Weekly Pulpit -- Warren Sentinel -- November 3, 2010
There's a website called “Stuff Christians Like.” If you are a Christian who is easily offended by challenging questions or perspectives, you probably won't like it. But, if you are wired such that you want to really think about your faith, you may want to google it.
A March 2008 post, for example, starts like this: “If you ever want to really insult a Christian, say the following: 'I don’t think you’re relevant.' That is our kryptonite. The idea of irrelevance keeps us up at night. Seriously, if someone doesn’t find us to be relevant then we’re probably going to need to fire the worship leader or at the bare minimum get him a pair of white Pumas. Irrelevance is simply unacceptable.”
Blogger Jonathan Acuff goes on to point out that Jesus didn't seem too worried about being relevant. In fact, Jesus spent a lot of his time with the sorts of folks that society perceived as irrelevant. And much of what he taught was not only viewed as irrelevant by the most religious people around, but was quite contrary to what they believed and taught. Everything that Jesus said and did was relevant, but he said and did these things because they were true and right, not because they would get him a huge fan base on Facebook or Twitter.
I confess that as a pastor I desperately want to be relevant. I want my preaching and teaching to be relevant. I want my ministry in our community to be relevant. I want the church I pastor to be relevant. But what does it mean to be relevant? If it means being cool, I'm in trouble. If it means not clinging to certain beliefs, I'm really in trouble. And if it means never asking people to get out of their comfort zones, I'm doomed.
Often times what is meant by “relevant” in churchese (that strange language that some church-going folk seem to think everyone else speaks) has to do with the type of music used, the preaching style, how folks dress, and whether coffee can be drunk in the sanctuary or not. But such things probably have pretty little to do with relevance. I have encouraged our church to incorporate new music, I use PowerPoint and video when I preach, and I like to dress comfortably. But none of this on its own ensures relevance.
I'm convinced that even as fewer and fewer people in our country (and county) identify themselves as Christians, more and more people are seeking relevance. But when they look to our churches, and when they look to those of us who attend them (and pastor them), is what they see really relevant? Do they see people who's lives are different because of their faith? Do they see us making a meaningful difference in our community? Do they see what it means to tangibly live out the good news Jesus proclaimed and embodied? Do they see people whose lives demonstrate that they really believe that God's Word is still relevant today?
You see, how we live out our faith may seem irrelevant, but it may be the most relevant thing we can do. If you are interested in reading more about what a relevant Christian faith may look like, I suggest you pick up a copy of “The Next Christians,” a new book by Gabe Lyons.
