David Anguish
In the last few years, we have heard more about "seeker sensitive services." The premise, based on the excellent intention to be more aware of and open to reaching the lost, is that if we make our worship services more in line with what those we seek to reach expect, we will be more effective in bringing them to Christ. So, we devise activities and programs, along with marketing strategies to call attention to them, which are calculated to be attractive to any who seek a church home.
The motive and desire to be wise in the way we present ourselves to others should not be questioned (cf. Matthew 10:16; Acts 2:47). But before going overboard with a seeker sensitive focus, we should give attention to Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 14:20-24. Admittedly, the specific circumstance which prompted his writing is not the same as what has prompted this one - and attention must be given to what he originally intended to say. But that does not mean that there is not present in what he said a principle which is relevant to the circumstance we face.
By way of context, Paul is dealing with a situation in which the worship assemblies in Corinth had become unruly, largely due to the strife which afflicted that church (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 11:17ff.; 12-14). Part of the problem was exhibited in the fascination some had with tongue speaking, an activity which was intended "for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers" (1 Corinthians 14:22, NASB). The problem was that tongue speaking was stressed to the point of demeaning prophecy. The result was that believers who were present were not receiving the instruction they needed for edification (a word used seven times in chapter 14). Furthermore, any unbelievers who happened into the service were drawing exactly the opposite conclusion from what they should have drawn: "will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all" (vv 23-24, NRSV).
There is an irony resulting from the seeker sensitive approach which we should not overlook. Why, when leaders make their services and classes exclusively devoted to evangelism, where everything is geared to the visitors they can entice to attend, do those same leaders wonder why the saints do not grow and those who convert do not come to understand the faith any better than they do? As one in a church given over to seeker sensitivity asked me, "If the worship is designed for the seeker, and the classes are designed for the seeker, when do we teach the saints the meat of the Word?"
Paul would have both the church and any lost sinners who happen to be present to understand. But he is clear that the first priority in the assembly was that believers be edified. Does this leave out the searching lost sinner? No, for as the faith is capably articulated and explained, the lost develop an understanding of it which allows them to make up their minds (not just their emotions). In New Testament language, they are "persuaded" (cf. Acts 17:1-4), not just stirred up. If they do have questions, these become doors of opportunity for further study.
This does not mean that there is never a time for sermons or points within them which focus on the needs and questions of lost souls who visit our services. Clearly, we should review the fundamentals and present a balanced diet from the Word. Appeals should be made to people who have heard that Word. Topics which affect God's people will also speak to sinners who live in the same culture and face the same pressures we do. But let us not allow these legitimate concerns to divert us from the main reason we assemble: to collectively exalt the Lord of glory and renew our energy to serve him.