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by Alex Kocman | Buzzwords have a funny way of painting their subject in the best possible light. Consider a few examples. âProgressiveââwho doesnât want to make progress? âAttractionalââwho doesnât want to attract unbelievers into the church? âSeeker-sensitiveââwhy wouldnât we want to be...
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On casual dressing mayors
Did you see the story about the mayor who turned up at a public event, a formal ceremony for royal marines wearing shorts, trainers and a floral shirt? My friend, Steve Kneale, has shared his reflections here and I agree with much he says, though Iâm perhaps less bothered about whether mayoral roles should exist. Iâve got a few further reflections to add to Steveâs so here goes. If everythingâŚ
Should we make our church harder to join?
âYes and noâ The question is raised by Tim Suffield here. Or rather, Tim answers the question from his perspective with a hard âyesâ. He argues that we shouldnât be too easy to join, that âwelcome requires wallsâ and that this means a church should be clear in communicating what makes it distinctive and what is expected of those who join, as opposed to merely look in regarding doctrine andâŚ
Watch "What Makes "Seeker Sensitive" Churches So Unbiblical?" on YouTube
Seeker-Insensitive
Iâve always been curious about the country Japan. I especially admire the honor, respect, and family values that the Japanese people are known for. There was a point when I actually considered moving there. I made arrangements to visit with a family that lives there so that I could get a first-hand experience of the culture and how they live life. When I arrived, I noticed something strange. It felt a lot like America. So much so that during my stay we only ate American foods, only viewed American entertainment, etc. Were they trying to give me an âAmericanâ experience so that I would not be made to feel uncomfortable? Were they afraid I'd be turned off by their way of life? I began to wonder, "Maybe Japan just really isn't all that different from America?"Â
Iâve since returned to America, still not really sure what to think about Japan. I still have no idea if Iâd ever want to live there or not. Were they Americanizing everything on my behalf? If so, I wish they had simply welcomed me into their home, and lived as they truly are. Sure, many things would have been foreign to me. In many ways I would have felt like an outsider. But honestly, thatâs what I wanted. I wanted to see a different way of life. I wanted to see an alternative to the only thing Iâd ever known. But maybe there really just isn't a significant difference between Japan and America? If that's the case, I don't see any reason to go back.Â
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If you are part of a "seeker-sensitive" church, this is probably how genuine seekers feel when they visit.Â
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Church of Tares: Purpose Driven, Seeker Sensitive, Church Growth & New World Order (by Elliott Nesch)
In our culture of 'seeker sensitivity' and radical inclusivity, the great temptation is to compromise the cost of discipleship in order to draw a larger crowd.
Shane Claiborne
THE MYTH OF SEEKER SENSITIVE WORSHIP. In my little dictionary widget a âSeekerâ is defined like this⌠seek |sÄk| verb ( past and past participle sought |sĂ´t| ) [ with obj. ] attempt to find (something): they came here to seek shelter from biting winter winds. ⢠attempt or desire to obtain or achieve (something): the new regime sought his extradition | [ no obj., with infinitive ] : her parents had never sought to interfere with her freedom. ⢠ask for (something) from someone: he sought help from the police. ⢠(seek someone/something out) search for and find someone or something: itâs his job to seek out new customers. Iâm beginning to rethink this idea of âseeker sensitive worship.â There are legitimate âseekersâ of the Truth out there, but when it comes to musical worship weâve defined âseekerâ as someone who wants a show, who we donât want to offend. We do this in an attempt to lead them to make a decision for Jesus through our musical worship simply being the holster for the message. Somehow, weâve watered down our expression of worship in order to give them a sport to spectate instead of an expression that which leads them to participate. Whether your attractional, missional, in-between, charismatic, liturgicalâŚ.and the list goes onâŚ.. The Church has got to start processing through the worship of our King and the people who the Church would define as seekers. I think for the lot of us weâve decided to react to this issue instead of respond. In our generation, more than any other form of expression found in the Church is music. Itâs a center piece of our culture at large that we gather around. So how does the Church integrate this properly for both people who find themselves on the fringes and the people who are devout to the Faith? My friend, John Pinkerton loves telling people to âown itââŚâŚI love that. With whatever youâre doing just âown it.â Thereâs no doubt the Church, for the most part is âowningâ the musical expression of worship but what if weâre âowningâ our reactions instead of âowningâ how we should respond? Let me explain, if weâre positioning ourselves as the Church to react to how people may subjectively feel before how we should respond to God then there lies the problem. Worship is for the Church to respond to the presence of their King. Worship is not for the Church to react to people as they respond to their King. We are called to respond to His presence. Psalm 40 is one my favorite passages throughout all of scripture. In one of the lowest points of King Davidâs life, his honest response is to do the followingâŚâŚsing a new song in his heart and a hymn a praise on his lips so that many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. I think in our pain and in our joy our response to God should be the same. Itâs not and should not be watered down for people. Itâs apparent that in Davidâs vulnerable, honest place of expressing worship that was real, people took account and put their trust in the Lord. Is this how we lead worship? Is this how people are being moved to trust in the Lord through worship? It wasnât solely King Davidâs pain or joy people identified with. It was the presence of Yahweh in Davidâs expression that caused people to be moved into trust. Why did David respond like this? Simply put, because he had relationship with Yahweh. Have we replaced this type of expression with a bunch of peripheral elements? Have we replaced the simple, supernatural presence of God with models, programs and methods that pull on peopleâs cultural tendencies of what we think they want? In my pain and joy I want the presence of God to pull and play the strings of my heart. I want the presence of God to rise up in the corporate worship assembly of the Church and let the âseekersâ on the fringes see, fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Whether in pain or joy, an authentic heart in response to Godâs presence is actually causing people on the fringes to trust in the Lord. May the presence of God rise up in your worship today. May it be powerful to release victory for the oppressed and forgiveness for the shamed. May the motive of all of our hearts no longer react to the ways man and what they might want but respond to the presence of GodâŚ.be encouraged todayâŚ..for in His presence is all we need.
David Walker
