Are You Not Entertained?

"Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?"

The above quote is from the movie Gladiator starring Russell Crowe, who plays a gladiator named Maximus. In one memorable scene, Maximus enters a crowded arena and kills several opponents in just a few moments. After his last opponent falls he turns to the crowd and utters the famous line about being entertained.

That movie might be fictional and set in ancient Rome, but our hearts go through life asking that same question: "Am I entertained? Isn't this why I'm here?"

The origin of this word is from Old Middle English and it means, "to hold mutually." Apparently, the Old Middle English word is derived from a French word which is derived from a Latin word, which is actually two words put together: inter- and -tenere.

Inter- basically means, "between or among." Think about the word intercede. That means that someone gets between two parties in order to restore something. Or the word interject, where someone throws a remark between or among other conversation. Someone might interfere, meaning that they get among the concerns of others without their approval. You get the point.

The word -tenere means "to hold, or keep" and is where we get our English word "tenet," which refers to a belief or strong opinion that someone holds tightly to as true, or a belief that they keep close to them.

So, when you entertain someone, you are keeping someone among you. There is a mutuality to it, so both parties are involved.

This is why when your parents had company over when you were growing up, they called it "entertaining." If you look closely at the word "entertain," you will see the word "enter" and the word "in." You enter into my life, and I enter into yours, and in that space there is hospitality, grace, kindness, love, edifying conversation, laughter and edifying relationship.

This is why your mom put out the fine china and fixed a superstar meal. It is why she had you light a few candles and turn on some soothing music. When our parents entertained company, they did this to say, "You are worth the fuss. You matter to us, and we are thankful you are in our lives." Isn't that a beautiful picture?

But it isn't always about people. It can also be about ideas. We entertain certain thoughts and truths, meaning that we allow the exchange of ideas among us, and figure out which ones we will keep and which ones we will discard. We listen to an idea and take it into consideration.

Somewhere along the way, though, the word "entertain" became synonymous with the word "amuse." When we think of entertainment today, we are really thinking of amusement. Instead of selflessly giving of yourself to another, and inviting others to enter into your space, it became the selfish, individualist seeking of pleasure. Instead of engaging the mind to think about concepts and ideas, it became about the emotions, what someone felt or experienced.

The reason this matters is that our culture keeps asking the question: "Am I amused? Am I having a good time? Is this an emotionally moving experience I am having? Isn't that what life is all about?" The result is a society that values self-expression over self-sacrifice, getting rather than giving, being served rather than serving, and feeling rather than thinking. Every one is chasing that all elusive experience that will amuse them, make them feel good, and scratch their self-focused itch.

We've come a long way from the mutually holding of each other together to express love, gratitude, conversation and the exchange of ideas with grace and hospitality.

Sadly, from my point of view as a pastor, this same mindset is dominating many in the church. We want the pastor to entertain us, meaning, "Move us. Make us laugh. Make us cry. Make us feel something...some passion, some joy, some life, something." We want the music to amuse us. "Sing something that moves me, that makes my hands go up, that blows me away, that gives me chills. Play it loud. Play it soft. Play it long...just long enough to absorb me into it."

"I don't want to think. Just feel. I don't want to give, just take. I don't want to serve, just sit. And above all else, I want to be able to hear my kids say, 'I had fun...it was so entertaining.'"

Goose bumps seem more sought after than the gospel these days in the modern church. "Let me figure out what is true, you just make me feel good about myself." A little less Bible, and a little more me. Or at least make every story and passage in the Bible about me.

Because of the cultural redefinition of "entertainment," we expect our pastors and worship leaders to entertain us, in the modern sense of the word, and many of them feel that pressure to figure out how to outdo last week and increase their entertainment value. After all, isn't that what the people want? So we ask our questions: Wasn't the music awesome? Did he wow you with his sermon? Don't you think everyone needs to come and hear him preach? Isn't he amazing? We never know what he's going to do next. He's like a magician or something with all those props, and a comedian with all those jokes. (Sadly, he has made the Bible disappear in his act, and turned the pulpit into a joke. But we are nonetheless entertained!)

I realize I'm being a little over the top. But it does deeply concern me, how we judge sermons, ministries, and churches on how much or little we are entertained, I mean amused/moved/wowed, by them.

In truth, I want to pastor an entertaining church. I really do. Where people invite others in to their lives for mutual encouragement in the gospel. Where people challenge themselves to think deeply about the truths of the gospel, and let that fuel their emotions. Where people are welcomed to entertain the ideas of the gospel, and wrestle with truth in a safe environment full of love and absent of emotionalism and manipulation. And especially where Jesus is always the guest of honor in our Sunday gatherings, and where we desire to serve Him well, because He is worth all the fuss.