Are meeting felt needs important?

So as I said I Definitely feel like we're going to fill this whole 20 minutes section. Because I have a lot to say in this I have several screens to go through. But um before we even get there. I want to sort of talk about what this is about we're going to be talking about meeting felt needs and It's kind of a hard thing to define.

The Church’s Responsibility and the Idea of Felt Needs

So hopefully I'll be able to explain it well. But the whole purpose in this is getting you to understand. Because we're talking about church life in ministry and the last two weeks have been ministries within the church understanding the Responsibilities of the church, and what's not the responsibilities of the church is often important in ministry.

What are we what are we called to do? And what are we not called to do. I'll give you the best example I can think of a Few years ago. There was a movie called time changers. Time changers was a Christian film that was produced by Some Christian ministry, you know they you know it was sort of like No, not the chosen sort of like that was that movie about the Giants something chasing the giant Facing the Giants yeah, so it's like that.

So it's like a Christian movie right but time changers was set in it was like a marty mcfly time movie it was a Back to the future type thing and it was about a guy From the past who comes to the future and sees the state of the church.

He's in the 1800s, and he's you know. Possibly because I have no idea who you're talking about. Yeah, yes, and it was it was heavily published in but here's the here's what happened in the film the guy was from the 1800s.

He comes to the modern day and he visits a church and he goes and starts to look at some of the ministries of the Church and he's confused. Because of what the church is focused on. He doesn't understand why they would be focused on things that don't have to do with Christ or the gospel.

And so he gets himself in the visitation ministry because the pastor said anybody who wants to go and visit and share the gospel. We're going Tuesday night if you want to go come to the church, so he's he's excited.

This is what I want to do. So he goes to the church and they talk about what they're going to do. He says if you're a brand new person, you got to go with a seasoned person. So he's brand new of course, and he's going to go with the seasoned person he goes with the seasoned person and he goes to a home of a couple that had recently visited the church and.

The man walks in and he's got like a pamphlet for the church and the church pamphlet has got all this stuff about how the youth group goes to River Rapids and and how they do these things and and he's selling him the church as if he were selling him like Six Flags over Jesus, you know, he's kind of selling that selling the product and the man is standing back.

He goes when are we going to talk about the gospel? When are we going to talk about their salvation? When are we going to talk about their real need? And the whole point of the that it's not the whole movie.

But that exchange was the guy who's in charge the guy leading he's like no we have to meet their their their immediate needs. We got to see you know, they have kids so they need child care. They have teenagers.

They need a youth group. They have their young married couple. They need young married classes. You know. We got to meet their needs and we got to meet every need and we got to find. What where their holes are we got to plug them, right?

We got to find where their needs are we got a film and that's Honestly what happened in the late 90s early 2000s with the church where the church is started to have concierges. You know like it like hotels come in and tell us what you need and we'll we'll find a we'll have a Valet, he'll fill it, you know.

And as I said earlier, there's something about being hospitable and having having those things that are important. But there's also something about making the church a one-stop shop where this is the place where my kid does his sports.

This is the place where my kid gets his social interaction. This is the place where my kid does this where my kid does that and and the church becomes a business of entertainment. Rather than a avenue for the gospel.

You had your hand up once a year visit some of the bigger churches in town. What was the church like? How was I treated? What was the what was the pastor like? How did he preach at all?

Oh boy, if they came here they their hair would catch on fire. Now I'm just saying if they heard one of my sermons Like Yeah shoeshine stations, yeah. So. So. So the question of this portion of the class is what is the church's responsibility what are we really responsible for in regard to meeting needs right and and the term felt needs is is is based on the idea that people have needs that they feel and Usually it is regarding some form of deficiency in their self or their situation.

And it's give you an example people need to feel loved. People need to feel appreciated. People need to feel valued. People need to feel honored. People need to feel considered. People need to feel secure.

So we would call those felt needs right? These are needs that people feel and you might Distinguish them from something like a real need. That's what some people the one of the arguments people will say is well felt needs are different from real needs for instance a felt Need might be that a person is made to feel valued in contrast to the real need of a person who's starving needs food.

Right person who comes in who's obviously not had a meal for three days. They need food. That's not just a felt need. That's a real need and if you don't feed them, they're going to die. All right, so that's how the sort of that distinguish between a felt need and a and a real need.

But that is to say if you say it that way that is to say the need to be loved isn't a real need. It's just a felt need but that's not true. We really need to be loved. We really need to be valued. Right, and so that becomes the question of what is the church's responsibility?

The Purpose-Driven Life and the Seeker-Sensitive Movement

A Few years ago book came out. Probably you've heard of it. It was the number one selling Christian book for many years. It was entitled the purpose-driven life and I said at the bottom This is not an endorsement.

But I bring this book up because I did read it and The pastor who was my previous The pastor of this church previous to me he read it and loved it. And so he ended up doing the 40 days of purpose challenge here at the church.

Which was who you took the book and you went through it for 40 days and everybody had to read the book and everybody had To do this thing. So he took he really ran with this. So we I was imbibed in this thing, but what the book is really about Is helping people find their purpose in God's plan.

In fact, you know, it's it's knowing what the purpose is that we were created for and what what is that? That is a felt need right people need to feel like they have value. They need to feel like they have a purpose.

All right, and if you do go through the book if you ever do decide to read it. He breaks it down to five specific purposes. We were created to worship fellowship minister Evangelize and I forget the other one was but there were five things and he and and basically that's what the church structure is and That's what we should be doing in the world.

Like I said, not everything the book says is bad or wrong. I just know that Rick Warren himself his a lot of his ministry is is Has gotten very kooky and so I can no longer endorse him and his preaching.

But like I said, not everything the book says is bad. Not everything it says is wrong. But the heart of the book my point and even bringing it up is that This book came out around the same time as the felt needs Explosion was happening in the church about the same time that movie came out about the guy coming here.

And what we have to do as a church is we have to find people's felt needs. We have to solve people's felt needs and What that created is it created what was called the seeker sensitive movement? You ever heard of the seeker sensitive movement?

The seeker sensitive movement very big in the 90s and in the 2000s the seeker sensitive movement was That the church should remodel itself. To encourage people who are seeking God to feel Comforted when they come in and to have their needs met their felt needs met when they come in and.

So that's when you started seeing things like the pulpit disappeared. And now it's just a guy walking around talking. He's no longer standing behind the sacred desk. You know and the the the model of the church no longer looked like a church.

But started looking more like a the inside of a nightclub, you know, because that's what people are comfortable with. So that's what we begin to model ourselves around right and everything begins to change the shift.

Begins to change trying to reach people and I want to read this to you. This is actually from Robert Gundry Paper he did and this is what it says. It says the seeker sensitive. Excuse me, the seeker sensitivity of evangelicals their practice of suiting the gospel to the felt needs of people primarily the bourgeoisie.

Contributes to their numerical success but can easily sow the seeds of worldliness broadly conceived. How so? Well in a society such as ours where people do not feel particularly guilty before God though.

In fact, they are seeker sensitivity if consistently carried through will soft pedal the preaching of salvation from sin for such preaching would not meet a felt need of people. As a result the gospel message of saving sanctifying grace reduces to a gospel message of physical Psychological and social well-being that allows worldliness to flourish.

So. Do we have a responsibility to meet people's needs and felt needs? Yes, but when that becomes The overriding ministry principle and it becomes we gotta and this is what some churches do they do surveys of the community.

What kind of music do you like? What do you listen to and that's they plan a church and they play that music and they preach those types of sermons because they use those surveys as As the way to build their and you think I'm lying that's exactly what they've done they it is it's absolutely marketing.

And again, yeah, I mean there's a lot we could talk about right with what the modeling and things let me give you it. Let me give you an example going back to Rick Warren. And again, I'm not seeking to pick on Warren right now, but Rick Warren was asked to come and speak at a.

When Felt-Needs Ministry Distorts the Gospel

It Was like a businessmen's conference. So it was like a lot of like this business had you know this conference and they had him come in as like a motivational Speaker, right? So he came in and he told a story.

He told a story about his son. He said I would he said at night I go in I watch my son's sleep. And I see his chest rise and fall and I see his chest rise and fall and I just like to watch my son. Because that's my boy and I'm proud of him and I love him and as a father I get it.

There's a wonderful illustration, but here's what he said next. That destroyed the illustration. He said that's the way God looks at you. God looks at you the way I look at my son with pride and he looks at you and he says that's my boy.

And I said this to a room full of men the majority of which I can only assume we're not saved. But what's he doing? He's telling a group of men that are not saved. God's proud of you. He's happy with what you're doing.

He's looking at you saying that's my boy. He is giving them a False gospel, but he's doing it through the process of felt needs. They need to feel validated. They need to feel valued. So I'm going to give it to him.

But in the process of doing so he's giving them a false understanding of who God is. Well, it's yeah, I mean a lot of prosperity gospel preachers take that same route for sure. Yes, sir the bourgeoisie is a upper-class type not really rich more just.

It's about class. It's referring to class and in this particular context. A lot of these churches these megachurches do seek out a certain you don't see most of you don't see megachurches getting planted in lower income neighborhoods.

They're planted in neighborhoods where the people can support them. Yeah to feed lead yep I. That's right the first need anybody has when somebody comes into this church the first need anybody has. I need to know where you stand With the Lord.

I need that because I know that's your greatest need. And so let's talk let's go to that then what needs are the Responsibility of the church to meet the first is everybody who comes in that door should hear the gospel if they haven't yet.

Hopefully coming in they've heard it because they've been invited by somebody who's already shared it with them. That's right that they've heard the true True gospel. Here's the thing. We tell our people, you know, and this is important is Because people will say well, I'm going to invite them to church to hear the gospel.

Brother Mike and I talked about this a lot because he's a big big. This is a big issue for him. He says don't tell people to come to church to hear the gospel share the gospel with them and then invite them to church because they may never darken the door of the church and If you're waiting for them to come let us give them the gospel.

Then they may never hear it. So you be the one sharing the gospel, right? So the person coming through the door. We want to know that they've heard the gospel. And we want to know. Huh? That's right. Yeah, and so that's the first need and we talked earlier about needs need to be feel like they're welcome.

Need to feel loved need if they do have a physical need clothing food, you know, I mean, honestly, I've heard people Years ago. It's been a long time. But years ago. What people wore to church seemed to be more important than it is now.

I wear pants or you know the jeans. Years wouldn't wouldn't caught me in jeans 15 years ago, you know, not in a teaching situation. Because it just wasn't the style but I remember growing up and hearing people who'd say well I just don't have the right clothes to go to church and the church would say well.

But we will give you that if you need something we get we will provide that for you. You know, like I said nowadays it seems like a secondary thing people go to in their pajamas, but. But but you understand what I'm saying?

If there's a need if a person's got kids if a person needs food all of these things, absolutely but but when it comes to felt needs I Have three scripture verses I wanted us to consider tonight and this is really three things that I think are Just sort of answer the question and and The passages are Romans 13 7 Romans 12 15 and Then Luke 7 36 to 50.

I'd like for you guys to open your Bibles. We're gonna like so we're gonna Read them quickly. So first person in Romans 13 7. I Want to hear somebody read it. Go ahead. Whoever. Okay, now the context of that is in the context of the government, right the governing authority has a certain responsibility.

Honor, Empathy, and Weeping with Those Who Weep

And so we are to pay our taxes. We are to give to to to work to pay what is owed. But notice at the end of the sentence it says honor. To whom honor is owed and I look at that passage and I say, okay.

Honor is not just something that is shown to the government or to an authority honor is something that is shown within the body and That is a need. That I think that we ought to fill. So for instance, you know, we we seek to you.

We teach the kids here honor your father mother because that's the command right? Right and and we also seek to honor people in their humanity honor their dignity honor their their their value as people.

Yeah, make them we should no one should come here and leave feeling worthless. And again, you may say that's such a small thing. No, it's not it's an important thing that if if if we don't recognize the image of God in people and Treat them as image bearers.

That's part of honoring where honors do right every human being, you know, we often talk about the sanctity of life. We are for the sanctity of life. We're for babies in the womb because we are pro-life.

But are we pro-life? With people who aren't in the womb. Do we treat people with dignity who are Standing in front of us. That's Part of it. I do think that's part of our responsibility right and again.

What does that look like it might look differently in different situations but honor where honors do Romans 12 15 who wants to read that one for me? Okay, go ahead James. Yeah, and I put grieve with those who grieve but weep with those who weep.

That's The idea that there are times we're meeting somebody's need might simply be The weeping with them while they weep. A few weeks ago here at the church. We many of our people were. Were broken-hearted.

Because a lady who was a dear friend of many of ours Died she was 42 years old. She was a member of this church for many years and had only over the last few years had moved to a different church. But had remained friends with many of our members.

So I came in that morning the day after she died. Well, I guess it was the day I don't did she die so it was a day or so after she died. I came very heavy-hearted because I knew our People were heavy-hearted.

Nobody that morning needed Joking Keith they needed serious and somber. The pastor and even as we sang we sang songs that were To that tone to the tone of Broken-heartedness and finding our comfort in the Lord.

We sang I can only imagine. Because we were thinking about what she's getting to enjoy as a believer versus what we and our loss are suffering. But you understand you weep with those who weep. So that's a felt need right?

I think this is a true thing. This is why I'm saying felt needs are not all bad. We can't model our ministry around meeting the felt needs of the community by having go-kart races and pizza parties every Sunday.

You know, that's not what we're talking about. But there are needs that are felt needs that are real needs. Weeping with the weeping and Rejoicing, you know what? Are you able to rejoice with people who are having some a blessing or do we feel the sense of envy?

See somebody get a new truck or two new trucks. I'm joking with Jackie because her son just got a new truck and pastor Andy got one a week later and they were joking about that Andy got it because Mike got it.

You know the Joe and we know that's not true, but it was fun. It was a fun joke. But the thing is can I look at their their blessing and say I'm so glad for them without saying oh man I didn't get a new truck people do that right and Again, it's part of our sinful nature to do that to look at what somebody else has wonderful family kids, whatever.

And to say look at what he has what I don't have. Rather than rejoicing with the one who who has and saying praise the Lord. He's blessed you. There's a there's a meme. You've probably seen it of the it's a guy on TBN Who's praying and he says Lord?

I've seen what you've given to other people. Please give me that too. And it's that's the that's the and and it's a joking meme, but that's that's often what we do, right? I see what you gave him Lord.

Give it to me rather than just being Thankful for what God has done in the life of someone else. Last one is Luke 7 now. This is a longer section of text. So For the sake of time because I know we are over time.

I won't read it, but you all know the story Jesus is dining at the house of the Pharisee the woman comes in she is Broken over her sin and she Begins to cry and her tears wet his feet and she wipes his feet with her hair.

Remember the story. We all know the story one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible. But it's preceded by one of the coldest statements by that Pharisee. This man is not a prophet if he were a prophet.

He would know the kind of woman who's touching him. He wouldn't let this sinful woman touch him and Jesus says to him he said listen. There was a man who was a moneylender and he landed 150 and another, you know.

He told the two amounts and he says and he forgave them both who's gonna love him more. He says the one who forgave him more and he says I came into your house. You didn't you didn't wash my feet. You didn't give me ointment for my head.

You didn't give me anything. But this woman has not stopped Anointing my feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair and he looked down at the woman and he says your sins are forgiven and In that moment, he didn't just sit heal her spiritual knee.

He did he fit the most important need was her spiritual need but he also healed her a broken heart. As here was a woman whose heart was broken and Christ showed her love. Where the whole rest of the the whole rest of the people in the room wanted her removed.

Christ drew her near and Loved her. So as I said felt needs are not to be discarded. They are real needs. We just have to realize what it is that God's calling us to do what needs in the life of this person who God's put in front of us has he called us to fill and Then seek to fill them to his glory.

Is that helpful? Good. Well, let's finish with a word of prayer. Father, I thank you for your word and I thank you for the calling of ministry the joy of getting to be used by you by the power of your spirit and the gifts that you've given us to meet the needs of others and ultimately be the hands and feet of Your spirit and his power.

We pray Lord as we leave tonight that you would keep us safe. Draw us close to you Lord and help us to be ever more desirous. To be used by you in the ministry of your kingdom in Christ's name. Amen.