Afford to be seeker-sensitive?

Last September a USA Today article asked whether growth in seeker-sensitive mega-churches was stalled. While reports indicated that growth held steady, the question remained whether these churches were being instrumental in spiritual transformation. Ed Stetzer was quoted as saying, You can create a church that’s big, but is still not transforming people. Without transformation, the Christian message is not advanced.

The USA Today article ran one month before the stock market spiraled to one of its lowest points in 2008.

Since then, churches of all shapes and sizes have been forced to significantly cut back on spending. Robert Schuller’s seeker-friendly Crystal Cathedral announced that it was laying-off staffers and selling some of its multi-million dollar properties. Granger Community Church, a seeker-church in Granger, Indiana, found itself with annual revenue down a half-million dollars since 2006 leading to the decision to eliminate eight positions and cut hours for other employees.

And even with indicators up in recent weeks the economy may not have hit the local church yet. According to the Religion News, churches historically feel the pinch later than the general economy – worshippers tend to cut contributions only after everything else – observers worry that many congregations are unprepared to deal with the worst church-budget crunch in almost a century.

The economic realties facing today’s church begs the question of whether anyone can afford to be seeker-sensitive- or, as our friends in Willow Creek now prefer, seeker-obsessed. Unfortunately, the seeker is simply not spiritually mature enough to generously connect his or her faith and finances. Whether we desire to see our people mature in their faith or are simply desperate for more cash in the offering plate, filling the pews with seekers is not going to keep the doors open during these difficult times.

The question for churches today is not whether they can afford to be seeker-sensitive? Rather the question is whether they can afford to teach a seeker-style of Christian stewardship? In his book Starting a Seeker Service, Ed Dobson writes:

…I preached a three-week series on biblical stewardship. We discovered that the new believers from “Saturday Night” were upset about the topic. “We want to learn the Bible for our lives,” they said. And some of them stopped coming on Sundays until the series was concluded… I learned that new believers and un-churched people see things much differently… we had better be sensitive to their concerns if we are to reach them.

Though Dobson’s efforts to reach seekers were admirable we might question whether his decision had an effect on the message for everyone else. Many pastors today are just as hesitant to discuss stewardship with a mature believer as they would with a seeker.

Practically speaking, the seeker may have carried their own weight in the past assuming the church was mega-enough to have a café and a bookstore – seekers purchased a Heaven-Blessed latte before Sunday school and a copy of the pastor’s latest book on their way out. The seeker consumed what they didn’t put in the offering plate.

Today we have an opportunity to encourage spiritual growth for both the seeker and the mature through stewardship. Seekers can begin to see that their hearts, minds, and wallets are transformed. Mature Christians have the opportunity to carry the burden of those still young in their faith- to make a greater commitment even in the midst of difficult times.

Richard Laribee writes:

[Christian stewardship] is how God transforms us into servants; it is a basic way in which God is changing us into the likeness of Jesus Christ. It’s not about what God needs – but what we most desperately need in our deepest, must fundamental being… Stewardship is not the goal of the Christian life, but a method. It is designed to break our addiction to control, greed, the demand for personal security… following Jesus is literally to trust him with whatever you have: your time, your talent, and your treasure. By trusting Jesus with these things, we learn to follow him. Bit by bit, we can become like him.

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