The Seeker Sensitive Movement
The seeker-sensitive movement was created to draw the unchurched or “seekers” into the church. It wanted to create a friendly, welcoming, and inviting atmosphere for those who were new to the church experience. And some churches did have a certain amount of success with this. Church membership grew in some places, bigger buildings were built, and more robust programs were created.
But a few problems began to develop from this movement. First, churches started copying each other. They were making copies of copies, and becoming progressively watered down with each copy. Instead of looking at the Bible as the guide, they were looking to see what new innovations the competition was doing and how they could recreate that.
Second, to make the churches more welcoming to unbelievers, they started removing items that new believers might deem to be offensive. The cross was removed from many buildings. The words “Christ” or “Jesus” were removed from many churches. Communion was stopped at many churches. Sin, Hell, and the entire salvation message was removed from the program. The idea of sin or judging others was deemed offensive, so churches started delivering messages based on self help, psychological well being tips, or improving the community through good deeds. Examples would be tied in from the Bible to make it appear like a traditional church.
The end result is gospel free zones in churches across America. Many new members have not heard the gospel, do not have access to a Bible, and do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Some churches across America have become a giant Rotary club, self help seminar, or therapy group.
While many churches no longer partake in this movement, the results of the movement have impacted many churches across America. When the momentum for the seeker movement came to a halt, you had a void that was created that needed to be filled. To fill this void, Some churches turned to leadership seminars. Some churches turned to psychology and self help techniques. Some churches just focused on building bigger buildings or creating new programs. New age ideas and the emergent church movement started creeping in with a more progressive gospel. Entertainment became the primary focus in some churches. The end result is American churches are left with a cornucopia of problems, many times run by those against the very message the church is supposed to bring.
Top 10
Top 10 books relating to the seeker movement.
Ten indictments against the Modern Church - Paul Washer - Very short very powerful book
Suburbianity: What Have We Done to the Gospel? Can We Find Our Way Back to Biblical Christiantiy? - Byron Forrest Yawn - The author tells of a story how a Christian man was visiting a local church and finally got his parents to go with him to church. He was excited because he wanted them saved. But the gospel message was never presented, this was a one time opportunity, so it was a waste of time for both of them. After the man told this to the Pastor, the author of the book, it led him on a journey where he had to re examine everything.
John MacArthur - Ashamed of the Gospel - The root of the seeker movement is being Ashamed of the Gospel.
The Saviour Sensitive Church, Understanding and Avoiding Postmodernism and the Seeker-Sensitive Movement - written by a pair of Pastors with doctorate degrees, a short and powerful work on changing churches from seeker sensitive to savior sensitive.
An Apostate Church - Billy Lauderdale - Warns about the apostasy and compromise in today’s church.
The Prodigal Church: A Gentle Manifesto against the Status Quo - Jared C. Wilson - An Amazon reviewer summarizes this nicely: “For me, I’ve struggled with frustration, bitterness, sorrow, even despair over what I experienced, as well as with what I know countless other Christians have experienced—being chewed through the gears of the seeker/attractional church movement.”
The Gospel-Driven Church: Uniting Church Growth Dreams with the Metrics of Grace - Jared C. Wilson - Important critique about the seeker sensitive movement. Biblical alternatives are presented.
A Wonderful Deception The Further New Age Implications of the Emerging Purpose Driven Movement - Warren B. Smith - Details how Christian leaders are leading the people into a spiritual trap. Focuses on the purpose driven movement that arrived alongside the seeker movement, many churches blended both movements together.
The Dark Side of the Purpose Driven Church - Noah W. Hutchings - Details the dangers of the purpose driven movement which came in with the seeker movement in many churches. Seeker Sensitive Doctrines That Can Take You to Hell - Henry Bechthold - smaller easy read with a lot of information
Seeker Sensitive Doctrines That Can Take You to Hell - The Biblical Truth Revealed - Henry Bechthold - quick easy read book by Pastor Bechthold
Honorable Mentions
Deceived On Purpose The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church - Warren Smith Details the process leading to some of the changes in how churches interact with the gospel.
The Taring Down of America - Examining the state of the Church, how we got there, and where we go from here - Matthew Mennona - A call to return to the exposition of God’s Word and to the heart-felt worship of Jesus Christ - very short and easy read.
You can’t hide the gospel message in order to proclaim the gospel message. Picture a used car salesman that wants to sell cars. He has heard that some buyers may have had a bad sales experience at used car lots. He wants to be different. So he decides to remove all of the used cars from the lot. People come and visit him. He tells jokes, makes them feel welcome, offers coffee and doughnuts, gives great speeches, even has some skits that he does. He later adds a light show, fog machine, and bubble maker. Everyone leaves this used car lot happy, entertained, and feeling good. But he doesn’t sell any cars.
You can’t run a used car lot without cars as you can’t run a church without the gospel.