I recently wrote to a friend of mine who is a Lutheran Pastor. Below is my letter and his response.
Pastor Tim,
It's funny that you should ask what I'm reading right now! I've just finished reading six books on church planting/growth. I don't know if you ever read any of these books, but they just reinforced my stand against the seeker friendly model. While there were a few good ideas on the practical side of church planting, by and large they were filled with humanistic thinking and pop psychology. I could go on about it, but I will spare you the details. I'm amazed how many people have been sucked into this lie. Jesus was not "seeker sensitive". He told his listeners to take up their cross, deny themselves and follow Him. He added that they must forsake all in this world to truly be His disciple. Not very seeker sensitive.
And what of the first century church? What of Annanias and Saphira? Again, not seeker sensitive!
If a lost person were seeking God, ( Paul said , "there is none that seeketh after God, no not one." ) they would be hard pressed to find Him in most churches today! I have studied this diligently and I am convinced of the following:
1- Sinners do not seek God! No man comes to the Father unless the Father draws him. Therefore the entire modern day movement is based upon a lie.
2- The only ones who seek God are those who have already found Him! That's why the believer goes to Church, to Bible study, to prayer meetings. To pursue God!
Pastor Tim,
It's funny that you should ask what I'm reading right now! I've just finished reading six books on church planting/growth. I don't know if you ever read any of these books, but they just reinforced my stand against the seeker friendly model. While there were a few good ideas on the practical side of church planting, by and large they were filled with humanistic thinking and pop psychology. I could go on about it, but I will spare you the details. I'm amazed how many people have been sucked into this lie. Jesus was not "seeker sensitive". He told his listeners to take up their cross, deny themselves and follow Him. He added that they must forsake all in this world to truly be His disciple. Not very seeker sensitive.
And what of the first century church? What of Annanias and Saphira? Again, not seeker sensitive!
If a lost person were seeking God, ( Paul said , "there is none that seeketh after God, no not one." ) they would be hard pressed to find Him in most churches today! I have studied this diligently and I am convinced of the following:
1- Sinners do not seek God! No man comes to the Father unless the Father draws him. Therefore the entire modern day movement is based upon a lie.
2- The only ones who seek God are those who have already found Him! That's why the believer goes to Church, to Bible study, to prayer meetings. To pursue God!
Steve,
You are more Lutheran than you think. I probably have read at least half of them and have a similar opinion of them. They are great for some practical advice and ideas, but the concept and theology behind them is flawed. The biggest problem I have with the seeker friendly model is that worship is intended for Christians, not seekers or non-Christian. When your worship is totally geared to those outside the body of Christ, you not only forget to feed and strengthen the body, but you risk watering down the message. I truly believe that if you follow the guidelines in those books, you would have a great chance of building a large church, but at a huge cost. It becomes about perceived human needs and consumerism, not about our true need: forgiveness. I saw this in our neighbors. They went to Cedar Creek and liked it, but their attendance was sporadic at best. They went when they felt like it and didn't really understand the true need. I believe that God is working on them through Cedar Creek, but it is as of yet still about them and not about Christ. Now, I truly believe that churches need to be guest friendly and need to evangelize, but the focus of Sunday worship needs to be the elect, not the guests. Otherwise, small groups become the only thing left for the members to grow.
I'm sorry if I ranted and I may be wrong on a couple of points, but this is what I think is Biblical. I have thought about this a lot. I believe God wants the church to grow, but I don't believe that seeker-friendly and mega-churches are necessarily the best way. I do think that most of the people involved in this lie are sincere, just misguided. As usual, it comes down to a theology of glory, rather than a theology of the cross. In other words, Christianity is not about us and how we succeed or feel, but about Christ and the cross. We are not called to glory, but to a cross as you said. That said, we do need to pray for them as some of the leaders of the Church Growth movement are starting to see its flaws. They lament the lack of maturity/growth of many of their members and the number of people that fall away after a short time. I hope they see that until people realize their true spiritual poverty and need, that they have nothing to offer God and that they are headed to hell without him, they will be luke-warm at best. (I need to remind myself of this also). It is about Christ and not about us.
You are more Lutheran than you think. I probably have read at least half of them and have a similar opinion of them. They are great for some practical advice and ideas, but the concept and theology behind them is flawed. The biggest problem I have with the seeker friendly model is that worship is intended for Christians, not seekers or non-Christian. When your worship is totally geared to those outside the body of Christ, you not only forget to feed and strengthen the body, but you risk watering down the message. I truly believe that if you follow the guidelines in those books, you would have a great chance of building a large church, but at a huge cost. It becomes about perceived human needs and consumerism, not about our true need: forgiveness. I saw this in our neighbors. They went to Cedar Creek and liked it, but their attendance was sporadic at best. They went when they felt like it and didn't really understand the true need. I believe that God is working on them through Cedar Creek, but it is as of yet still about them and not about Christ. Now, I truly believe that churches need to be guest friendly and need to evangelize, but the focus of Sunday worship needs to be the elect, not the guests. Otherwise, small groups become the only thing left for the members to grow.
I'm sorry if I ranted and I may be wrong on a couple of points, but this is what I think is Biblical. I have thought about this a lot. I believe God wants the church to grow, but I don't believe that seeker-friendly and mega-churches are necessarily the best way. I do think that most of the people involved in this lie are sincere, just misguided. As usual, it comes down to a theology of glory, rather than a theology of the cross. In other words, Christianity is not about us and how we succeed or feel, but about Christ and the cross. We are not called to glory, but to a cross as you said. That said, we do need to pray for them as some of the leaders of the Church Growth movement are starting to see its flaws. They lament the lack of maturity/growth of many of their members and the number of people that fall away after a short time. I hope they see that until people realize their true spiritual poverty and need, that they have nothing to offer God and that they are headed to hell without him, they will be luke-warm at best. (I need to remind myself of this also). It is about Christ and not about us.
