Don't turn to them

“Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve Me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be My spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.’” Jeremiah 15:19
In recent times it has become popular for churches to engage in ‘friendship evangelism’. That is, make friends with people in the world so they will let down their guard enough for you to witness to them. It kind of backfires if they reject your message – then what? According to the friendship evangelism manual, if there’s little chance they will come to Christ, you’re best to cut your losses and stop spending time with them. No wonder people call Christians hypocrites and say we’re only interested in shoving the Gospel down people’s throats, if this is what we do.
Similarly, there’s a trend for churches to become ‘seeker-friendly’. Replace the boring pews with chairs, tables, and a little cafe. Crank up the music, get bigger drums, lights, show videos on a massive projection screen, darken the room, so it’s like being at a concert or a cinema. Make it a polished performance, then unsaved people will think church is cool and want to come. Oh, and to ensure that they aren’t offended so that they’ll stay, tone down the message. Don’t talk about sin, judgement, or hell.
What the Lord says to Jeremiah here is extremely relevant today. “Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.” We are not to become like the world in order to witness to people. We must not to compromise on the Scriptures or the Gospel message. In fact, rather than becoming like the world, if we stand out (in a good way), living a genuine life of service to God, people will notice. They’ll want to know what makes us different to them, not what makes us the same.