The "affinity" movement is primarily a group of new churches set up throughout the USA within the framework of the Southern Baptist Convention [SBC]. Growing much faster than the average convention type churches, the SBC started 1,781 of these non-traditional "user friendly" assemblies last year.
          The churches are called "affinity" churches because they "offer what people like" and provide so-called non-threatening "environments that aim to make more kinds of people feel more comfortable" in church. Using "niche-marketing tactics," the "affinity" churches seek to "attract the unchurched and nontraditional churchgoers" based solely on the specific lifestyle hobbies and interests of particular groups.
          For those who desire to get in an early round of golf on Sunday morning, there is the "golf church" that meets before tee time. For motorcycle gangs, there are the "biker" assemblies, and for the "cowboys" there are the "rodeo" churches. One "cowboy" church, the "Happy Trails Cowboy Church" meets on Monday nights in a bleacher atmosphere. The church's call to worship begins with riders atop horses carrying in flags. One "biker" church, called "The Church in the Wind" meets on Friday evenings, with attendees wearing cowboy hats and boots, emblazoned T-shirts and jeans.
          While sound N. T. churches can certainly utilize occasional "roundups," "hunter's suppers," "businessmen's luncheons," and "fish suppers" for both evangelistic and fellowship purposes, (I Cor. 9:19-22), these "user friendly-affinity" churches adopt the materialistic worldly lifestyles of their congregants.
           In these so-called churches, repentance is an unsounded and unwelcome note and little or no separation from ungodly worldly habits, patterns, and lifestyles is required for members. The carnal comfortable "easy come-easy go" life style is the norm. "Affinity" churches unscripturally mix the ungodly world with the church, blotting out the distinctive difference that should exist between unconverted society and regenerated saints-Rom. 12:1-2, I John 2:15-17, James 4:4.
          Since professing Fundamental Baptist churches affiliated with the Baptist Bible Baptist International, Southwide Baptist Fellowship, and the World Baptist Fellowship are now associated with the huge ecclesiastical octopus of the Southern Baptist Convention via the newly formed International Baptist Network [IBN], there is an imminent danger that some independent Baptist churches might accept the SBC bait and endeavor to utilize this unwholesome worldly method to establish new churches.
          Independent Fundamental Baptist churches desperately need to be involved in new church planting endeavors [Matt. 28:18-20], but they should never base their efforts on the carnal worldly lifestyles of unconverted sinners. Using carnal methods to reach carnal men is Scripturally unproductive and unbiblical-Rom. 3:8. The maxim that "What you win them by is what you win them to" certainly applies to the "Affinity Church."
          A burning passion for souls (II Cor. 5:14) and a burdened pursuit for establishing new churches (Acts 13:1-2) never requires conformity to the world's unwholesome lifestyles to achieve those goals.
          PS: The F.D. editor is not opposed to motorcycles, golf, cowboys, go-carts or even snowmobiles!