57% of those attending Granger DO NOT believe in the authority of the Bible.
56% of those attending Granger DO NOT believe Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
Posted on 08/20/2008 12:00:32 PM PDT by Gamecock
Granger Community Church is considered to be one the brightest stars in the Purpose-Driven Church universe and is the 6th most influential church in America. Thousands of churches have purchased, downloaded and preached Granger's sermons. Past and present pastors from Granger are considered 'rock stars' and thought leaders in purpose-driven / seeker-sensitive circles.
But how effective are these Purpose-Driven / Seeker-Sensitive methods at making true converts and true Christian disciples?
Well, Granger just released the results of their Reveal Now survey and the data is bleak. In fact, Granger and their 'pastoral' staff get an F. Here are some of the low lights.
47% of those attending Granger DO NOT believe in salvation by grace. (This means they are NOT Christians, regardless of whether or not they identify themselves as those who are 'Growing in Christ' or 'Christ Centered')
57% of those attending Granger DO NOT believe in the authority of the Bible.
56% of those attending Granger DO NOT believe Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
This is exactly what we should expect from churches that spend their time trying to be 'relevant' and scratch itching ears rather than preaching and teaching God's Word in season and out of season. Or to put it another way, Christless Christianity is completely impotent when it comes to making Christians and Christian Disciples. These survey results prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt.
These results are a complete train wreck and highlight the fact that it is time to abandon the circus church approach once and for all and get back to the 'boring' and 'irrelevant' work of preaching and teaching God's Word, the Lord's Supper and proclaiming Jesus Christ as crucified for our sins.
YBPDLNPL Ping
I suspect that given a chance, many of those who attend these seeker-sensitive churches will grow out of their first “beginner’s church” and go to another that is a bit more on the beam.
It seems to me that this could be part pf God’s plan.
And which church would those described above grow into to? Unitarian?
Based on what criteria? According to whom? If the statistics are correct, I would say the label is not!
I have been a pastor for 29 years, active in envangelical circles, and have never heard of Granger. Tell me again about their influence.
Beats me. Ask these guys.
The key to determining the Christianity of a seeker church is not in a statistical analysis of its members. The very concept of a seeker church assumes that active participants have not yet settled on an understanding of the truth.
The leadership of the seeker church is critical. If these are committed Christians there is a direction in which attendees are being led.
The fact that a preponderance of members are not committed Christians may simply demonstrate that the church is reaching nonbelievers.
No, not at all. People who come to Jesus can grow very rapidly and outrun their starter church.
My own story is a little bit like that. I came from a super liberal social gospeler denomination, spent some time in a signaificantly less liberal church (which may reflect my changing beliefs rather than that of the church’s)and ended up in a conservative Southern Baptist congregation.
I didn’t really come to Jesus until I attended the Southern Baptist church. The total elapsed time between the start of my first service with them and Jesus coming into my life was about 45 seconds. It was amazing, Grace.
**a seeker church**
One of today’s great oxymorons.
Well, LiteKeeper, then you just ain't hip, relevant, cutting-edge and really interested in reaching the unchurched, are you?!
After all, any/every relevant pastor has heard of Granger.
My (relevant) ex-pastor (he didn't leave...I did) preached many Granger Sermon Series.
And...given the "teaching/preaching" content, I am not surprised at the survey results. Doctrine is unimportant when it comes to the postmodern relevant church reaching the unchurched.
Good point.
One of today’s great oxymorons.
I will second that!
"Reaching" them with what?
And/Or...It may just be a church of nonbelievers.
My pastor jokes that we are a seeker church. He says we’re seeking the lost and undone and seeking to minister the gospel of Jesus to them so their lives may be changed by His power and grace. My pastor is really big on outreach; particularly to drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes, etc.
Amen!
If the Church is preaching the truth then many of these non-beievers will either leave, or become saved..becuase The Gospel produces that kind or reaction! It did in my life, and it also did in Jesus own life.
Yikes! I think that is the church that our youngest son’s girlfriend attends. She used to love it, but now, having attended our conservative PCA church enough times, she is starting to think there might be something wrong with that church! An answer to a lot of prayer. I knew that she went to some huge PDL church in the Mishiwaka area. It this church Methodist in some form or other? If so, then it is likely her church.
Thanks for the ping on this. Very telling. The article did not say if Granger found this to be a problem or not.
Funny you should say that. Several years ago, I took a hard look at the teaching programs offered at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church. I found no direction-based programs, only demographic-based ones. I summarized my findings by suggesting that "all baptisms are held in kiddie pools for safety, and the Communion bread is all pre-digested" at Lakewood Church.
A year prior, I made a similar observation (and a prescient one) re Rick Warren: "if there was "deeper" meaning and material for new converts, I'd think Warren would use the profits from PDL to publish it, or at least promote it. From what I've seen in his books and on Saddleback's website, I don't Warren has any idea how to transition a milk drinker into a meat eater."
In order to be a leader, you have to have an idea of where you're leading your troops. There must be progress made. Goals must be reached, and new ones set. But if you're continually being "seeker-sensitive", then your troops have to go AWOL in order to escape the endless basic training. This is already happening with PDL and Saddleback as we speak. Do Saddleback or Lakewood operate a "church membership transition program" to meet the needs of maturing Christians? We know where the baby food is served at the megachurch cafeteria. Where is the grill?
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