A couple of days ago one of the readers sent in an interesting link. It’s a spot promoting a person called a Pastorpreneur. That’s right , an entrepreneurial pastor. The owner of the site, Dr. John Jackson, presents pastoring in terms of a business. And of course the main thing in a business is to attract customers and potential customers, thus the use of the term “seeker friendly.” You can’t attract the unsaved if you talk about sin, hell, holiness, and sanctification.
And, according to blokes like Jackson, Rick Warren, the Hilliards and others, we have to do things that will attract the unsaved, whether it’s the child, the gen exer, or the old guy. We have to hold medical exams, sponsor basketball teams, be entertaining and not do anything that will make the unsaved uncomfortable. We have to show them how friendly and non-judgmental we are. We have to be seeker-friendly. In other words we have to be like the Carney man as he stands in front of his game at the carnival trying to interest us to come over and try a couple of tosses of the ring, or a few throws of the ball for just fifty cents or a dollar. You want to make sure you attract those people who are seeking the truth and just haven’t figured out that Jesus is that Truth.
There is only one problem with this approach: The unsaved aren’t seeking the truth. You think I’m lying? Take a look at this:
Romans 3:10-12, talking about the unsaved:
…as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”
This portion of would seem to say that there are no seekers, only the unsaved. Making God attractive to them is pointless because according to Romans 8:6-8 the unsaved don’t want to please God. Here, take a look at it.
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Last time I looked a sinner doesn’t get drawn to God by entertainment. He gets drawn to God by…well, by God. For instance in John 12:32 Jesus says:
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
And in Acts 16:14 it says:
A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
Neither one of these seems to indicate the need to attract people by various techniques, by entertaining them, or by grabbing their interest. In Acts Paul was down by the river, not standing in some comfortable well lit synagogue with synchronized torches and lamp light. In fact, if you take a look at Acts 2:14 and following, your boy Peter held the crowd’s attention by reviewing the Old Testament, applying it to the day, and accusing the listeners of killing the Messiah. Not once did he tell them that they have to decide to have a good day. He didn’t even try to convince them that they were somebody. The results? Over three thousand people came to Christ. And this after being told they had blood on their hands!
Churches that attempt to be “seeker friendly” are actually, and simply, trying to get the unsaved into church and to be involved with church folk. It’s not their job. The elders’ job is to edify the saints, not the unsaved. The saints’ job is to build each other up, not the unsaved. The individual’s job is to go out into the world and first live the Gospel and then to present the Gospel (2 Cor 3:2 and 2 Timothy 4:2 and Romans 1:16).
I suspect a “seeker-friendly” church will cater to the lowest common denominator. The only trouble is, that lowest denominator is the unsaved. Spiritually, we have nothing in common with the unsaved. We want to please God. They don’t. We can please God. They can’t. We can understand the things of God. They can’t. If a church organization is doing its job, the unsaved will have no interest in being there. Those who God is drawing will be there no matter what.
What has this world come to?
This makes absolutly no sense what-so-ever, pastorpenurialsm??? ridiculous!
Mr. Melvin I thank you for exposing these persons to where i know where to go and not to go….this is terribly SAD on thier part and i will pray for Mr. Jackson and others that they STOP this blasphemy!
Dear Melvin & Community:
This morning Iturned to BET and caught the remaining moments of “Dr.” Jamal Bryant’s motivational speech; some would call it a sermon.
As he was speaking, he says that “He”, not God, was sending a seven months blessings to all who were listening to him. Among other non-sense, he told the people that “The people who don’t have your vision, your anointing, and your purpose, God is getting ready to move them out of your life!”
I thought to myself, “Here he goes again.” My heart sank as I saw the people’s reaction to that statement; they were shouting all over the place obviously affirming what Mr. Bryant had just “prophesied” concerning their future.
The Word of Faith teachers have no clue as to the judgment awaiting them for misleading people whom God loves dearly. What is even more frightening is that these so-called anointed teachers don’t care about the people to whom they are speaking.
Why is it that when people speak of the “anointing” they speak in terms of degrees of the anointing? Where in the Bible do we have even one example of the Spirit’s anointing for service being measured out to people?
How does the pimps qualify for having more anointing than everybody else? This question is especially pertinent given the fact that the pimps are greedy, corrupt, materialistic, anti-Christ, and false teachers?
Are we to believe that a holy God who demands His spiritual leaders to be upright in heart and action, is blessing them, anointing them seven-fold, and using them for His glory??
I think not! I think we had better heed the stern warning of the Lord who said: “Many shall come to me in that day, and say, Lord, Lord did not we do many wonderful things in your name? Did not we preach in your name? did not we cast out demons in your name? But I will say unto them, depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you, prepare for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 7:21-23).
There is so much more that I could say concerning this matter, however, we are well aware of the deception and the great apostasy that is happening right before our very eyes. On last evening, I attended my beautiful wife’s Christmas party that her job as a Family Advocate sponsored.
God put my wife in that position to help needy families that have been torn asunder by sin. What is troubling to me and her is that there are many professing believers on her staff, but unfortunately, their Christian witness have been compromised due to their public hypocrisy that is demonstrated by getting drunk, comitting adultery, and being totally dishonest.
Of course, we didn’t stay very long, but our hearts were grieved by what we witness (my Mrs. see this daily). May God help us to be a witness for Him, and that people will become more discerning and that they will know the difference between the “Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error” (1 John 4:6).
Blessings to You All!
BT
BT, I heard him speak, again. I took the time to listen to a few of his sermons on myspace and I am simply amazed that Bryant’s listeners stand for such double speak. As a layperson, it can be hard to determine the double speak sometimes. With that said, I know when someone is being sloppy and pulling together nonsense.
SOmebody correct me on this as I could be wrong, but were the Levitical Priests permitted to own anything? If these “Pastorpreneurs” say they are following the law of the tithe, then again, correct me if I am wrong, but are THEY allowed to own anything(cars, businesses, land, jets,wives etc)
(MN: No, they were not. That was one of the resons for the tithe - to support the priests. )
Itchy ears of the Laodicean Church. What else can you expect when we are approaching the end times.
Kyle
Hi Melvin. Can you clarify the poll question?
(MN: No problem. Mr. Morning came in and sid something to the effect of: “The Bible doesn’t have the word trinity in thee and therefore there are not three persons. Furthermore, God is not a person.” Riki Tiki Tavi responded with a plethora or verses that demonstrated that there are three persons, each is God, etc. Mr. Morning’s rather erudite response was to quote a verse that had nothing to do with the dicsussion and repeat that God is not a person, satan is not a person, angels are not persons and once a people person dies, they are no longer a person. In otherwords, his response did nothing to address the argument put forth from scripture. We have had several people visit the site who did this (KBill, William, Righter, and Antoine for starters)> I Pateiently allowd these people to continue to post as a sort of visual aid to the rest of us. But having seen the course they ineveitably run, I find it less and less useful to continue to do so. However, being the benevolent dictator I am, I am actually givin all of you the opportunity to influence my decision.)
Mel, just wanted to say I really appreciate this piece(seeker friendly). So many people are trying to come up with ways to draw sinners to the body of Christ when its only one way for them to be drawn. The Holy Spirit is the one who draws. Not some special technique that man has come up with.
Melvin,
I don’t know if you got my e-mail but their is a new article about Saddleback Church and Rick Warren. A response in the article by Ricky calims that saving souls IS NOT THE #1 Priority. Ir their is any person here who still thinks that people like Warren and Paul Crouch or whatever other pulpit pimp is in it for the Gospel than just read this article in this link.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/decemberweb-only/151-53.0.html
I’am so Grateful that I found this website - it definitely confirms that God “always” has a remnant.