Last week, I raised the question of whether or not the seeker-sensitive methods of advertising and preaching to felt needs, with the goal of bringing people into the church so that they might eventually hear the gospel, was somehow less Biblical or Christlike than an approach that just preaches the gospel of sin, repentance, and salvation in all its offense and trusts that that approach will be enough.  I gave the example of Granger Community Church in Indiana, advertising their series regarding what the Bible has to say about sex on billboards in their community in order to entice people into their church and create conversation in their region, and asked whether that was a supremely creative expression of evangelism or a shameful display of man-centered methods towards church growth. 

I have heard some critics of the Granger approach to ministry and evangelism point out the dangers of selfish ambition and the (to them) obvious desire of these pastors to have a big church, to be successful in the eyes of the world.  As one of the comments on the last blog post wisely pointed out, selfish ambition is listed in Galatians 5 as one of the acts of our sinful nature.  I know that within me lies a great desire to be worshiped, to be placed on a pedestal and hailed as the greatest who ever lived, so that all would bow down and acknowledge my awesomeness.  I am fully aware that I have done things as a pastor and as a Christian that were driven more by selfish ambition – the desire for others to honor me – instead of the desire for God to receive all the glory.  Unfortunately, I’m usually unaware of this selfish ambition when I’m planning the event, writing the blog post, or preaching the sermon.  It’s only when I look back on what I have done and really examine the motive behind it that I see so clearly how my sinful nature has had its way with me once again.  I know that selfish ambition is a huge temptation for me.

To which Jesus says: 

“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26)

And this:

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” (Matthew 6:5)

Instead of praying in order to be seen by men, Jesus says, go into your closet and close the door and pray to God; live out your righteousness for an audience of one, and He will reward you.  And how incredibly counter-cultural is that Luke verse!  Are people speaking well of you?  Do people treat you with reverence?  Be careful – you may be no different than the false prophets of the Bible, who said “peace, peace” when there was no peace, and refused to proclaim God’s impending judgment as the true prophets did.  According to Jesus, when all speak well of you, there is a good chance you are not preaching the real gospel.

I know that I can be a slave to the opinions of others.  I crave peace in my life, and when I am aware of someone who is angry with me or disagrees with me, it can really be hard for me to function.  I want all men to speak well of me.  But Jesus is clear that this need of the approval of others is slavery, it is sin, and it is keeping me from loving God with all of my heart and loving my neighbor as myself.  Instead, Jesus says this:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12)

So, do you still want to follow Jesus?  How many of us consider ourselves blessed when people are falsely saying all kinds of evil against us?

I recently heard a story about John Wesley, the traveling evangelist of the 1800’s and founder of the Methodist church.  He had been preaching throughout the countryside, and as he was riding his horse and meditating on God’s Word, he realized that in three days no one had persecuted him, chased him, cursed him, or tried to hurt him with stones and sticks.  He got off his horse and began to search his heart, asking, “God, have I become a carnal man?  Has my message become so worldly that no one any longer persecutes me?”  Just then a farmer who hated him saw him and threw a brick at Wesley, scraping his nose.  And Wesley got back on his horse, saying, “Thank you God that you’ve confirmed your favor to me.”

Who are these people???  Who in their right mind would see someone throwing a brick at you as a sign that you are on the right path, and having all men speak well of you as a sign that you must be straying from preaching the gospel? 

When it comes to the seeker-sensitive, megachurch movement, I think it is unfair to say that the goal of these pastors is large churches and megachurch glory.  Having met some, listened to the sermons and read the writings of others, I can say that the majority of them seem to be driven by a passion to see people coming to faith in Jesus, and because of this passion they will try just about anything in order to see people find God.  In the end, I can only speak for myself and examine my own motives, and I know that within me there is a great desire to see myself worshiped and adored that must be repented of and destroyed before I go ahead with anything in pastoral ministry.  How can I preach God’s Word if I know my desire is for people to pat me on the back and say, “Great sermon!”  How can I plan an outreach event if I know that my goal is for my name and picture to be in the paper?  How can I counsel someone if all the while I am looking for them to affirm me?  And how can I lead a church if my secret desire is to be hailed as the greatest pastor of all time?

The desire to be loved by man, to have all speak well of you, whether in a pastor or a Christian, will in the end be a hindrance to the preaching of the gospel and, according to Jesus, will likely end up in false prophecy.  May we find our identity in Jesus Christ and His saving love for us, so that we might honor Him instead of stealing the glory for ourselves.

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