THE SEEKER SENSITIVE CHURCH

Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

Strong’s Concordance: Deceive: to (properly cause to) roam (from safety, truth, or virtue): – go astray, deceive, err, seduce, wander, be out of the way.

Seeker sensitive churches are geared toward getting the unsaved into church and keeping them there. The strategy is to make church less “churchy”. Choirs are out and cafes are in. You may hear fiery sermons, but you won’t hear solid doctrinal teaching. You will hear short motivational and self help sermons instead. The Scriptures presented are few, and the Bible versions vary. The end result is that God’s Word becomes obscure. You will hear humor and entertaining stories, but few teachings about sin, righteousness and judgement. You will hear an unbalanced message, overemphasizing the positive aspects of Christianity.

“The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing

than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to

provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them.”

Charles Spurgeon, Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

Sometimes we know right away when something’s not right in a sermon. Sometimes we sense that something is off, but can’t quite put our finger on it. Sometimes we have no idea at all that we are being deceived. Discernment is so very important in our day.

I heard an excellent teaching years ago on discernment. The minister said he was preaching to his fellow ministers purposely in a deceptive way. Because his preaching was fiery, everyone was shouting amen to his words. He later explained to them what he had done and how easy it is to be deceived. Wow! I would tell my grandchildren when they were young, that if they didn’t remember anything else I told them, to remember this…protect yourself from being deceived, know the Bible for yourself!

Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, is one of the men who has been instrumental in propagating the seeker sensitive church movement. According to Simon & Schuster, Warren’s book “has been translated into 137 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in multiple formats”. His teachings have influenced a multitude of pastors. He’s also the man who said Pope Francis, who preaches a counterfeit gospel, was “our pope” and “does everything right”. Beware if you hear Rick Warren honored from the pulpit in your church.

Salvation and Testimonies