Thom Rainer’s Twitter Poll

Nathan Britton

Recently, Thom Rainer, President and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, posted an article entitled, Top Ten Ways Churches Drive Away First-time Guests which reports the responses that Dr. Rainer received from a Twitter poll. In this poll, the number one reason listed that first time guests at church do not return is due to “having a stand up and greet one another time in the worship service.” Apparently, this time makes newcomers feel uncomfortable and out-of-place. Though not implicitly stated by the article, the clear take-home from this result, especially by those reposting the article, is that churches need to stop having a meet-and-greet time during their services.My ConcernI typically take these kinds of things with a grain of salt and move on, but this one is particularly upsetting to me. I admit that our church does have a meet-and-greet time, though this is not what upsets me. Honestly, it does not matter to me whether or not a church has a meet-and-greet time, but what does matter to me is that a church be a church. The overwhelming and accelerating direction in our church culture over the past half century is toward what is called the church-growth, seeker-sensitive movement. The problem with this movement is that the final result is a church that really is not a church at all. For more on this, keep reading.Why Manipulate?One definition of manipulate is “to influence or manage shrewdly or deviously.” A church should seek to influence people, but through the honest means of proclaiming God’s Word, not through devious or backhanded measures. We, however, live in a society that loves using manipulation. Just think about all the Facebook posts you read that have dubious titles like 10 of the Best Characteristics in a Man…. Number 6 is Essential! It’s all manipulation to get you to read the article, which is typically full of hogwash anyway. I, for one, hate manipulation, and you should too! We should simply want the plain, unadulterated truth. As Christians, we get that truth from God’s Word.Sadly, the church-growth, seeker-sensitive movement is the king of manipulation. Those involved will do practically anything to manipulate people through the door: have a cage fight on stage, talk about sex in very graphic ways, provide a rock concert every week for entertainment, drop fifty thousand Easter eggs from a helicopter, etc. And once the person is in, the manipulation continues with emotionally driven “services” that mirror rock concerts and life coaching sessions more than anything biblical…not to mention the perfectly timed music that is used to produce responses and tears. It is manipulation for the purpose of producing a response. Don’t get me wrong; I am all for responses, but a response based on emotional manipulation is not at all the same (in fact it is quite the opposite) as a response based on the conviction of the Spirit that is produced through the proclamation of God’s Word. One has meaning, one does not; one has staying power, one does not.The thing to remember is that all of this manipulation only works well when all other obstacles and awkward moments are removed. The “church” certainly does not want to detract from all that manipulation energy. So we must get rid of the congregational Bible readings, the announcement time, the informal prayer request time, the ability to hear myself sing time, and, of course, the meet-and-greet time. The result of all this nonsense is an entertaining organization, not a church.What Is a Church?One key in this discussion is knowing the answer to the question, “what is a church?” Paul describes the church this way:For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).The church, believe it or not, is made up of Christians! When a local church gathers, Christians gather. The church-growth, seeker-friendly movement, however, makes a church gathering about unbelievers. Hear me clearly: a church service should never be geared toward unbelievers! Of course unbelievers are welcome, but they are not the ones for whom the service is designed. I fear that churches have become so concerned about speaking to unbelievers in their services that they fail to feed believers in their services.What about Evangelism?Of course the common objection to making church services about believers is the cynically toned question, “What about evangelism?” Again, hear me clearly: evangelism must be part of Christianity. I share the gospel in every service because one never knows who is in the service. Reaching the lost right then and there, however, is not the emphasis of the service, nor should it be. It is wonderful to have church functions that are aimed at reaching the lost, but these are special functions, not the normal services. In the end, evangelism is most effective outside the gathering of the church. The church gathered is for edification, training, and admonishment; the church scattered is for evangelism! Go out and share the gospel! When one hears and believes, then he or she becomes part of the church, and should join a local church family.Should Guests Feel Awkward?Yes! A visiting believer should feel comfortably awkward, and an unbeliever should feel uncomfortably awkward. Why? Because neither of them are part of that local family. The believer is a relative, but not direct family; the unbeliever is not related at all! Let me give you a couple of scenarios to explain.When I was a child my family went on a week-long family reunion to Falls Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee. At this reunion there were cousins, aunts, uncles, and others I had never met before. We were family, but not direct family. I remember the first few days were awkward (I also remember my older sister, Sarah, crashing the van into a tree, but that is a different story). By the end of the week, though, we all were having a grand time. It takes time to get to know extended family, but not much. The same is true of believers who visit other churches; they should feel comfortable, but a little awkward until they spend more time together.Just yesterday, I met for the first time and had lunch with a man who has a worldview completely different than mine. Besides that, we were vastly separated by age, size, looks, likes, and everything else imaginable. Believe me, it was awkward! We are not family. You would probably have to go back to three generations after Noah to find a link between us. It was uncomfortable. But it was still cordial. The same is true when nonbelievers walk into a church. They are walking into a world in which they have no part. They are welcome to come and, God willing, they will become a part, but the church should not gear services for them. Think of it this way: nonbelievers are children of the devil. 1 John 3:10 says, “in this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God.” The question is, would you want the devil to feel comfortable without any awkwardness in your church service? Bluntly, the church-growth, seeker-friendly movement is attempting to make church less awkward and more comfortable for the devil. Just letting you know now, that should concern you! 

In the end, the church service must be geared toward believers. Then, encourage believers to go out and evangelize so more will become part of the church. But do not get caught up in this movement that suggests that churches need to stop being churches for the sake of pleasing guests. I suppose this article is simply a long way of saying, if you like your meet-and-greet time in your church, then you can keep it!Nathan Britton is Pastor of First Baptist Church in Taos, New Mexico