“How did you like the service at ______ Community Church?” I often ask people who recently visited certain churches I’m familiar with.

“It was ok, but it felt like they watered down the Gospel,” they regularly reply.

I get a kick out of this phrase. It’s another one of those orphan phrases that we use and abuse, and I’m still trying to figure out what it really means.
It’s usually an unfair accusation, from my observation.

Cause when I ask, “What makes you say that?” they usually respond:

“Oh, I don’t know, they served coffee and donuts and stuff… just too seeker sensitive for me.”

(Yep. Coffee and donuts are definitely the mark of the beast. Makes perfect sense. And quit dismissing seeker sensitivity on the basis of Romans 3:11. It’s a bad hermeneutic, and you know it.)

Or

“The band played secular music, stuff I listen to on the radio, and I don’t know what I think about that.”

(God forbid! Music that was actually written in this century? And that reflects the real questions real people are asking in the real world in real time? And sets the preacher up to spike the Gospel over the net? What a terrible idea!
And may I ask: It’s ok for you to listen to on the radio, but it’s forbidden in the church? I thought you were the temple of the Holy Spirit, not a building (1 Cor. 6:19). Rethink your logic and get back with me on that one. It seems problematic to me.)

Or

“It seemed like a feel good message to me.”

(This one is most hilarious to me. Since Gospel literally means good news, it seems like a Gospel preaching church would naturally be a feel good church with feel good messages. Gospel messages. And the less you water down the gospel, the better the good news would make you feel, so it would seem. And I know that the Law prepares the way for the Gospel. I’ve read Ray Comfort’s book too. I also know that we must preach the whole counsel of God, His wrath as well as His love. So save your emails, thank you kindly. Just making a point here.)

The Gospel is the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the free offer of God’s grace to all who repent and believe.

Presenting this message creatively isn’t watering it down.
Serving Starbucks in your lobby isn’t watering it down.
Covering a Beatles song in your service (which we will proudly and rockingly do this Sunday) isn’t watering it down.

Preaching this life giving message in a lifeless, predictable way, now that’s watering down the Gospel.
Not caring enough about this message to come at it from the best, most innovative angle you can uncover, that’s watering down the Gospel.
Burying the Gospel deep in stupid traditions that no one understands and have no Biblical basis, that’s watering down the Gospel.

Now that we’ve cleared that up,
Don’t water down the Gospel!
It’s the power of God!