On a Side Note…Seeker Sensitive

Along a different vein…since my church Kindred Community Church continues its quest for a Sr. Pastor…something that weighs heavily on my mind is making sure that the man that God brings to us is rooted and grounded in the Word of God. That he is uncompromising in acknowledging the inerrancy of scripture. That the gospel message is preached boldly as it is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. That the full council of God is preached. It scares me spitless to think that we could go down that road and fall into the pit that so many churches are…being “seeker sensitive”.

Watering down or dumbing down the gospel message and the Word of God. Preaching and teaching banquet style…picking and choosing that which the congregation finds appealing. Messages and worship songs that are man centered, not God centered. Churches that are unwilling and unable to call sin, sin…but instead call it a mistake.

Preachers that are worried about how someone is going to feel when they are called a sinner, dead in their sin, in need of forgiveness through Jesus Christ and his sacrificial death on the cross. Those who are worried how intolerant Jesus sounded when he clearly stated “I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me.” Churches that don’t want to risk telling people the bad news that they are dead in their sins and unable to save themselves. How in the world can you tell someone the good news of the gospel message, salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God…when they don’t even know why they need a Savior?

I know first hand the destructive influence that results from NOT preaching and teaching the full council of the Word of God. It impacts the human heart. The heart…which God declares as deceitful above all things. I guess when it comes down to it…am I going to believe what God says in his Word about me? Or am I going to choose to believe what man has to say?

One rule of thumb…if you drive up to a church…and the folks are walking in and not carrying their Bible for Sunday morning service…turn around and leave.

This subject is a passion of mine. But even so…I’m not sure how much God wants me to write on this subject? How specific does he want me to be. Obviously there is only one standard and that is the Word of God. What I say is irrelevant if it doesn’t line up with scripture. The Bible is the gold standard.