‘Heavy Metal Church’ SADLY Announces Two New Church Plants, Expansion of Ministry
In the summer of 2011, Senior Pastor and Founder Brian Smith launched the First Heavy Metal Church of Christ. Branded with hard rock and metal messaging and ethos, it’s clear he’s targeting a very particular audience:
According to the church website, “(We are a) bible-based church for those that would probably never step foot into a traditional church building because of snooty self-righteous, judgmental, legalistic so-called “Christians”… You know, the kind that tells you that you will go to Hell for drinking a beer, but yet Jesus turned water into wine! The kind that tells you that you will burn in Hell for smoking a cigarette because it is “harming the temple” while they are 150 pounds overweight and double-fisting McDonalds every day… Please do not blame God for these imposters… They are NOT accurately representing Jesus plain and simple.”
Like many themed churches before it, there is a focus on us-vs-them mentality, along with a distinct lack of maturity and learnedness, exemplified by the casual cussing and crass humor that permeates the content and the sermons (which are based on heavy metal song titles and bands and are really bad) Worship is eclectic, but usually involves a metal band doing hard rock or metal worship.
Smith, who is part of a secular metal band, Saint Hellion, describes himself as a “Rebel Evangelist for Christ” and a “rocker” through and through. He says “I’m not your stereotypical preacher. That is not my call. I am inked up, bald and prefer an Iron Maiden tee shirt over a dress shirt any day!”
His church leans into the ‘metal’ image. Visiting the church site for the first time gets you this message:
Their Facebook page is, in a word, grotesque. Along with posting pictures of tattoos and status updates like this, it is interspersed with crude, coarse, and frankly disgusting content.
Furthermore, it regularly features pictures of nude men and women, including a series of senior citizen nuns in skimpy bikinis for no discernible purpose other than to shock and titillate.
Sadly, this ‘church’ is growing, and recently announced church plants in New Jersey and Paintsville.
What a shame.
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On the surface, this church seems to be more entertainment for goats than bringing sinners into the light of Christ, but I may be totally wrong.
I do find the occult imagery grossly improper, but that’s just my opinion.
I’d challenge this guy to go head to head with Mike Winger the Bible Thinker. I am a lifelong conservative Lutheran. The one think at least I can for sure say is that our ministers are well trained and schooled in the Bible, languages, and deep interpretation and understanding. Not everything we ‘feel’ like doing is fine with our Savior. He came to redeem us but while we are saved by grace and faith alone, we can’t just continue to live our ‘prior’ life. Any of us. There is a HATE towards anyone in this ‘church’ towards what they call ‘a-holes’ and traditional Christians. We come as we are but we should bring our best to God, our ‘first fruits’. I have family members who adhere to this stuff and then say and proclaim on social media how much they ‘love God’. Personally I think they are deceived. And other family members accept their behavior in order not to ‘lose contact or judge them’. This is not judgemental according to the Bible but being honest because you love your fellow man and do not want them to fall into sin and eternal damnation. Makes me feel truly grieved. But we are to pray and give it to the Lord. I really do not believe the members of this church study the Bible. They hear what they want to from the pastor, or whatever he is. God save him too.
These Heavy Metal “churches” were around a bit in the late 80’s ( I remember more than a few), and seemed to suddenly disappear soon after Nirvana killed metal music if memory serves correctly. Now that Gen X is taking the place of the Boomer’s, these sorts and types of gimmicky spectacles will be more common I do fear. We do live in the days of Greg Locke after all.
Another faux Believer that labels anyone that finds their representation of Christ wanting as ‘Pharisees’
At least Alister Begg had a modicum of support for HIS spurious accusations
This gets so tiresome