Agree with Dr. Bob on this. Although quality is better than quantity.
2 of my favorites preach different lengths, 30-35 minutes:
http://www.emmanuel-baptist.org/sermons/index.htm
hour-long:
http://www.audiowebman.org/bbc/start/audios1.htm
The Seeker-Sensitive Movement
by John MacArthur
What exactly is the seeker-sensitive movement? In a nutshell, it's the push within churches across the country to make worship services more "relevant" and therefore more attractive to the world. It's the driving force behind the marketing ploys and high-tech entertainment gimmicks churches use to promote growth.
As you read this, you may be asking, "What's so dangerous about trying to attract unbelievers to your church?" It certainly sounds benign. After all, what's wrong with making church a more inviting place for unbelievers to visit? Where's the danger in spicing up worship services to keep people interested and, more important, coming back?
But the seeker-sensitive movement is anything but benign. In fact, it can be deadly for any church that falls under its influence. Let me share a few reasons.
One of the most common—and most alarming—characteristics of a seeker-sensitive church is in the way it minimizes and downplays the teaching of God's Word. In seeker-sensitive churches, where the goal is to bring people in and keep them there, Bible teaching is cut short or worse, cut out. Why? Because advocates of the movement believe people today are too busy to sit through lengthy expositions of God's Word. Their attention spans are too short to hold them through a long sermon without becoming bored.
Sadly, the content of the message is cut short as well. Visit a seeker-sensitive church and you won't hear a lot about sin or judgment. You won't learn much about the holiness of God or the importance of obedience, either. You're more likely to hear a sermon on human relationships, success in the business world, or how to make your life in this world more satisfying. That's because if a church's primary focus is to encourage unbelievers to attend, it will invariably soften the truth to make it more palatable. It will skirt the hard teaching of Scripture on matters of repentance and the cost of discipleship, choosing instead to focus on God's grace and how easy it is to become a believer.
Another area that suffers when a church adopts a seeker-sensitive approach is the tone of the worship service. To appeal to a broader audience, many church leaders are taking their cues from the world. They're adopting the same entertainment and marketing devices the world employs. Film clips, skits, comedy, pyrotechnics, light shows, and an over indulgence in music are just some of the trappings of the seeker-sensitive church. God is no longer the center of worship—entertainment, "felt needs," and fleshly desires reign supreme.
The effects of seeker-sensitive methodology on the church are tragic because they undermine the very purpose the church is supposed to serve in believers' lives. According to God's Word, when His people gather, it should be to worship Him, hear His Word, and encourage one another. Sunday to Sunday, the meeting of the church is the context in which sin is exposed and forgiveness is found. It's where believers engage in biblical ministry and exercise their spiritual gifts and where Christian men and women form the relationships through which they exhort each other toward greater Christlikeness.
But when churches sacrifice substance for style—when even well meaning pastors soft-pedal the gospel to keep people in the pews—churches stagnate and eventually die. Instead of being a place where men and women grow spiritually by coming under the influence of God's Word, seeker-sensitive churches become mere shells filled with false converts and malnourished Christians. Once a church exchanges its God-ordained mission to preach the Word, which is the only source of spiritual life, for a marketing manifesto to fill pews, it surrenders its claim to divine power along with its effectiveness in the world.
I wish I could tell you that the seeker-sensitive movement has affected only a handful of churches, but the truth is far worse. The movement is currently sweeping through the evangelical landscape, threatening churches in communities around the world. Perhaps you find yourself in a church that's tinkering with it even today. Or maybe you're looking for a church or you know someone who attends a seeker-sensitive church. Whatever your situation, the seeker movement is so pervasive that you're sure to encounter it sooner or later.
