This thesis assesses seeker sensitive churches from the standpoint of Andrew Walls' missionary paradigm. Seekers are described as a distinct population on the American religious landscape, characterized by the importance of individual relevance, immanence, and open-mindedness. Their ideological lineage is said to go back to the Transcendentalists. Seeker sensitive churches act as missionaries to seekers. These churches have conservative statements of faith. However, in translating their message to seeker culture, some of the aspects of those conservative beliefs become muted. Seekers come away with a strain of Christianity which is tailored to the three key characteristics of seeker religiosity. This new seeker Christianity makes the religion viable for a population who had moved away from the Christian faith. Other missionary encounters often have similar results, with Christianity adapting based on the culture into which it is introduced. These adaptations have led to Christianity's continued success. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester 2007. / Date of Defense: March 27, 2007. / Church Marketing, Church Growth, Seeker Sensitive Churches, Commodification Of Religion, Missionary Paradigm / Includes bibliographical references. / Amanda Porterfield, Professor Directing Thesis; John Corrigan, Committee Member; Amy Koehlinger, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_168707 |
| Contributors | Ensminger, Shawntel Lyn (authoraut), Porterfield, Amanda (professor directing thesis), Corrigan, John (committee member), Koehlinger, Amy (committee member), Department of Religion (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
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