Keeping the Door Open for Seekers

An article on www.CNN.com this week started me thinking about the way we reach out to seekers; those who don't openly confess Jesus as Savior but are willing to listening to the message.  Seekers tend to connect with the church through questioning.  They often don't connect with God through traditional faith patterns.  When they pray, it's more with hope than it is confidence. The article that perked my interest was titled Six Types of Atheist and the author was Dan Merica.  While I never considered seekers to be atheist, one of the groups was seeking agnostics.   In the opinion of the author, seeking Agnostics are unsure about God but open minded.  In many cases they have been brought up by Christian parents and often they have even confessed that faith publicly. 

The seeds of doubt and skepticism that grow into atheism are sown and take root during the teen years.  It could be their exposure to the theory of evolution.  It might be because they see the church as being hypocritical.  They might see the church as irrelevant to their world.  The unfortunate reality is they perceive the church as not being a place where you can discuss these issues.  If you express any doubt or skepticism you are labeled.  When the tough questions are asked, instead of answers the response is usually you need to have more faith.

Unfortunately the climate within many faith communities does not encourage engagement with those who are young and seeking.  We often look with disdain on those who young.  They dress and look differently.  Tattoos? Body piercings?  Purple hair?  That's not our style.  We not only don't feel comfortable but we don't like it.  In such cases our personal bias can become the barrier that does not allow us to engage them in conversation, much less to talk about the issues. 

As a church we need to welcome the seeking agnostics.  We also need to give them a forum where there the questions can be asked and the issues discussed.  As long as they are part of our community we have the opportunity to pass on the heritage of faith.  Questions, doubt and even rebellion are part of faith development process.  When we do not allow a forum where the issues can be discussed, we run the risk of losing them.