By Dr. David J. Vaughan

    Church attendance in America has significantly declined in recent years, from 46% of the population to 36%. In response to this trend many churches are scrambling to come up with new methods, strategies and techniques to reach what they now call the "unchurched." In fact, a whole new industry has arisen, known as the "Church Growth Movement," which offers new market-driven advice on how to grow a "seeker friendly" church. For instance, one church growth "expert" claims that millions of baby boomers could be brought into the church if three simple steps were taken: 1) Advertise; 2) Stress product benefits; and 3) Be nice to people.
    What we see happening, in effect, is a "mega-shift" away from classical Protestant theology. As Gene Veith has noted, "many evangelicals are proclaiming a touchy-feely, therapeutic god who is light years away from the Holy One of Israel. This is a god of tolerance, who condemns no one and who can be reached by many different paths." Veith also notes that the church growth movement "seeks to build mega-churches by adjusting Christianity to the desires of the culture. Doctrine does not go over well in an age of relativism, so in order to attract new members, theological content must be minimized. Nor do people wish to hear about sin, so the church must cultivate an atmosphere of moral tolerance."
    Lest Veith be thought an alarmist, consider the following newspaper story. A church that was trying to attract members came up with this slogan: "Give us twenty-two minutes and we'll give you the Lord." Their Sunday service, called "Express Worship," consisted of a brief scripture reading, after which the audience was asked to write down their own thoughts. A hymn closed the service. The pastor said that the goal was to "restructure the way we think of the service. Not one person delivering the truth to you, but a shared experience."
    If asked, the pastor would probably say that he and his church were engaging in "outreach" or "evangelism." But can we really call that evangelism which has no proclamation of the cross?
    The reality is, that any scheme of evangelism must take into account what the Apostle Paul calls "the offense of the cross" (Gal. 5:11). Some men will inevitably be offended at the Gospel and will not receive Christ (assuming of course, that Christ is even offered). Indeed, some will even be angered at the offer of God's free grace. But why? Why is the cross-why must the cross-be offensive? For the simple reason that the Gospel, which literally means good news, assumes or declares that man is a sinner; and that, of course, is bad news.
    The Gospel is meaningless unless preached against the back drop of sin and judgement. How is forgiveness good news if I have no sin separating me from God? How is propitiation good news if I fail to see myself as the object of God's righteous wrath? Indeed, as the nineteenth-century theologian William Shedd has said, "The love of God needs the foil of the wrath of God to set it off, and make it bright and effulgent...No man knows how absolutely infinite is the mercy of God, unless he first perceives what God might in justice do to him."
    Any talk of sin and judgement will simply offend some in our "enlightened" and "compassionate" age. Such talk is intolerant, and intolerance is the the liberal version of blasphemy. But more to point, the Gospel is offensive because it declares man's inability to save himself. This message strikes at the root of man's most basic sin-the sin of pride. Some men will bear being called sinners if they may still cherish the hope of saving themselves; for then they can feign humility (by acknowledging sin) while retaining their pride (in believing they can save themselves). But the offense of the cross is surely this: all have sinned, and the only hope of forgiveness is the atoning death of Christ apart from any human effort. There is absolutely nothing man can do to merit salvation.
    There is always the temptation to soften the more offensive aspects of the Gospel in order to make it more appealing. But it is a "grave mistake", notes Dorothy Sayers, "to present Christianity as something charming and popular with no offense in it." Jesus himself "went about the world giving the most violent offense to all kinds of people;" therefore, "it would seem absurd to expect that the doctrine of His Person can be so presented as to offend nobody."
    Indeed a "charming and popular" Gospel is really an oxymoron. The preaching of the cross is to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, foolishness. But unto us who are saved it is the power of God. (I Cor. 1:23,18) While we may indeed offend some, we will likewise, with the blessing of God, win some. For the Gospel is "the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes" (Rom. 1:16).
    The duty of the church, then, is to proclaim the crucified Savior, whether men be offended or not. "Surely it is not the business of the church to adapt Christ to men," says Sayers, "but to adapt men to Christ." The cross may offend; but it will also save. Let the church be faithful in its proclamation and God will take care of the growth.

Dr. Vaughan is the pastor of Liberty Christian Church and the Associate Editor of the St. Louis MetroVoice.