You decide which man has the better approach:
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, 30 years’ minister of Westminster Chapel in London, fervent opposer of liberal Christianity, sound expositor of biblical doctrine with fire and passion in his delivery:
“When the church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it. It is then that the world is made to listen to her message.”
Or, Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Church: Founder of Saddleback Church, currently the eighth-largest church in the US, father of the manual of how to redesign both churches and services in an effort to bring more “seekers” through their doors, using worldly allurements to attract the multitudes:
“Figure out what mood you want your service to project, and then create it. (p. 264); We start positive and end positive. (p. 271); We use humor in our services … it is not a sin to help people feel good. (p. 272); Cultivate an informal, relaxed, and friendly atmosphere. (p. 272); We made a strategic decision to stop singing hymns in our seeker services. (p. 285); We have attracted thousands more because of our music. (p. 285); Saddleback now has a complete pop/rock orchestra. (p. 290); Use more performed music than congregational singing … (p. 291) (emphasis on entertainment); The ground we have in common with unbelievers is not the Bible, but our common needs, hurts, and interests as human beings. You cannot start with a text … (p. 295); Make your members feel special … they need to feel special. (p. 320,323)”
“The goal of The Purpose Driven Life is to help people develop a heart for the world.”
As poet Robert Frost wrote so famously, “two roads diverged in a yellow wood” … In this case, the road that Lloyd-Jones was on, the one that walks closely with Jesus, is measured and sober, one that is straight and leads to wisdom and understanding of His word.
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| Lloyd-Jones & Westminster Chapel |
The other road leads to…well…none of the above. This is what happens “when a pastor chooses to entertain goats rather than feed Christ’s sheep.” (quote source). It leads to this:
HT Closet Calvinist via DoNotBeSurprised
John MacArthur said of the seeker driven movement of Rick Warren and his ilk, “They have figured out how to get a crowd and call it church. There’s a big difference between a crowd and a church…big difference.”
You decide which of the above is church…and which is a crowd. Then decide where you want to be when Jesus returns, with the crowd? Or with the church?
the-end-time.org 