Is everyone welcome at your church?

I talk often about how much words matter, particularly words like “church” (and the related “God’s house”), and perhaps sometimes the use of these words borders on being a pet peeve for me. But I think the way we use words matters. I don’t think we can deny that the word “church” has come to be used to refer more frequently to a building than to a group of people. While most Christians would agree that biblically “church” refers to a group of people and not to a building, we continue to use the word “church” to refer to the building where the church meets. It may come across to some like I’m being too picky on this issue, but I’d liked to suggest one reason why the way we use this term matters.

“We welcome everybody at our church.” This simple statement seems uncontroversial, loving, and Christ-like. Such a statement makes us seem loving to those who would accuse us of being close-minded and intolerant. When we are accused of being hateful for standing for biblical truths (or for calling sin sin), we can respond by saying that we welcome everybody at our church. After all, shouldn’t we welcome all people with open arms? But what do we really mean when we say this?

What I think that most churches mean is that everyone is welcome to come into their building and be a part of their worship service, or any of the various activities of the church. Even the little word “at” implies that we are open to people coming to a certain location. So if we mean that we are open to anyone coming to hear the gospel proclaimed, to hear biblical truth taught, and to see God’s people as they worship him corporately, that’s one thing. As we open our doors to our buildings in that way, hopefully people will be convicted, called to account, fall on their faces in worship of God, and declare that God truly is among this body of believers (1 Corinthians 14:24-25).

But do we really welcome everyone into our church, not into our building but into our fellowship, into our family of faith? This is after all how the question of whether we welcome everyone into our “church” should be framed. Hopefully we do not. To give just one example, we don’t welcome into our faith family those who believe that they have access to God apart from Jesus Christ. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians, division should exist in the church to show those who are recognized and approved as part of the church (11:19), and consequently those who are not. Some divisions have no place in the church, divisions along the lines of race, wealth, age, etc. Fractures along these lines are contrary to the truth of the gospel message and those who cause division along these lines should be rebuked and called to repentance. However, and this is a big however, division is actually necessary in the church. For example, those living in unrepentant sexual immorality should be separated from the church (1 Corinthians 5:13). We should not welcome such people into our church family unless they repent of their sinfulness. And if members of our church fall into sexual sin, we should separate ourselves from them if they refuse to repent.

So do we really welcome everybody at our church? Considering that the church is a people and not a location, the question should really be do we welcome everybody into our church? Hopefully the answer to this question is yes, if. We welcome anyone who will believe the gospel and repent of their sins, no matter what. But we reject anyone as a part of our church family who does not believe and will not repent. We may be called intolerant when we do so, but better to be called intolerant than to reject biblical truth and give people false assurance of their salvation.

Many of our churches have become too accepting. Perhaps our intentions have been noble, a desire to see the church grow and for all to be saved. But these noble intentions are no excuse for ignoring biblical truth. As Mark Dever wrote in Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, “If we really want to see our churches grow, we need to make it harder to join and we need to be better at excluding people. We need to be able to show that there is a distinction between the church and the world—that it means something to be a Christian.” While we don’t want to set up false barriers to the gospel or to church membership, we do want people to know that faith and repentance are necessary to be included in the family of God. While we can keep our buildings open to anyone, we should not keep our church open to everyone. And the difference between the two is crucial.

The seeker-sensitive church within

As a seminary student I mocked the “seeker-sensitive” church, churches that give away door prizes on Easter or turn worship into a concert and sermons into five helpful tips, all in an effort to keep people coming back. Pedaling to the felt needs of the masses seemed like cheapening of what the church was supposed to be. And I  knew that I  would never stoop so low.

Until I discovered that we are often a low-budget version of the churches that I used to ridicule. We have recently been considering how we can get people to come back for services on Sunday night. What can we offer  that will bring people in and get our Sunday night attendance where it used to be? The more conversations like this I have, the more I feel that we are what I once derided.

Perhaps we make Sunday School classes for every perceivable class of people. You’re a recently divorced woman in your 40s with two kids and you drive a sedan. We’ve got a class for people just like you! You’re into hunting? Great, but do you like to fish too? No, then head through door number two. Or perhaps more seriously, you feel more comfortable around people your age, and you don’t like to be annoyed by the grumblings of the older generation (or you don’t like to be pestered by those young whippersnappers), then you’re going to love this class.

We may not be able to give away a car on Easter, but we can give away door prizes at our block party. We may not be able to draw crowds with our elaborate sets, but we can download video clips that will serve the same purpose. We may not be able to offer a multimillion dollar children’s center, but we can do our best to get  kids begging to come back for more fun games and trips to the zoo.

The real question is not whether we are a seeker-sensitive church, because I believe most of us have bought into that mentality; the real question is whether we should be. Most would not label anything I’ve mentioned so far as inherently bad: targeted Sunday School classes, fun times for kids, or high quality worship performances. But when we build our church around what will get people to come, how do we show them the necessity of selflessness in the body of Christ? If we spend our time catering to people’s felt needs, how do we get them to look to the interests of others and not to their own selfish desires (Philippians 2:3-4)?

Unfortunately I have more questions than answers. But at the very least I think we need to be honest enough to admit what we really are. If a church feels that being seeker-sensitive is the way to go, that’s one thing. But let’s not mock those who openly promote a system that we simply refuse to admit we’ve embraced.