Several months ago I was giving someone a tour of the South Side church building and when they walked into the auditorium they said, “Wow, this looks like a church”. I am not sure exactly what they meant by that, but I assume the pews, the stained glass windows, Bibles, hymnals, communion table, baptistery, pulpit, gave it away! But there are many in the Churches of Christ trying so hard to not look like a church. They don’t want to offend the “unchurched” (not my word, but their word). This type of thinking is called “seeker sensitive”. It is a very popular approach to the church today—popularized by the likes of Rick Warren and Bill Hybels.
Although not all churches doing some of the following things are “seeker sensitive”, these are red flags that a church is leaning that way:
* Moving or eliminating the communion table
* Promoting casual dress—including the evangelist in the pulpit (no suit and tie anymore)
* Removing the pews
* Adding lots of multimedia (movie clips, etc)
* Shortening sermons
* Using paraphrases instead of reliable translations in preaching and teaching
* Removing an invitation
* Often participate in interdenominational activities (The “seeker sensitive” often believes that we are not to judge other people’s faith)
* Expanding the song service, usually with contemporary songs on a screen
* Eliminating the eldership and promoting coaches
* Replace “saving the lost” with “reaching the unchurched”
* Evangelist becomes “the pastor”.
We saw a good example of this as we were traveling back from Delmarva Family Camp. We went by a church which had a sign outside of it that read: A church for a people who don’t like church. A church with a sign like that, seems to be a church that does what it can to be a “seeker sensitive” church. When I mentioned this to someone at South Side, they said, I wonder if there will be a heaven for people who do not like heaven.
By studying the sermons of the Old and New Testament, I wonder how many of the spokesmen for God were “seeker sensitive”? I would venture to say that even Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount would not be classified as “seeker sensitive”.
I wonder just how “seeker sensitive” the prophet Elijah was. I am sure these words were said in a way as to not offend the idol worshippers of his day:
Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened (I Kings 18:27).
“Seeker sensitive”? I think not!
I wonder if we would classify John the Immerser’s sermons as “seeker sensitive”? When he saw the Pharisees and Sadducees coming out to be immersed, he said to them:
You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham (Matthew 3:7-9).
“Seeker sensitive”? I think not!
How about the “seeker sensitive” sermon of the Apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost:
Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified and Be saved from this perverse generation! (Acts 2:36, 40).
“Seeker sensitive”? I think not!
It is interesting that the Apostles were not afraid of offending the lost—and even after offending them, 3000 people were immersed into Christ for the forgiveness of their sins on that day!
I want to be part of a church that is not necessarily “seeker sensitive” but rather is promoting the plan of the New Testament! I am glad that South Side is the latter!
And besides all this, the true “Seeker” is God! He is seeking fellowship with the church! He is seeking and saving those who are lost! He is seeking faithfulness in the church! He is the one and true living God who does not wish any to perish, but for all to come to eternal life. He is the God who seeks the lost and wants them to believe and be immersed in order to be saved—and if someone disbelieves that he should respond to the Gospel, he will be condemned (Mark 16:16).
“Seeker sensitive”? I think not!
