Community Impact Summer 1988

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A pastor told LEADERSHIP recently, "The people I'm preaching to are increasingly secular. I can't assume they have a Christian world view." Said another, "I mentioned a Bible reference during my sermon, and after the service, a woman who was visiting asked me, 'What did you mean when you said those numbers?' "

Today, the non-Christian who visits a church may find the Christian message utterly foreign. Even those who attend church these days are often influenced far less by Paul and Barnabas than by Cagney and Lacey. How can pastors effectively communicate the gospel to these un-churched people of the late twentieth century?

For the past thirteen years, Bill Hybels has served as pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago, a ministry structured to reach contemporary un-churched people. In this article, he explains some of the lessons he's learned about preaching to the secular mind.

Driving home from church the other day, I pulled behind a guy on his Harley-Davidson. I noticed a bumper sticker on the rear fender of his motorcycle, so I pulled closer. It read: SCREW GUILT.

After the shock wore off, I was struck by how different his world was from the one I'd just left-and even from the world a generation ago. In my day, we felt guilty, I thought. Now, it's not only "I don't feel guilty," but "Screw guilt." I find that the unchurched people today, whom we're called to reach, are increasingly secular.

There was a time when your word was a guarantee, when marriage was permanent, when ethics were assumed. Not so very long ago, heaven and hell were unquestioned, and caring for the poor was an obvious part of what it meant to be a decent person. Conspicuous consumption was frowned upon because it was conspicuous. The ...

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