Please forgive my ignorance of this topic, but in my view the philosophy and idea of seeker-sensitive is nothing new.  The term may be new but I see it in the Gospels in how Jesus himself deals with people.  Did he not seek the lost regardless of the circumstances or how that person was viewed by society.  We can look at the Samaritan women at the well, the woman caught in adultery, and so on.  Jesus ministered to the people that needed HIM (we all do) even with the religious people telling Him that it was not right.  Again I may be simplisic in my approach to this but I see the whole thing as just part of the great commission and the echoings of Paul.  We have a responsibility to promote the Gospel message and make disciples.  If that means learning what will draw them in then we must learn.

I am a member of a seeker-sensitive church.  I am not anti-seeker, but I think that the criticism concerning the “watered-down” nature of the seeker movement is warranted in some sense.  First, I would say that the seeker movement’s missional focus is well intentioned.  Where I see the seeker movement falling short of its divinely ordained purpose is in the realm of discipleship.  Many...not all...seeker-sensitive churches never move beyond the culture-centered message to foster biblical literacy and true biblical wisdom among those who are not “new converts” in the church.  The criticisms levied against seeker movements, then, have been too comprehesive.  There has not been a serious attempt to augment certain aspects of seeker-sensitive churches.  In other words, there are a lot of people wagging their fingers at the seeker sensitive churches, but not a lot of people who recognize the problems inherent in the movement and team with the movement to try to keep the good and fix the bad.  For whatever reason, the Christian community does not do a great job of imaging the “body” metaphor.  Instead, they tend to look at the feet critically while they (the hands) stand aloof from the hard work of making ministry happen.  I myself am critical of the seeker movement.  There need to be reforms made, particularly in the areas of education and in presenting a fuller view of God, but I do not want to abandon the seeker church because of these imperfections.  I would rather jump in as a capable reformer (I am a PhD student in Old Testament Theology) to try to add to the ministry of the seeker church.  In short, to those who levy criticisms, I would say that they need to do so with grace realizing that the churches they attend also fall short of the standars set in Scripture.  I would also suggest that pointing out problems is not always enough.  At some point, God’s people need to cooperate with one another rather than flocking together in monolithic communities that do not promote the sort of diversity that the body of Christ is meant to display.

I think this is an important discussion to have. Like many I have been very distrustful of the church growth movement. I know that the original theme and motivation was to win souls to Christ. However, somewhere along the way it appears that some pastors/churches became so focused on numbers and growth that compromises have been made to reach and sustain the numbers and growth. I have heard of churches removing every symbol of Christianity from its building (perhaps this is a over worked rumor) this causes me concern. As the secular world pushes for a vague form of religion that is appealing to all we must understand that is not the goal or role God had in mind for His church. We are a peculiar people caught out of the world and there will always be some that will hate us. We must know that the defining reason for this is that we preach Christ and Him crucified.

1 Corinthians 1:22-24 (NKJV)
22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks[a] foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

John 15:18-20 (NKJV)
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

I quote these because I think that sometime in our attempt to win the world we neglect the elect. Why are Christian divorces higher than non-Christians. Have we lost our focus? Are we feeding the sheeping or chasing the world. Just my thoughts, again I believe we need to have these discussions to help us untie on one accord. But please know some of us are concerned with the direction of the modern day church.

Seeker sensitive: The Word became flesh. He wore the clothing of first century Jews, spoke their language, sang their songs, participated in their Seder. Was it a compromise for the Word of God to come in the form of a first century Jew? Some of the Pharisees thought so.

Seeker sensitive: The apostle Paul said, “To the Jews I come as a Jew, to the Gentiles I come as a Gentile, so that some might be saved.” Was it a compromise? Some of the Judaizers thought so.

Frankly, I’ll stand with Jesus and Paul.

I’m sure there are some seeker sensitive churches that water down the message. But I’ve seen plenty of churches that do things in the traditional (1950s) way and water down the gospel to “feel-good” or “do-good” messages, without dealing with sin, conviction, repentance, our need for the cross, etc. Sometimes there’s no mention of Jesus! I’ve also attended seeker sensitive churches that present the whole gospel without apology or compromise.

It’s time for the “seeker sensitive bashers” to get over it. The method is not sacred. The message is.

Basically - the battlecry of today that I have found is ‘authenticity’. Non-believers are turned off by fake Christians. Cut-to-the-chase, uncompromising preaching does not turn them away. It is if they walk in the doors and see that everyone - since they are so fake - is so different from them that they don’t fit in.

Great discussion, folks!  I think we need to be having it in the Church.  I do agree with James Spencer’s post to a large degree.  Having pastored, re-started a church, gone through the church-planting process, etc, but now in Higher Education, I see the need to address the potential problems with a seeker model without throwing the baby out, as it were.  I also agree with James, that it mainly lies in the discipleship and educational areas.  In other words, we’re running the risk of having good topsoil an inch thick.  We need good models that meet people ‘where they are’ but move them in whatever means best for that congregation to Orthodoxy in its purest forms.

While it is true that all churches that are labeled “seeker-sensitive” do not all deserve the same criticisms, it is also true that some of the criticisms are deserved.  Two example that are very good from people who have been there, and are not just speaking “out of hand,” come from two differnt poles of the arguement.  Alan Wolfe, a self-confessed secular Jew, writes in his book, “The Transformation of American Religion”, that after visiting many “mega churches” he is convinced that the church is largely irrelevent for today because rather than shaping a people to a message, the church is being shaped by the people of the culture (read here “world").  Another writer who is well informed and comes from a conservative evangelical perspective is Os Guinness who warns of the danger of the “seeker sensitive” movement in “Dining with the Devil.” His warning is in line with Wolfe, and that is “how much of the culture is too much?” Guinness also writes a great critique on the churches worship of relevance in “Prophetic Untimeliness” that demonstrates the churches love affair with the idea of being relevant to the culture rather than showing the culture why the gospel is relevant.  Finally, the church will always take on parts of the “world” or “culture,” because the gathering of God’s people does not happen in a vacuum, but within time and space.  However, how much of the culture should encroach upon the church?  That is the question for the ages.  One final thought:  while it is true that we should be friendly and loving to our brothers and our neighbors and we do not want to offend for offense sake; isn’t it also true no matter what group you join or become a part of, that that group has a particular vocabulary or culture that must be learned by those who join.  In other words, is it wise to change our vocabulary, or is it more loving to teach the lost what our vocabulary, rituals, and signs mean?  Of course, this opens up the entire debate of what is worship and the gathering of the saints for any way (Oh, for another day).

I’ve heard much of the same about the seeker-sensitive movement, though I’ve not been to such a church.

For years I’ve been bothered by the fact that believers have their own jargon. Of course, all groups do, from mechanics to pizza delivery drivers to brain surgeons. We have a right to our own as well, apart from one factor: our King has ordered us to reach the world.

I suspect that much of the SS criticism could equally apply to most churches.

It’s been said the Evangelical movement — ‘with an emphasis on the jelly’ — is a mile wide and an inch deep. But I doubt that elimination of SS churches from the mix would change the statistic which, for example, shows as many divorces among Christians as in the society at large.

Another example: many have noted the tendency by conservative churches to preach against tobacco and alcohol, then adjourn to the fellowship hall to become gluttons and gossips.

We tend to pick our own sins. I doubt that SS churches are necessarily guiltier than others.

Jesus and Paul were certainly seeking to save the lost.  But unless we oversimplify and make seeker-sensitve only about culturally relevant forms and language, let us not forget the actual content of the preaching of Jesus and Paul.

They strongly warned people that unless they repented they would die in their sins.  On at least two occasions that we know about Jesus’ sermon caused almost everyone to leave!  (the woman caught in adultery and the John 6 ‘unless you eat my flesh’ sermons.)

If Jesus is our model, then we need to be willing to not only befriend sinner but also to offend those who love their sin! (and that by the way is just about everyone!)

I say “yes” to savy cultural formats, and “yes” to the uncompromised preaching of Truth.

I’ve listened to Joel Osteen numerous times and I’ve yet to hear him even mention the Cross or Repentance or giving up everything to follow Christ.  It’s seems to be about how to keep your nose clean and get all the goodies you can out of this life.  But Jesus warned people, “He who seeks to save his life will lose it” and that you can “gain the world and lose your soul”!

I have seen non-seeker sensitive churches “water-down” the Gospel. More of the mainline churches than ever are afraid to discuss sin, the blood of Christ, and human struggle for fear of loss of funding. Now THAT’S what I call “watered down.”

Finger pointing and these off-base accusations come from spiritual immaturity. I really think Paul said it best when he said, “As long as they’re preaching Christ!”

Love God.  Love Everyone.  Preach The Gospel. Baptize.  Make Disciples (not JUST converts).  That’s the plan.  The method? Not an issue as long as the great commandment and the great commission are the focus.  There are bad seeker churches, and there are bad traditional churches.  The wagging of fingers at each other has got to stop.  Those who most often accuse are usually guilty of the same crime.

Dear Todd;
I’m a died in the wool believer since I was six. I accepted Jesus early in life because I love Him dearly. I’ve been a pastor for 18 years, so I believe I have a platform to speak from. I believe the “seeker” churches are getting the work done. When you want to talk “comfortability”, how about the demands of the dear “saints” who want their three hymns, two prayers, don’t rock the boat sermons and plenty of “comfort” me ye people. Let’s get realistic about accomodating and being comfortable. The game we’re talking about from anit-seekers, is their being uncomfortable with leading people to change from comfortable to seeking the lost. I’m ready for a change for the church to stop talking, “oh, there just dumbing down the gospel”, to let’s see how the Spirit wants to reach the lost. Guess what I don’t think it’s going to be with hymns, organs and handbells. (And I love all that, I’m a musician). But our world isn’t into organ music, and liturgical habits. Are we making the path clear to Christ or are we putting road blocks and hurdles in their way. The seeker churches want the sinner to come in and be saved, but instead there are too many money changers in the foyer selling their wares of religion 50 years ago.  I’m sure there were many Pharisees who honestly believed Jesus was a threat to Jewish tradition and faith. Is that what we’ve become? Pharisees? I’d rather fight the good fight of seeing Jesus in someones life, instead of tearing down another brother’s work and calling that fighting the good fight. Let’s be honest...many practice what is comfortable and easy. Hmm! Isn’t that what we’re trying to fight against, comfort and ease? Sounds like some churches are practicing what they accuse the Seeker churches of doing. I believe we need to remove some beams from our own eyes before attempting to take the splinter out of others. Let God and His Spirit weed out the tares among us. The storms against our faith will make those true in faith stronger. And I don’t mean hunker down and weather the storm, I mean be offensive to the enemy. I see the seeker churches being offensive, and pro-active. And the anit-seekers hunkerers (if that’s a word). I was a hunker for too many years, I’m a threat to the enemy when I become pro-active. And we should be satan’s enemy by definition and practice. We can learn a lot from these entreprenureals of faith, called “seeker-sensitive”.