Seeker-Sensitive

You don't actually hear much of that term anymore. The idea if not the term was very popular for awhile. The idea still is. It was popularized by the Bill Hybels and Rick Warrens of this world, but it was picked up quickly by myriads of smaller churches. What was the idea? Well, the aim was to tailor your church service to make it pleasant for people who were seeking God. That was the basic idea. If you could get people in by telling them how to have better finances or how to improve their marriages or how to lose weight or how to find a good job, well, then, you'd be earning their trust. You'd be demonstrating that you care. And if you could do that, then they'd be prepared for you to share the Gospel with them. "Felt needs" was the term. Meet their "felt needs" and they'd be ready to hear what you have to say. Makes sense, right? So the church would go about working on different aspects. Make programs people want. Classes on finance and weight loss and whatever else they think they need are all good ideas. Make music people like. After all, you're competing with a society hooked on entertainment. Make your worship time entertaining. And by all means shorten those crazy sermons. No one wants to listen to a pastor speak for an hour or even half an hour. No, no, sermons should be shorter, more interesting, more uplifting, certainly not all that "sin" and "damnation" stuff.

Well, I see a few problems here. First, if we're avoiding all that stuff that "seekers" don't like to hear ... when do they get to hear it? But, okay, it's fairly common to work that in at the end. "Oh, by the way, if anyone here wants to know Jesus, we're here to help." That sort of thing. But is that the message? Is the message, "Knowing Jesus will make your life better"? Or is it "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"? Are we offering Christ as a better therapy or for a correction to being dead? Okay, so maybe I'm meddling, so let's move on.

There is a fundamental problem with the notion, and that's in the word (and notion of) "seeker". The Bible is not unclear. "No one seeks for God" (Rom 3:11). Oh, sure, lots of people seek for what they think they want from God -- peace, love, forgiveness, mercy, all that good stuff. But the Bible doesn't equivocate. No one seeks for God. So the notion of a "seeker" is ... a lie.

There is a third problem with the idea. Church is not for "seekers", existing or not. The Bible makes it clear that the function of church is to grow believers. It is for maturing those who know Christ, for equipping the saints, for gathering for fellowship. Now, we all know that there are tares among the wheat, that there are always going to be there who are not saved for some reason or another. Paul made that clear when he spoke of speaking in tongues and the response of unbelievers. So being aware of the fact that they're there is good. Still, the aim of church is not to reach out to the unsaved, but to equip believers to do that and more. So the more time we spend reaching to the lost, the less time we spend making disciples, mature Christians. And when you look around, perhaps that is starting to show.

To me, it all comes down to a singular question. Where's the power? The notion of the "seeker sensitive" approach is that the power is in the presentation. Present it nice, make it pleasant, tell them what they want to hear, tickle their ears, and they will give you the power to tell them the Gospel. It sounds so ... reasonable. It really does. But the Bible says that the power isn't in our plans or abilities or programs or actions. God says that the power is in the Word. Scripture tells us that the power is in the preaching of the Word. And, of course, the bottom line is that the power is in the Holy Spirit to accomplish what is intended by the preaching of the Word.

Meeting needs is good. We're told to do that. ("Felt needs" becomes more questionable. I mean, sometimes I feel like I could use a million bucks ... so who is meeting my felt needs?) We are indeed to let our lights so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify the Father. Yes, indeed! But don't mistake that for a method of obtaining the required power to bring people to Christ. That doesn't start with you. There is no method, no program, no procedure for that. Preachers ought to be preaching the Word, not appealing to senses. Pastors were never intended to be CEO's of successful corporations called "churches" today. Besides, if you do the math, it turns out that the method doesn't work. Maybe that's the only reason that the "seeker-sensitive" term is fading away. There are certainly more reasons than that.