Relevant! That was the buzzword back in the ‘80’s…
I attended a couple of church growth conferences back then, and “being relevant” was often the subject of discussion. How can we be relevant to our present day culture? It sounded logical, seemed like a good question to ask. After all, we certainly should be interested in bridging the gap between the Church and the unsaved community. Jesus did command us to go and make disciples, and they were fashioned by the world in which we live! And yet, in my spirit, I sensed this was not a road the Church needed to embark upon.
As I observed the fruit of the seeds planted at those meetings, it didn’t take long to realize that “being relevant” really meant compromising Biblical truth to appease a worldly mentality.
Soon, it was the 90’s, and the “Seeker Sensitive Church” was on the rise! While we all want to make people feel welcome and speak in words they understand, we seemed to go past seeker sensitivity to being seeker targeted. Here are some of the things that were considered important, as the movement progressed: Remodeling your building, putting together a “professional worship band,” adding some smoke machines, creating an exciting Sunday school program, and streamlining the services. After all, no one wants to attend a church that lasts over an hour… And it was working; people came!
So, we became “relevant” – but to what end and at what cost? Have we inadvertently given people the idea that Christianity was meant to fit into their busy schedules? Did we somehow dumb the gospel down to a no/low cost add-on to a life molded by the dictates of the world in which we live? Hopefully, people are hearing about Jesus, but are we giving them a church model that facilitates their spiritual maturity?
Yes, it’s true; we are living in a changing world. Technology is obsolete ten minutes after we unbox it. Social media has taken us by storm. Even what worked in the business world five years ago won’t work today! Recently, I heard a speaker say, “The moment a book comes off the press, it is outdated.” Does that mean the Church needs to be constantly changing to keep pace with the culture?
A verse often quoted from the Bible is Hebrews 13:8. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Jesus doesn’t change! The world may change, but the basic needs of every human being, remain the same. We all need love, kindness, encouragement, and most of all, God’s touch in our life. The foundational practices of the Christian life – worship, prayer, fellowship, the Word of God, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit – require more than an hour a week. In an effort to accommodate our culture, have we moved away from a Biblical model of Church life? Have we exchanged God’s call to total commitment for yet another form of “easy-believism” that isn’t really serving anyone?
Many today are hungry for the authenticity of New Testament Christianity – they are looking for the “real deal.” The Bible alone offers the blueprint of God’s design for the Church of Jesus Christ, providing eternal principles that remain the same from generation to generation. When it comes to being “relevant,” our first priority should be relevance to God and His Word – not the world.
