In the 1990s and early 2000s the “seeker sensitive” church became popular. It was a church charged to seek out people that were non-Christians and make an inviting place for them. What the seeker sensitive church became, however, was a church that did not teach about sin, Jesus, the cross, and grace – the essentials of Christianity. The seeker sensitive became post-modern and became irrelevant to anyone. It lost Truth in a place that needs truth.
The thing about seeker sensitive churches is that they quite possibly did have a good idea and that was to be sensitive to the outside world (non-Christians). Unfortunately, being sensitive to the outside world does not mean removing the crosses from places of worship or removing the name Jesus from sermons, prayer, and song. Maybe sensitive means something other than what is not hung on walls or simply nice smiles when walking into a church. Instead, maybe being sensitive is being quite the opposite. Maybe sensitive to others is being real, truthful, and just being.
One of the biggest things I have heard from non-Christians’ account on Christians is that they are judgmental and hypocritical. Why - maybe because in a world full of sin everyone is a sinner. No one can cast the first stone. And when people begin throwing stones instead of love it turns people away.
Seeker sensitive can be an embrace for truth and righteousness. All of us are muddy. No one is perfect. We need to live our lives building each other in Christ, embracing sin as it is, not judging, and living to love the Lord and neighbor as oneself.
The thing about seeker sensitive churches is that they quite possibly did have a good idea and that was to be sensitive to the outside world (non-Christians). Unfortunately, being sensitive to the outside world does not mean removing the crosses from places of worship or removing the name Jesus from sermons, prayer, and song. Maybe sensitive means something other than what is not hung on walls or simply nice smiles when walking into a church. Instead, maybe being sensitive is being quite the opposite. Maybe sensitive to others is being real, truthful, and just being.
One of the biggest things I have heard from non-Christians’ account on Christians is that they are judgmental and hypocritical. Why - maybe because in a world full of sin everyone is a sinner. No one can cast the first stone. And when people begin throwing stones instead of love it turns people away.
Seeker sensitive can be an embrace for truth and righteousness. All of us are muddy. No one is perfect. We need to live our lives building each other in Christ, embracing sin as it is, not judging, and living to love the Lord and neighbor as oneself.
No comments:
Post a Comment