"What good is knowing God loves you if it doesnt get a person to identify their need for Christ as a savior."
On Salvation, and God's obligation to save: Does the Church exist for God or for man? Is the chief and highest goal in life to save sinners willy-nilly, without apparent purpose? Or is the chief end of man to glorify God and enjoy Him forever? If you claim to know and trust God, ask yourself this: "Do I trust Him enough to save me?" Not because of your decision. HIS decision. Infant baptism is a beautiful, beautiful, illustration of this, in that the infant is utterly helpless, passive, when the water of baptism washes his forehead, marking that little one as a covenant member. That is how it is with God saving sinners; they are utterly bankrupt, with nothing in their hands to bring but their sin, hellworthy sinners with no claim on any Divine gift that God saves for His own Name's sake.
This is very, very hard for Americans to accept because of our individualism - we want to be in control - but is what the Bible teaches throughout.
What I am concerned with is that people will not confess to sin when they beleive it does not exist. Churches need to meet people where they are at, develop a relationship and allow the Spirit to convict them. Making them recite the confession doesnt take that 18 inch journey from head to heart that is needed in a believer.
On meeting people where they're at: A twofold issue. First, does the church bend its ear and ask, "Okay, what do you want? And you?" In short, does the church exist primarily to cater to man's "felt needs" or worship the Triune God? There can only be one primary purpose, not two. I think it was Karl Barth who, in spite of his doctrinal shortcomings, got it right when he said, "When I preach, the Bible is in the foreground, and the people are in the background. THAT's my priority." The pastor must give an account before God, and will be judged more harshly than others, according to James. If he spent his time on earth telling men what their itching ears wanted to hear, he will answer for that at the Judgment.
Secondly, it is true that the preaching must accord with the pastor's perception of the spiritual condition of the congregation. It can be broken up into four parts: The unrepentent/unconverted, the indifferent, the troubled/weak, and the strong. He should tailor his message appropriately. For example, he wouldn't preach on the warnings in Hebrews 10:25,26 on damnation to the troubled, or words of comfort to the indifferent.
Meeting people where they're at does not mean that the church makes itself just like the world, bringing in the world's music, the world's entertainment, the golden calf, and the spirit of the age. Worshipping God is serious business; the word "fun" does not appear one time in the Bible, neither should the pastor crack jokes; the place for that is outside of public worship. "Be ye holy, even as I am holy."