You hear a lot about the grammar foibles of our culture, especially with the technology that is available that makes it soooo easy to be lazy about proper grammar. Here is a grammar foible at large in American Christendom, that makes the church just as lazy about true doctrine:
"Seeker-sensitive church."
Although this label is probably outdated already, the thinking underneath it remains in many American churches today. The idea is that we must make the "seeker" comfortable, and get them interested in coming to church. Don't tell them that they are sinners in need of a Savior, that might drive them away. Don't talk about doctrine. Just get them to believe in Jesus. This is a bait and switch tactic, that smacks more of American consumerism than the one true faith.
Here is the bad news from Romans 3:11- no one understands; no one seeks for God. (So if no one seeks after God, there are no "seekers"!)
Here is the good news from Luke 19:10-"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
Instead of trying to make the church "seeker-sensitive", or whatever label you want to slap on it, we should view the church as the Bride of Christ. He is the seeker, not us sinners, who are dead in our trespasses and sins! For despite all of the church's antics to make herself attractive, He seeks us, and only He can wash us clean and make us radiant through His Word and Sacraments.
Good stuff. We have to remember that the purpose of the church, primarily, is to worship God. We are to evangelize, but when we gather together as a body, we are to WORSHIP, not try to look appealing to the world.
ReplyDeleteAnd there is nothing shameful in the fact that we, as a church body, NEED to gather to receive Christ's gifts! We are told not to forsake gathering together! God knows what we need, and when we gather, He gives it to us. And, as you said, we worship Him in response. And then we have His precious Word to take to the world. As you know, Jesus doesn't need to be marketed. He does the converting through His Word.
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