As you may know from reading my blogs, I am not a fan of the “seeker-sensitive” movement; however, I am willing to make a small exception in believing in its effectiveness when it is truly practiced in a way which is glorifying to the Lord. I write this on the heels of having attended Rock the Lakes, which was the Franklin Graham crusade that came to Milwaukee this past weekend. As par for the course, there were thousands in attendance stretching across a beautiful park on Lake Michigan. By the looks of the crowd, there were people from all walks of life enjoying the sounds of the incredible music played by various professional Christian artists. Normally, this is where the argument for the need to be “relevant” to unbelievers as many would claim the necessity of having a “hook” when you go fishing (for men). But the last time I went fishing, I had to use more than a hook in order to catch a fish----I had to use the proper bait. And this is the difference between the flawed version of “seeker-sensitive” and the version that aims to bring glory to God.
There was one common element which ran through the crusade on Sunday which greatly lacks in the church’s attempt to engage “seekers” who come through their church doors. Each band that approached the stage as well as Franklin Graham did not detract from making one simple truth known to all who were within ear shot of the massive speaker systems---We are all SINNERS and we are all LOST without JESUS! Unfortunately, the modern day seeker churches fail to promote the idea that people who don’t know Jesus are actually sinful people who do horrible things because of their sin. They try to convince people that the Christian life is one of excitement and is able to help us through our journey of life. In attempts to continually promote this “exciting life” they have to add all of the bells and whistles to the church service so that seekers and attendees will not suffer from boredom and somehow discover that Christianity is at many times a very difficult life to live.
Testimony after testimony came from the platform of how Jesus rescued sinners from the dangers of hell. And while the music may have drawn the crowds, there was not mistaking the message or purpose for Whom these musicians were playing for. Franklin Graham followed up a few of the bands and basically did two things in his message. He used Scripture to show that we are sinners in need of a Savior and used his testimony to let others know that he is no different in his need. Maybe this is a forgotten idea in the church today. While the enemy continues to prowl like a hungry lion, we too often forget that it is the “blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony” which overcomes the enemy’s attempt to detour the work of the Lord. The result was astounding as hundreds came to Christ.
The night was finished off by Michael W. Smith. Dusk had settled on the lake front and the beauty of a clear sky was above the crowd. At this point, many would have opted to have a “celebration” for the weekend’s events but God was not finished. I remember the days when Michael was more of a “performer” than “minister” as I have been to several of his concerts in the late 80’s and 90’s. This Michael is anything but the man I had seen back in those days. He led the crowd of thousands in a time of unbridled worship before the throne of grace. There was no sense of time, no sense of relevancy to the crowd---only the desire to touch the heart of Father God. And then something even more amazing happened. God began to draw people to Him. They paused for a moment as they felt the Lord was calling the prodigals back home. The result could have only been orchestrated by God as many heard the call of the Father to come home. I was fortunate to talk to a young man who had heard the sound of worship and which drew him to the crowd. It was simply inescapable. He knew the voice of the Father and he knew that his Father was calling him back home.
I cannot help to think of John 12:32 which states “But I (Jesus), when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself.” This is the true formula of being a “seeker-sensitive” church. The only need which we need to be “sensitive” to in the lives of unbelievers is the simple fact that they are sinners and need Jesus. I saw this in action this weekend. Jesus was lifted up above the earth-----man was not the primary emphasis---and as He was glorified through unhindered and unadulterated worship, men were drawn to Him! If we would truly worship the Lord without aiming to consider what outsiders may think about “our church” and wholeheartedly worship the Lord, the result would be that men would be drawn to Christ. No program, no “music,” no state of the art production will ever suffice to do what a worshiping church will do in proclaiming the true Gospel---we are sinners and need Jesus----to win the world around us. Thank you Franklin Graham and Michael W. Smith for not holding back in proclaiming “Spirit” and “Truth” to a city who desperately needs God!
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