Skip to main content

Announcing "The Episkopos Awards" By Steven J. Camp

Announcing "The Episkopos Awards"
...if pastors were treated like CCM artists

Each year in April the GMA (Gospel Music Association) hosts the "Dove Awards Show." The Dove Award is given to artists of all musical genres within CCM that the GMA members through voting deem worthy to receive. The award carries no real industry weight; and is, for lack of better words, an imitation Grammy for CCM artists who are not good enough to compete in the secular pop music world, but want to feel for a moment like they had. The Dove Award gives them an artificial sense of being "a real artist" with all the trappings that winning a Grammy would without actually having to win one, be good enough to win one, or having to actually compete against pop music's finest artistry. (What should be a concern to all of us as Christians, is that CCM musicians are the only part of the body of Christ that honors itself by giving awards to itself each year for serving the Lord.) No artist in CCM, if truth be told, likes The Dove's... but they do love the free "TV-air-time” and press that the broadcast of the Dove Awards affords them (even though the only "network" they can get to broadcast them is TBN). No comment needed… add your own thoughts here____________.

I had an interesting notion: could you imagine if pastors were honored with the same status of "artists" and the GMA created an award show especially for them each year? It would have to be called "The Episkopos Awards." Episkopos is the Greek word in 1 Timothy 3:1 for overseer—meaning to “look intently into the needs of another.” This is the heart of biblical eldership within pastoral ministry.

Here is a tongue and cheek approach to what the award categories on a GMA ballot might look like. As you're reading, laughing, and enjoying this sarcastic-rich list, consider praying for all in Christian music to repent of such self-aggrandizement and thank the Lord that pastors haven’t sunk to this level… YET.

Announcing GMA's latest and greatest award, "The Episkopos Awards" designed for the pastor in mind.

Sermon of the year

Exposition of the year

Best exegesis of the year using only the subjunctive, aorist, pluperfect form of the verb

Best alliteration of the year beginning with the letters S. P or A;

Best wooden pulpit, non-hydrolic, of the year

Best wooden pulpit, hydrolic, of the year

Best Plexiglas pulpit of the year

Best conference of the year not containing the words "camp" or "meeting"

Best counseling session of the year using only the Bible without using a couch, medication, or charging the session to an insurance company

Best Elder Board of the year that actually and proactively shepherded the congregation in non-crisis situations

Best Elder Board of the year that doesn't shepherd the congregation, but meets regularly to discuss the needs of the church

Best Staff planning retreat of the year without golf

Best Staff planning retreat of the year with golf

Best hymn/chorus bulletin order selection that tied into the sermon of the year

Best oration of the year

Best prayer of the year impromptu

Best prayer of the year written

Best prayer of the year taken from but not credited to a Puritan

Best offering presentation of the year without using KFC buckets

Best Church Discipline of the year

Best Restoration of the year

Best Sunday School curriculum of the year using Beth Moore materials

Best Sunday School curriculum of the year without using Beth Moore materials, but remain open to it

Best rapture sermon of the year without referring to the Left Behind Series

Best teaching tape or CD of the year

Best short form sermon, seminar, or devotional of the year

Best announcements of the year presented by a non-staff member

Best altar call of the year without singing "Just As I Am" or repeating a praise chorus more than twice

Best use of secular music as worship music of the year

Best skit of the year

Best pastor's conference of the year

Best bulletin insert of the year not prepared by a multi-level marketing company

Best vocal performance when preaching on mic

Best vocal performance when not using a mic

Best vocal performance when using a headset

Best vocal performance when not wearing a suit, but wearing an IZOD shirt and Kakis at a retreat-center

Best PowerPoint presentation of the year that you can actually read without turning off all the sanctuary lights

Best looking pastor's study of the year using real wood

Best sanctuary tech presentation of the year

Best after service most caring handshake and greeting of the year

And finally, best round of golf of the year not played on a Monday, without using a "foot-wedge," and having at least one non-Christian in the foursome (no gambling allowed)


There you go people... what do you think? We don't need stars in the body of Christ folks, but we do need servants. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see biblically trained "musician-priests" or "musicianaries" to serve the church in song, to lead God's people in praise and worship, to share the gospel, and to encourage others in the body of Christ in their walk with the Lord through Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs?

Thank the Lord for your pastor today beloved; and let them know what awaits the faithful under-shepherd of Christ is a well-done from the King of kings and Lord of lords. That's all the "award" anyone of us should ever seek in this life; and especially those in Contemporary Christian Music.

SJ Camp

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Are Arminian Baptists Legitimate Biblical Churches?

With all the discussion going on about whether Presbyterians are biblical churches because of infant baptism, I would like to ask if we believe that Arminian Baptist churches are legitimate churches? If a Baptist Church, regardless of their affiliation if any, believes in a universal, insufficient atonement by Christ, issuch Baptist Church really a biblical church? And if so, how can we say that it is when it involves the very heart of the gospel in the atonement. Further, how can we say that those Presbyterian churches that believe in a particular, sufficient atonement yet infant baptism are not biblical, yet those that believe in a universal, insufficient atonement yet believers baptism by immersion are biblical churches. Inquiring mind wants to know ;- ). Thanks..... P.S. Still Baptist and thank the Lord for it!
12 comments
Read more

Issues I Have Been Associated With Recently

The King James Only Controversy : I have been in 3 churches since the Lord was pleased to save me, the last 2 of them as a pastor. The first church was when I was not a pastor, but did teach Sunday School, and preached occasionally. It was a church that used the KJV of the bible, but neither I or the pastor was hardcore KJV Only. The second church was the first church I pastored. For the sake of some long time members in that small church, I used the King James version for sermons, but after I was there a year or two, I began using the NKJV for Scripture Readings. My third church, which is the one I'm pastoring now in Idaho, does not use the KJV. We offically use the NASB for our sermons, and the ESV many times when quoting other scriptures. I know some of my long time Christian friends from Maryland are KJV Only. I am not. I think it is an issue that we can agree to disagree on, but it seems there may be some that cannot. In the not so distant future, I'll post on the Blog why...
12 comments
Read more

Christian Discussions and Chem-Trails

What a title, huh? I just didn't want to post these separately :-). This morning as we were sending off our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren, there was a Chem-Trail right over us in the sky. Have you heard of Chem-Trails? They are chemicals being put in the sky to supposedly help with so called global warming  :-). Sadly, too many people still think this is a conspiracy theory. For those that do, I recommend you just put that in a search engine and see what comes up and just start reading. They come from the exhaust of commercial airliners, but they are not the same as "contrails." Contrails dissipate and follow the plane. Chem-trails stick around. They have certain chemicals in them (Aluminum and Barium are two of them if I recall correctly) and they just add to the list of toxins that our bodies absorb and endanger our health. If more people would pay attention and communicate with our elected officials at all levels perhaps, we could put a stop to this Lord will...
Post a Comment
Read more