by Bret Capranica | Dec 1, 2006 | Seeker-Sensitive
Painful Decline | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction Like fads before it (i.e., Promise Keepers), could we be seeing the end of the Purpose Driven Church fad? According to the linked article, the Purpose Driven ministry is no longer its own entity, but is now overseen by the staff at Saddleback Church. Is the shift in oversight a result of a stronger local church theology? Apparently not. The PD ministry has lost its CEO and 1/3 of its staff and is now overseen by church staff. Those now overseeing the ministry admit that PD has reached a crest and is now settling down. Whether the PD approach is long-term or not remains to be seen. I realize that good ministries come and go over time for good reasons – and this one may simply have run its course. Yet I do have to wonder if there isn’t something more to the recent passing of the PD ministry. I happen to think that PDC as a movement will continue to fade for a number of reasons. First, as mentioned in the article, Rick Warren is not as interested in the PDC movement as he is the new P.E.A.C.E program. This program is being spun as a long-term “missions” program. I’m not convinced this is missions. In my estimation, the gospel is not emphasized in the P.E.A.C.E. plan. Church planting may be a plank in the acronym but if the churches begun through the new movement match the theology of the fading fad in America, will these churches have any lasting impact and more importantly, are they, biblically...
by Bret Capranica | Oct 27, 2006 | Ecclesiology, Evangelism, Seeker-Sensitive
Great comments quoted by Ligon Duncan. Together for the Gospel
by Bret Capranica | Sep 23, 2006 | Ecclesiology, Seeker-Sensitive
Axis Denied – Christianity Today Magazine The Generation X church, at Willow Creek is officially dead. Is anyone surprised by this? The “Axis” service at Willow Creek was originally designed for 20-somethings to have a church within a church. Before receiving the executive axe, Axis grew to around 2000 in attendance just five years ago. Within the past five years, it has plummeted to 350 in attendance: marks of a religious fad. Why was it so unsuccessful? Consider the quote: Integration will better fulfill Willow’s multigenerational vision, said interim pastor Steve Gillen. He said Axis didn’t connect young adults with the rest of the congregation. Once they outgrew the service, Axis members found it hard to transition into the rest of the Chicago-area megachurch. Young adults also struggled to meet and develop relationships with mentors in the larger congregation. In my estimation, when you divide the church and isolate it around age groups you have just secured the death warrant for the church. I’m not talking about a youth Sunday School class or an AWANA program. But when you create a church climate where a certain segment is designed to have no involvement with the greater congregation and larger ministry of the church, you have just consigned the concept of community and the image of the body of Christ to the spiritual waste basket. But really, Axis was not segmented purely around 20-somethings, was it? The very definition of who they were trying to reach defies its make-up. 20-somethings? Does this refer to those who are in their 20’s or does it include 40 year olds you hate growing...
by Bret Capranica | Sep 9, 2006 | Culture, Ecclesiology, Emergent, Seeker-Sensitive
Dr. Russell Moore, Dean of Theology from Southern Seminary, writes a funny piece noting that the TNIV has become the official version for Relevant Magazine. You need a good laugh! The Henry Institute:...
by Bret Capranica | Sep 9, 2006 | General Theology, Seeker-Sensitive
Michael Spencer on Joel Osteen – good critique. internetmonk.com » Blog Archive » Osteen Redux
by Bret Capranica | May 31, 2005 | Ecclesiology, Seeker-Sensitive
Dan Southerland, “the leading expert on implementing the Purpose Driven paradigm in existing churches”, writes a recent article published on the popular “pastors.com” website, entitled, “Seeker semantics.” According to Pastor Southerland, there is a chief difference between “Seeker Driven” churches and “Seeker Sensitive” services. “Seeker Driven” are those weekend church services that make “winning the seeker” the main goal. To accomplish this goal and emphasis “they’ve added contemporary music, topical teachings, videos, drama and multi-media – all of which are good methods – to their focus on the seeker. Since the goal of the weekend service in such models is to reach the seeker, worship time is reduced, performed music is used more than participatory music, and the teaching is kept ultra light in its topic and tone.” Southerland offers no examples of current “Seeker Driven” churches and the tone of his article assumes that Purpose Driven Churches are NOT “Seeker Driven” churches. “Seeker Sensitive” services, according to Southerland, are distinctly different from “Seeker Driven” churches in that, “The purpose is still for the family of God to meet together, to worship and to be fed.” “Seeker Sensitive” church services have merely changed their awareness of who is present and they adopt appropriate manners for seekers who may be present. This is fascinating! Why? Because Dan Southerland, “the leading expert on implementing the Purpose Driven paradigm in existing churches”, has just re-written the best selling Purpose Driven Church (PDC) paradigm. Consider Rick Warren’s comments in PDC: “Each week at Saddleback, we remind ourselves who we’re trying to reach. . . . Once you know your target, it will determine...
