embrace the truth. May the music we use play a role in our unique witness to the world about the soon coming of Christ.
Marie says
In the NAD, apostasy is not going anywhere anytime soon.
O.R. says
At least we now understand why nothing seems to change in the NAD.
Jane says
“Will the ministers awake? Will the presidents take the “Testimonies” of mercy which God has given them? Will they do something, and do it now? Will they heed the prayer of Jesus, “I sanctify myself that they may be sanctified”? Generally, the people rise no higher than the minister or the president. If he is a devoted man, losing self and selfish interest in Jesus Christ, his example will have a telling power in that direction on the people.” – {9MR 168.1}
ED says
President Bryant is a progressive pastor who embraces the liberal, inclusive philosophy. He is not interested in preserving the values that led and defined this church for over a hundred years.
Peter Earle says
Speaking from my own experience, and that of others who are moving away from the cities, I can say that ministers and leaders such as Pastor Bryant are actually driving members away from the SDA church. The straw that “broke the camel’s back” for me, was when our denominational leaders actually made a USD1M donation to the Orlando Gay nightclub shooting memorial. That was the day I decided to cancel my membership with the SDA General Conference, and the day that I became fully convinced that they had joined hands with the fallen churches. God still loves His church; it is still the object of His special care, but He will bring about a shaking such as we have not yet seen.
John Sacks says
It’s just a mystic celebration, nothing to do with uplifting Jesus. It’s a type of mantra practiced by hundreds of years by Catholic monks and passed on to so the called protestants but we have a modified version in our denominator aka spiritual formation.