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WHEN WE TALKED TO THEOLOGIAN DAVID WELLS, HE CAME UP WITH THE FOLLOWING QUESTION AND ANALYSIS: "WHAT KIND OF CHRISTIAN FAITH WILL YOU PRESENT OR BE LEFT WITH IF YOU ARE OBSEQUIOUSLY PROSTRATING YOURSELF BEFORE BABY BOOMERS—A GENERALLY SELF-CENTERED, RELATIVISTIC, UNLOYAL GENERATION? YOU'RE GIVING THEM A CHRIST-CULTURE THEME THAT THEY CANNOT POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND, GIVEN THEIR INHERENT NATURE. WILLOW CREEK AND ITS CLONES VIEW ALL OF CULTURE AS HARMLESS AND NEUTRAL; THEREFORE, WHY NOT ADAPT THE CHRISTIAN FAITH TO IT? THE PROBLEM IS THAT CULTURE IS LADEN WITH VALUES THAT INEVITABLY GO AGAINST THE THRUST OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE." HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND?

I think the values of our society are blatantly opposed to the values of Christ. But what we try to do at Willow Creek is say, "Come as you are. Come with your BMW and your Rolex, because even though you have caved in to the values of this sick culture, you still matter to God." And when they confess their sins and see what Christ did for them at the Cross, we begin a very aggressive value-transformation program that will not stop until they go to their graves.

HOW DO YOU MOVE A PERSON FROM A CONSUMER ORIENTATION OF FULFILLING FELT NEEDS TO A CHRISTIAN FOCUS ON SELF-DENIAL?

Through teaching, prayer, fellowship, service, discipleship, mentoring, discipline. Through all the means of grace that people have been using for 2,000 years. This isn't the first culture that's been sick. What has the church been doing for 2,000 years? It's been taking people out of a sick culture, leading them to Jesus, and then trying to inculcate his values in them.

John Seel, the author of "Evangelical Forfeit," presented us with this concern: "If you convert a person under the seeker-sensitive philosophy, how does that affect their spiritual maturity and the nature of their discipleship?" In other words, does the seeker-sensitive church's brand of discipleship inhibit the spiritual development of its members?

I don't think Willow Creek is cranking out believers who aren't maturing in their Faith. I would stack the committed core of Willow Creek against that of any church, because they not only have a growing understanding of the facts of the faith, but they also have hearts that are hurting for the lost and the poor and suffering.

We have a bench out in our lobby called the fool's bench. It got its name because sometimes when our people invite their friends to a service, they stand out in the lobby waiting for them to come. Sometimes they are still standing out there 15 minutes into the service. And their friends don't show up. They're heartbroken because they've been praying for their boss, and he said he was going to come, but he didn't show. This goes on every week at this church. That's the stuff that doesn't get attention.

We get press about our buildings, about our budgets, about our drama—but what the spotlight ought to be on is the fact that we gave away 85 vehicles to single moms last year; that we feed 350 people a month with our food pantry; that we just gave a quarter of a million dollars to our local benevolence ministries These are the real signs that Christ is being honored in the church, and the spotlight has not been on them.

MANY CRITICS HAVE OBSERVED THAT YOUR CHURCH IS MADE UP OF WHITE, AFFLUENT SUBURBANITES—A HOMOGENEOUS PEOPLE GROUP. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR THE CHURCH'S SUCCESS FOR IT TO BE HOMOGENEOUS?

Willow Creek is almost an exact representation of our community's demography, so we are not intentionally homogeneous. It's a function of where we are. We want to be as inclusive and as integrated as we can possibly be.

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July 18 1994, Vol. 38, No. 8