A blessed October day to you all
In the culture of the church, as with any culture or subculture, certain words or phrases carry a specific meaning. Sometimes these words are used to further define a church polity or philosophy of ministry. Sometimes, some words are used without truly reflecting how they may be casting negative aspersions on another church. For instance, I was once asked by a Chilean pastor, who on a trip to Argentina had met with some missionaries from the Disciples of Christ church, "what is the difference between that church and the church you pastor? I understand you all started off together." I said to him, the simple answer would be that the Disciples church lean toward being more liberal while we tend to be more conservative". He then smiled and said, "I had heard they were progressive." I thought to myself, "what does that make us, antiquated? knuckle draggers? close minded?" Those could be terms used of a group who are not progressive. Some churches today stress they are "open and affirming" which seems to imply that some churches are not affirming. This of course is said without clarifying what it is they are affirming.
A church strategy and polity that is often debated is in the focus of the worship service. Some churches use the term "seeker sensitive" which is a term designed to indicate their primary audience on Sunday morning is non believers or new believers. The strategy is (again a simplified explanation) to keep Sunday's message light in content and easy to understand for nonbelievers and focus on meatier subjects during weekly studies for those interested in a deeper search of the Scriptures. The goal is a noble one, to reach people for Christ. The focus on Sunday is thus those in the pew, or rather it is a horizontal focus.
A different strategy is a vertical one where the primary audience during worship is Christ, during the message it is Christ and how to live as a disciple of Christ, as well as a call to come to Christ.
In John 12:32 Jesus says, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself". This calls not for being a seeker sensitive church but rather a Christ sensitive church. We lift Him up and count Him to do the calling. Of course this doesn't give us license to be idle but it does remind us of our primary focus, which is Christ.
Being Christ sensitive also means we strive to be sensitive to the ethic He teaches those that choose to be called His disciples. This ethic means being sensitive to how our words, our actions, and our thoughts reflect His name, His message, and His will for HIs church.
Blessings to all.
In the culture of the church, as with any culture or subculture, certain words or phrases carry a specific meaning. Sometimes these words are used to further define a church polity or philosophy of ministry. Sometimes, some words are used without truly reflecting how they may be casting negative aspersions on another church. For instance, I was once asked by a Chilean pastor, who on a trip to Argentina had met with some missionaries from the Disciples of Christ church, "what is the difference between that church and the church you pastor? I understand you all started off together." I said to him, the simple answer would be that the Disciples church lean toward being more liberal while we tend to be more conservative". He then smiled and said, "I had heard they were progressive." I thought to myself, "what does that make us, antiquated? knuckle draggers? close minded?" Those could be terms used of a group who are not progressive. Some churches today stress they are "open and affirming" which seems to imply that some churches are not affirming. This of course is said without clarifying what it is they are affirming.
A church strategy and polity that is often debated is in the focus of the worship service. Some churches use the term "seeker sensitive" which is a term designed to indicate their primary audience on Sunday morning is non believers or new believers. The strategy is (again a simplified explanation) to keep Sunday's message light in content and easy to understand for nonbelievers and focus on meatier subjects during weekly studies for those interested in a deeper search of the Scriptures. The goal is a noble one, to reach people for Christ. The focus on Sunday is thus those in the pew, or rather it is a horizontal focus.
A different strategy is a vertical one where the primary audience during worship is Christ, during the message it is Christ and how to live as a disciple of Christ, as well as a call to come to Christ.
In John 12:32 Jesus says, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself". This calls not for being a seeker sensitive church but rather a Christ sensitive church. We lift Him up and count Him to do the calling. Of course this doesn't give us license to be idle but it does remind us of our primary focus, which is Christ.
Being Christ sensitive also means we strive to be sensitive to the ethic He teaches those that choose to be called His disciples. This ethic means being sensitive to how our words, our actions, and our thoughts reflect His name, His message, and His will for HIs church.
Blessings to all.
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