Occasionally people ask my opinion on various personal or church issues. I recently received the following question which I have reprinted below, followed by my response.
QUESTION
Bob,
Are you familiar with an article by Carey Nieuwhof, Why the Church Needs to Adapt to Reach Post-Christians ? Our church is currently searching for a new senior minister, and the points raised in the article is a big concern of ours! Do we go for a preacher who will reach the new generation only or someone who understands that we have a multi-generational church? Our church leadership has no problem with changes, but some of the established, older Christians raise questions about making too many changes in order to reach the post-Christian generation.
Your thoughts?
MY ANSWER
A few years ago while visiting my boyhood home, I ate a bowl of Wheaties® just before bedtime. I used to do that every night as a teenager. The cereal tasted the same, the box was the same color and contained the same slogan, “Breakfast of Champions.” But I noticed something very different. Mickey Mantle’s picture wasn’t on the front of the box! I think that day’s featured photo was Tiger Woods. General Mills recognizes while they have such a great product in Wheaties that it should remain the same, the packaging has to change frequently.
The same is true in the church. The message of the gospel doesn’t change. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. But the church has to change methodology, or it will stagnate and die. Jesus told his followers you can’t put new wine into old wineskins. There’s an old slogan, “Methods are many, principles are few. Methods always change, principles never do.”
While the church needs to adapt methodology to reach the post-Christian culture, I reject the notion of some cutting-edge ministers that that means not proclaiming the entire Bible. For example, one well-known, influential minister has stated he will no longer preach from the Old Testament or against homosexuality because doing so is a barrier to evangelism. However, our first assignment is not to be sensitive to the seeker but to be obedient to the Lord and proclaim the whole counsel of God.
I also reject the notion that the church needs to focus on reaching one generation or target one audience at the expense of others…or at the risk of losing the flock we already have. The Bible instructs the older men and women in the church to teach and inspire the younger generation. A healthy church is a multigenerational church. The Good Shepherd loves, feeds and protects all his sheep. Church leaders can’t let a few naysayers negate all change, but neither do they flippantly say (or leave the impression), “We’re trying to reach the lost and if you don’t agree with our methods go someplace else.”
Dr. Fred Craddock authored a book titled, Overhearing the Gospel. He contends that seekers will hear the gospel better if they “overhear” it rather than feeling targeted by the message. Craddock uses the example of a couple having marital problems and attending a wedding ceremony. When the preacher talks to the bride and groom about what makes a successful marriage, the troubled couple in the audience hears the message better than if they were sitting across the desk from the preacher because they have their defenses down.
If a seeker visits a worship service and hears the Word of God taught primarily to deepen Christians he will listen better than if the entire service were targeting him. I’m of the opinion that worship services should be designed mainly to edify the saints (regardless of age) while at the same time being sensitive to the seeker.
Sally Morganthaler makes this point in her book, Worship Evangelism. She insists if Christians are being fed, the worship service is so alive and Spirit-filled that the result is very convicting to the unbeliever. Therefore, it’s possible to evangelize and edify at the same time.
The Apostle Paul wrote that church leaders are to equip God’s people, “…for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:12-13).
– Bob
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