Be Accessible but Not Accommodating
The idea of having seeker sensitive services at church has been around for a few decades. The vision is retooling church services to make them more attractive—that is, less intimidating—to the unchurched.
While this was an admirable goal and did achieve results, it also created other problems, which may be an even bigger concern. Here are the pros and cons of seeker sensitive services.
Seeker Sensitive Goals
A big element of seeker sensitive services was updating the music to be more appealing to those outside the church. In practical terms, this meant modernizing the music.
Seeker sensitive churches, in essence, removed the organ and brought in a band. They downplayed choirs and elevated worship teams.
The goal was to make the music portion of the service more relevant to attendees, both those on the outside, as well as those on the inside who had tuned out.
Seeker sensitive churches also upgraded the preaching portion of their services. They sought to dial back religious phrases and Christian jargon to produce a message that was easier to follow.
They also cut back—or even eliminated—topics that might offend visitors.
Along with this, seeker sensitive ministers overhauled their wardrobe. They got rid of their robes and tailored suits. Most even ditched their ties and adopted a business casual vibe to their appearance.
Initial Seeker Sensitive Criticisms
Implementing secret sensitive services generated criticism from within the church, primarily more tradition-minded members who liked the way things were. They took offense at the changes seeker sensitive services required.
The naysayers were largely silenced, however, by the accusation that their criticisms showed they weren’t interested in seeking the lost. Though this quieted the objectors, it may not have convinced them.
Some seeker sensitive opponents sought refuge at churches that maintained their traditional service focus. Others suffered through the changes, while a third group embraced the concept.
Yet the attendance increase at many seeker sensitive churches seemed to justify the changes as warranted. But were they?
Seeker Sensitive Downsides
Making services more attractive to people on the outside appealed to the lost, the unchurched, and the disenfranchised. These are all good outcomes.
Yet the downside is that the elements of being seeker friendly propagated a consumeristic mindset. This resulted in people shopping for church. They sought services with the most entertaining music and inspiring messages.
They began to judge churches on what the church could do for them, the programs they offered, and the best value for their investment of time and money. If they didn’t like something, they’d just go to a different church. They church hopped.
An even bigger concern is in making the preaching at seeker sensitive churches more attractive to outsiders, preachers downplayed—or even ignored—certain biblical topics. Yes, the Bible was still preached, but not all of it. Just the safe parts.
For the sake of the seeker sensitive mindset, ministers would skip certain passages and avoid problematic topics.
In short, they watered down the gospel—the good news of Jesus—so as to not offend.
Too often, the results were services that gave comfort but seldom confronted. People were entertained but changed lives seldom resulted. As such, church was reduced to one possible activity on the long list of other possible activities to occupy people’s time.
Speaker Sensitive Solutions
The goals of being seeker sensitive are admirable, yet the downsides are concerning. Adjustments that some churches now pursue is to keep the music style relevant to today’s audience while maintaining a message that’s fully grounded in Scripture—all of it.
Wise ministers preach biblical truth, regardless of public opinion or what is socially acceptable. They’re willing to offend people when proclaiming God’s truth (see 1 Corinthians 1:23).
Speaker Sensitive Backlash
With seeker sensitive services having been in place for several decades, there’s an ironic response to them. Many younger people, having grown up attending seeker sensitive churches, now want something different.
They’re embracing more traditional forms of worship. They want their church service to stand out from the world around them and not blend in.
Moving Forward
This isn’t, however, a call to abandon the seeker sensitive perspective. Instead, it’s a reminder that although people’s preferences change, God does not.
Therefore, whatever form our church services take, we must keep the message of salvation through Jesus at the forefront. Everything else is secondary.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.
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