Church Growth Gone Mad

Clay Miller
Associate Pastor, Outreach Ministries

INTRODUCTION

I. DEFINITION

A. Church Growth Movement

“An organized effort and strategy to affect growth in the church which integrates biblical
and extra-biblical means.”
—Rick Holland, Pastor of Student Ministries, Grace Community Church.

B. Pragmatism

“Pragmatism is the notion that meaning or worth is determined by practical consequences

…the belief that usefulness is the standard of what is good. To a pragmatist…if a
technique or course of action has the desired effect, it is good. If it doesn’t seem to work,
it must be wrong.”
—MacArthur, Ashamed of the Gospel, xii.

C. Seeker-Friendly or Seeker-Sensitive

“A new way of doing church.”

—website of a leading Seeker-Friendly church in America.

“Seeker-Focused Worship”
“Seeker-Sensitive Worship”
“Seeker-Insensitive Worship”

II. HISTORY

A. Charles Finney

“There is nothing in religion beyond the ordinary powers of nature. A revival is not a
miracle, nor dependent on a miracle, in any sense. It is a purely philosophical result of
the right use of the constituted means … A revival is as naturally a result of the use of
means as a crop is of the use of its appropriate means.”
—Charles Finney, Lectures on Revivals of Religion, 4-5.

“Finney filled the bloodstream of American evangelicalism with poisons that have kept
the movement maimed even to this day.”
—Phil Johnson, Executive Director of Grace to You; Elder at Grace Community Church.
 B. Fuller Theological Seminary

Donald McGavran

C. Peter Wagner

C. Robert Schuller

D. Bill Hybels

1972 – “Son Life”

1973 – “Son City”

1975 – Hybels linked with Schuller’s leadership conference

E. Rick Warren

III. PRACTICE

A. Contemporary “Seeker Service” on the Lord’s Day

Casual dress and style

Contemporary music

Drama

Ministries aimed at “needs” and special interests of community

B. Pragmatism is Criteria for Ministry

“Never criticize any method that God is blessing.”

—Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, 156.

In Prayer
“Keep your pastoral prayers short in your seeker services … the unchurched can’t handle
long prayers; their minds wander or they fall asleep.”
—Warren, 256.

In Worship
“We must be willing to adjust our worship practices when unbelievers are present. God
tells us to be sensitive to the hang-ups of unbelievers in our services.”
—Warren, 243.
 C. Sociology and Psychology Take Precedence over Theology

Modern marketing techniques are lifted to the level of Scripture in Practice

“Assist him in a cost-benefit analysis.”

—Hybels, 175.

D. Avoidance of Doctrinal Issues on Sunday

“We want to loosen up the tense muscles of uptight visitors. When your body is relaxed,
your attitude is less defensive”
—Warren, 256.

“Worship is a powerful witness to unbelievers if God’s presence is felt and if the message
is understandable … God’s presence must be sensed in the service. More people are won
to Christ by feeling God’s presence than by all our apologetic arguments combined. Few
people, if any, are converted to Christ on purely intellectual grounds. It is the sense of
God’s presence that melts the heart and explodes mental barriers”
—Warren, 241-242.

IV. THEOLOGY

A. The Local Church

“Our church hosted a public debate between leading spokesmen for atheism and
Christianity.”
—Hybels, 171

B. Depravity

“The first step in moving people toward the point of decision is to simply find out where
they’re at.”
—Bill Hybels, Becoming a Contagious Christian, 183.

Rom. 3:11 (cf. Ps 14:1-3)

Eph. 2:1
Rom. 5:6
Rom. 8:8
Ps. 115:5
Ps. 115:6
Jer. 13:23

“Some seekers have serious intellectual questions that are preventing their progress
toward Christ.”
—Bill Hybels, 175.
 “The problem is, the longer you are a believer, the less you think like an unbeliever.
Your interests and values change. Because I’ve been a Christian for most of my life, I
think like a Christian. I don’t normally think like an unbeliever. Worse than that, I tend
to think like a pastor, and that’s even further removed from and unbeliever’s mind-set.”
—Warren, 189.

C. Election

“It is my deep conviction that anybody can be won to Christ if you discover the key to his
or her heart… The most likely place to start (looking for the key) is with the person’s felt
needs.”
—Warren, 219.

Jer. 17:9

D. Regeneration

“If they’ll sustain that kind of an all-out effort, they’re going to break through all the
barriers keeping them from belief.”
—Hybels, 175.

Phil. 1:29

“Assist him in a cost-benefit analysis.”

—Hybels, 175.

“There are some types of people your church will never reach, because they require a
completely different style of ministry than you can provide.
—Warren, 174.

“Explosive growth only occurs when the type of people in the community match the type
of people that are already in the church, and they both match the type of person the pastor
is.”
—Warren, 177.

Titus 3:5

Rom. 4:17

E. Sanctification

Doctrine is viewed as a deterrent to church growth.

“people will not learn the way they used to”

 Ps 19:7-9

“…do our own cost/benefit analysis in order to project how this enterprise will come
out.”
—Hybels, 26.

F. Worship

“The style of music you choose to use in your service will be one of the most critical (and
controversial) decisions you make in the life of your church. It may also be the most
influential factor in determining who your church reaches for Christ and whether or not
your church grows. You must match your music to the kind of people God wants your
church to reach. The music you use positions your church in your community…It will
determine the kind of people you attract, the kind of people you keep, and the kind of
people you lose. If you were to tell me the kind of music you are currently using in your
services, I could describe the kind of people you are reaching without even visiting your
church. I could also tell you the kind of people your church will never reach.”
—Warren, 280-281.

Eph. 5:19
Col. 3:16

G. Evangelism

1 Cor. 1:17; 2:4-5

Can the gospel be made to be inoffensive?

1 Cor. 1:18, 23, 25; 2:14; 1 Pet 2:7-8

CONCLUSION

1 John 2:15-17

John 4:23-24

Ezek. 33:7-9
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