> Actually, church isn’t for non-believers, it is for believers to worship and hear the Word of God.
What you say here is in direct contradiction to the words of Our Lord, who said in Luke 5:32 “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” I therefore respectfully put to you that your viewpoint is about as wrong as it could get.
It it the job of churches to continue Our Lord’s work. To be outward focused, not inward focused.
> If non-believers attend and are drawn to God, that’s great.
Actually, it’s more than great, it’s required. If your church is not attracting non-believers to believe, repent and be baptized then your church is not doing what Christ requires it to do, and your church is at risk of Judgment.
It is the church’s primary mission, to bring sinners into a covenant relationship with God.
> But churches should not “cater” to seekers, especially by diminishing and mocking God’s Word.
As I’ve said, I don’t like that billboard of theirs, I believe it is in poor taste. It is not a strategy I’d like to see deployed at any church I attend. But churches must certainly cater to seekers insofar as they must get seekers into the door and help them find Christ.
“Progressive” = liberal, emerging church, New-Age, unbiblical muckety-muck. Makes me want to puke
Christ is neither Liberal nor Conservative. Christ is Christ. I prefer to leave politics and religion as separate matters — even though I personally believe Conservatives are more likely to find time for Christ than are Liberals. God may have an entirely different view, however.
Thanks for your reply. In my and others’ opinion, church is where the sheep are fed. Then we “go out” into the world and share the gospel with our friends and neighbors. Inviting people to church is great, but they will hopefully hear the gospel and the Word of God preached, not topical “self-help” sermons and such that are trying to meet the “felt needs” of unbelievers. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on this matter.
When I say “liberal,” I mean theologically liberal. There are churches that hold to biblical teaching, and there are others that have wandered off into postmodernism and New Age and social gospel stuff. It is important that we hold to truth, and not mix truth with falsehood. The Enemy is subtle in his deceptions, so we need to be extremely vigilant.