The Seeker-Friendly Movement: Is it Biblical?

There has been a trend that has been growing even more in churches these days. It's known as the Seeker-Friendly movement. Despite the amount of converts it has brought about, a lot of Christians aren't too happy about it. They claim it's "worldly," and the pastors teach a "watered down" message, and the music has a "sexual beat." Most of them come from fundamentalist churches where they sing hymns, sit in pews, and the messages are 2 hours long. It's hard for them to accept churches with coffee shops, fancy concert lights, fog machines, upbeat worship music, and trendy pastors with cool haircuts.

I completely understand! Change is difficult to accept, but they have to realize that their churches are from the result of change, whether they want to admit it or not. In fact, many of the tunes of hymns came from songs that were sung at pubs. And we must not forget that the traditional baptist church, presbyterian church, methodist church, and calvinist church were all a product of the reform and separation from the catholic church.

Change and reform is a natural part of life and in a lot of ways, healthy for the church. The day that your church stops changing is the day that it dies.

Many fundamentalist Christians get "Seeker-Friendly" mixed up with "Seeker-Run." You do not need to change message in order to change your method. You can have a doctrinally-correct message without feeling the need to condemn your congregation. Just because it's contemporary doesn't mean its worldly. We are to be in the world, not of it. So it is perfectly fine to use methods that are relevant to seekers, just as long as the message doesn't change. I think one of the scriptures that Christians really take out of context is Romans 12:2 which says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world." Many people stop there. But it doesn't stop there. "But be transformed by the renewing of your mind, Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will."

What is God's will? Well, I believe that God's will is to reach the lost. The best example of this mission was Jesus. He said himself that he did not come to save the believers, he came to save the lost. Shouldn't churches follow his example?

Mark 2:17 "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." 

To not pursue unbelievers basically sends the message "you all can go to hell!" Jesus never said that! He wants everyone to go to heaven. There is no "elect." 

Churches can and should change their format of the services to accommodate the people that are visiting the church. They should not feel judgment from the congregation or any of the staff as they walk through the door. They should feel welcomed. Jesus welcomed all- and so should churches.

I realize there are churches that take this too far, in that pastors will not even preach about sin, however, do not be too quick to judge churches, especially if you do not know much about them.

They could be used by God to bring people into the kingdom that your church can't. 

Don't become a Pharisee. Just because your church teaches sound doctrine doesn't mean that it is living out the church's purpose. 

1 Corinthians 13 "If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love."

God Bless,
Jonathan D. Graham