March 03, 2005
I Want a Smaller Church…
by ted hamilton in No Tags at 03:29pmI have grave concerns about the state of the Christian Church in America today. ( I suspect that the symptoms we see here in America are similar to those elsewhere in the world, but I’m only qualified to comment on what I have knowledge of.) The post-modern era has ushered in a radical change in how church looks, feels, and comes across to the average attendee. Change, in and of itself, isn’t bad. But I would argue that the current ‘seeker-sensitive’ environment that is touted as the latest, greatest thing is actually connterproductive.
This ‘Seeker Sensitive’ environment has been portrayed as the culturally sensitive response to society’s current tastes. It is often seen as the answer to declining growth and waning attendance on Sunday mornings. By teaching ‘softer, gentler’ messages, it is hoped that Average Joe and Jane will come in, find that church isn’t so bad after all, and stay long enough to get the real meat later.
The problem with this is that I’ve never seen the ‘real meat later’. We’ve lost the ability to speak truth into people’s lives, and accountability (for all it’s buzzword value) is basically dead. Instead of watering down the theology of preaching to become more ‘tolerant’, we need to get back to Christ’s original proclamations — a theology of doing. Love your God with all your heart, mind, body, soul…and love your neighbor as yourself. If Christ maintains that all the rest of the commandments hinge on these, perhaps the lack of growth we see in the Christian church is because these two basic commandments are only half-heartedly pursued.
The solution to church growth isn’t cultural sensitivity — it’s God sensitivity. Obedience to His commands will always result in growth, personally and corporately. And if our churches are full of people who aren’t committed to acting how He commands, perhaps that’s not a good thing. Perhaps smaller churches are what we need. Churches that are full of people who take God and life seriously, and apply their faith on a daily basis.
March 23rd, 2005 at 4:30 pm
I am confused about your assertion in the title and conclusion that we need smaller churches. First, you seem to see a problem with lack of growth in churches and I agree that pursuing the two greatest commandments would “solve” that problem. But if lack of growth is a symptom of our problems, wouldn’t growth be a sign that things are going well? Perhaps, then, the small churches you long for are the very ones which are least successful at following the two commandments. Second, what does the size of the church have to do with the “seeker-sensitive” environment? Are people who “take God and life seriously” only at small churches?
March 23rd, 2005 at 4:46 pm
I Am Not: you have some valid questions, ones that I should have addressed… growth due to doing simply what is ‘popular’ with no regard to what is ‘Godly’ should be regarded critically. Growth that is due to the life and abundance of Godly living should be the goal… I theorize that our churches wouldn’t be able to contain the growth it would see if all the members were truly ‘seeking first’ and living according to that… Regarding ‘seeker-sensitive’ vs. size, the trends I’ve seen are that true Christian living is rather unpopular. As a result, churches that have direct teaching about how to live, sometimes counterculturally, from the pulpit are less attended. (Kudos to those that are seeker sensitive and still teach with real conviction and depth, however) It’s uncomfortable (to the flesh) to live a truly Godly life, and the building of Godly character requires a perseverance and endurance that our convenience-minded culture seems to lack or prefer not to use. To sum up my article, I’d rather see smaller, living churches, than spiritually-dead, but popular and large, churches. Your thoughts?
March 23rd, 2005 at 4:54 pm
It is true, there are a number of churches these days which have a “seeker-sensitive” environment. However, in your second paragraph you assume that this environment must have a “softer, gentler” message without real meat. In my experience, I don’t see a correlation between the environment, or atmosphere, of a church and the quality of fare from the pulpit. I think that the “culturally-sensitive” churches are putting 1 Cor. 9:19-23 into action. Paul says “When I am with the Jews, I live like a Jew to win Jews…. And when I am with people who are not ruled by the Law, I forget about the Law to win them… When I am with people whose faith is weak, I live as they do to win them. I do everything I can to win everyone I possibly can.”
March 23rd, 2005 at 5:08 pm
I appreciate you responding to my comments. That’s the first response I’ve seen from an author on this website. I’m impressed with your openness to criticism and willingness to open a dialog. I think you’re entirely right that many preachers put growth ahead of truth. They’re afraid that they will lose people if they’re too direct or honest. Consequently, many preachers are successful in their own eyes but maybe not in God’s. I recommend that you check out Northpoint Community Church or one of its satellite campuses and see what’s going on there. Their mission is to “create an environment in which people can develop a deeper relationship with Jesus.” MANY of the people who attend aren’t Christians, yet. Many have been turned off by overly “religious” and judgemental churches in the past and find at NPCC a new opportunity to connect with God. The pastor doesn’t assume you know anything about the Bible or Christianity, but his messages are some of the most relavant application of the Bible to daily life that I’ve heard. It’s seeker-sensitive, for certain. And its grown from a handful of people ten years ago to, I would guess, 20,000+ attendees every Sunday. You can also listen on-line at http://www.northpoint.org.
March 23rd, 2005 at 10:49 pm
Perhaps I should have refined my rant a bit further… my problem isn’t with ‘seeker-sensitivity’ except where that means ‘don’t preach offensive truths’. My problem isn’t with church growth: there’s good life in big and small churches. My particular issue with the Church in America (as a whole) is that it’s rendered itself largely irrelevant by being a silent majority instead of actively taking part in the political/social scene to advance what is just and moral. In our ‘representative democracy’ or republic, the will of the majority is the theoretical ideal. This is hardly achieved, especially when lobbyists and poor voter turnout result in vocal minority overrepresentation through legislation and influence. Add in self-perpetuating bureacracy, and it’s a murky mess. It was once true that the majority of Americans claimed to be ‘Christian’. I don’t see much in the way of coordinated corporal cooperation for the good of mankind. Funds for private welfare via church channels are low –Tithing and giving are unpopular and not followed to a large degree, and while there is popular support for missionaries, there’s little overall initiative to evangelize to coworkers, friends, and the public. Why? It’s hard to refute someone when you don’t know what and why you believe, and it’s hard to know what and why you believe unless you practice critical thinking about it. Further, it takes a coalescence of thought, emotion, and conviction to produce action. Fear and guilt saps that coalescence and renders the ‘church’ inactive. My point with the article was that unless we, as a whole, start acting the part, we get whatever we deserve, but I wish there were more people willing to count the cost, and carry their crosses daily.
March 31st, 2005 at 1:23 pm
That was a great post! Much better, even, than the original. I agree with you.