On Being Relevant
I had the chance to sit down for a while with my pastor today and chat (when you're unemployed and looking for a job, you fortunately, and unfortunately, have the time to do this). We talked about trends in the modern church.
Many churches are growing larger because of what is termed the "seeker-sensitive" focus. Let me be up front: I am not against reaching out to non-Christians in the community. However, we discussed the trend of churches today that go so far as to create a church that a non-believer would not object to.
What do I mean by this? Well, not to pick on anyone particular (because more than one church is doing this), but Rick Warren certainly comes to mind. He's the author of the book A Purpose Driven Life and pastors a church of close to 20,000 people. I do not have a problem with the beliefs that are proposed on the website, it's the absence of them in the services (of which, there are eight different worship rooms you can choose from, depending on your taste in music). Gearing the worship service--the music, the sermon, etc. toward what the audience will tolerate or want to hear is going beyond being relavent. It can be almost irresponsible.
Why? Well, when a non-believer visits and over a successive amount of weeks cannot make a distinction between himself and a professing believer, he may believe that he has come into Christianity. I mean, as long as he does the 4 things that will make him a better husband, 5 things to be a better father, etc., he thinks he's doing all he needs to do. Church should not be a self-help conference that has no distinguishing elements from a combination of a rock concert and Tony Robbins. Am I saying that having contemporary music is bad? NO! I'm simply saying that much of what goes on in contemporary churches simply is not God-honoring worship. I've sung some praise choruses that do in fact have deep meaning, but there are some that do nothing but try to stir the singers into an emotional high.
And if today's pastors are not willing to call sin what it is, and call for people to repent, then how is the Gospel preached? In our conversation, my pastor said that he views, in some way, the masses at these churches as the crowd of 5,000 that Jesus fed. They were supremely interested and amazed when they were given physical food by Jesus, and many wanted what He could possibly give them in the form of a militaristic or governmental Messiah in leading them to freedom from the Romans. But when He spoke of them having to partake of Him, and when Jesus said that the flesh did not profit, but that only the Spirit can give life, many left walking with Him (see the end of John 6). Similarly, a good number in these churches, if plainly told the Gospel and what that means for them, might leave. As it stands, they are given church on their terms, in the way they like it.
Am I saying that Warren is heretical? Certainly not. But I might say that He is doing many of his attenders a great disservice by trying to be so relavent as to water down the Gospel to the point that his hearers do not know what it truly is.
The upshot of all this: if these pastors created church in a way that will try to get unbelievers in the door at any cost (to grow numbers), can they draw the line anywhere?
Many churches are growing larger because of what is termed the "seeker-sensitive" focus. Let me be up front: I am not against reaching out to non-Christians in the community. However, we discussed the trend of churches today that go so far as to create a church that a non-believer would not object to.
What do I mean by this? Well, not to pick on anyone particular (because more than one church is doing this), but Rick Warren certainly comes to mind. He's the author of the book A Purpose Driven Life and pastors a church of close to 20,000 people. I do not have a problem with the beliefs that are proposed on the website, it's the absence of them in the services (of which, there are eight different worship rooms you can choose from, depending on your taste in music). Gearing the worship service--the music, the sermon, etc. toward what the audience will tolerate or want to hear is going beyond being relavent. It can be almost irresponsible.
Why? Well, when a non-believer visits and over a successive amount of weeks cannot make a distinction between himself and a professing believer, he may believe that he has come into Christianity. I mean, as long as he does the 4 things that will make him a better husband, 5 things to be a better father, etc., he thinks he's doing all he needs to do. Church should not be a self-help conference that has no distinguishing elements from a combination of a rock concert and Tony Robbins. Am I saying that having contemporary music is bad? NO! I'm simply saying that much of what goes on in contemporary churches simply is not God-honoring worship. I've sung some praise choruses that do in fact have deep meaning, but there are some that do nothing but try to stir the singers into an emotional high.
And if today's pastors are not willing to call sin what it is, and call for people to repent, then how is the Gospel preached? In our conversation, my pastor said that he views, in some way, the masses at these churches as the crowd of 5,000 that Jesus fed. They were supremely interested and amazed when they were given physical food by Jesus, and many wanted what He could possibly give them in the form of a militaristic or governmental Messiah in leading them to freedom from the Romans. But when He spoke of them having to partake of Him, and when Jesus said that the flesh did not profit, but that only the Spirit can give life, many left walking with Him (see the end of John 6). Similarly, a good number in these churches, if plainly told the Gospel and what that means for them, might leave. As it stands, they are given church on their terms, in the way they like it.
Am I saying that Warren is heretical? Certainly not. But I might say that He is doing many of his attenders a great disservice by trying to be so relavent as to water down the Gospel to the point that his hearers do not know what it truly is.
The upshot of all this: if these pastors created church in a way that will try to get unbelievers in the door at any cost (to grow numbers), can they draw the line anywhere?
posted by Dan B. @ 2:47 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home