Tuesday, May 27, 2003

This is the single best paragraph I've ever read on the "seeker-sensitive" church movement. It comes from the pen (or, rather, the keyboard) of Michael Spencer, otherwise known as The Internet Monk:
When the history of modern evangelicalism is written, I predict that the abandonment of the vocabulary of faith will loom large as an explanation for the demise of Christianity in American culture. Despite what the Willow Creek-ologists tell us, "seeker sensitive" Christianity is not a surging cultural force, but a movement leading masses of Christians into retreat and cultural surrender. Islam is surging in America, and you will not come across many "seeker-sensitive" mosques. Cultures and sub-cultures that retain their distinctive vocabularies retain their distinctive identities. Just ask rap musicians, who don't feel the need to talk like everyone else to sell their music. If you don't get it, you're going to have to ask. Meanwhile, the slogan of American evangelicalism might be "Prepare to be assimilated."
In one succinct paragraph, Spencer shows why the movement to make our churches more "relevant" by taking on the trappings of the culture is ultimately doomed to failure.

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