I went shopping the other day. As I looked at various items…clothes, house wares, etc…I shopped based on my personal tastes. That makes sense to me. Now, of course, we all have SOME propensity to shop for SOME things with others in mind. I mean, who wants to wear clothes that everyone considers RIDICULOUS! But, as I looked/shopped, I realized something…I do not look for things that I already have. Now, I am not saying I do not shop for SIMILAR things…even though, when it comes to jeans, I primarily buy Levi’s 501 jeans only…but I do not go buy the exact same shirt that I already have at home. Similar maybe…but not JUST like the one I already have. I buy things I like…but I want to wear a shirt that I like one day and ANOTHER shirt that I like ANOTHER day. What would be the point of buying 10 shirts EXACTLY the same and wearing them? I guess buying and wearing 10 would keep that particular group of shirts cleaner and allow me to wear that group of shirts for a LONG time, but I think that is…and would be…just a bit odd. I just do not need ANOTHER shirt like the one I ALREADY have. And, I realize that this same principle applies in the Church…and its search for RELEVANCE.
RELEVANCE has become “THE” Christian buzzword of this generation. Well, that and RELATIONSHIP. And both of these ideas are good ones…Biblical ones. That is….as long as they REMAIN Biblically based and Scripturally sound. As with any Christian, any minister, any disciple of Jesus…I want to have an impact on humanity. I want to reach out and give of myself to minister and witness to those who do not know Jesus as their Savior. I want to help those who DO accept Jesus to grow into more than followers and to become disciples of Jesus. From there, I hope to help each one become an apostle for the cause of Christ. That brings me back to my previous thought…RELEVANCE. The Church seems to be searching for it…but how will they know when they find it?
Is RELEVANCE simply POPULARITY? Can RELEVANCE be measured by church attendance? And I am curious…when did the Church LOSE its RELEVANCE? And…is it THE Church that needs relevance…is it YOUR church that needs RELEVANCE…is it YOU that needs RELEVANCE? What EXACTLY has become IRRELEVANT?
I guess the reason I am so confused by it all is that I read A LOT …A LOT…of Christian material and A LOT…A LOT…of other material (news online, newspapers, TV news, etc). I study and read the Bible A LOT…A LOT. I do not say any of this in a “look at me” kind of way. But, with all that I read…I have yet to see any REAL and BIBLICAL thought on being RELEVANT. I know it is a popular idea today to search for it…but, if so many are searching for RELEVANCE, then when did so many LOSE their RELEVANCE? And, if they have become IRRELEVANT, do they matter in this discussion…aren’t they, by admission, IRRELEVANT to all of this? That seems implausible to me…I would consider every creation of God RELEVANT. So…it, and they, must mean something different…you think?
The Church has certainly jumped on the “buzzword” bandwagon over the years. Some of it has been downright hilarious. Some words and phrases coined over the years have even been mistaken for SCRIPTURE. Sad…but true. Today, these words and/or phrases are CONSTANTLY being mentioned on Christian TV and in pulpits across American: A NEW SEASON, THE YEAR OF…., THE SPIRIT OF LACK, THE SPIRIT OF POVERTY, STEP INTO…., CLAIM…, PROPHETIC, FIRE, DESTINY…I could go on and on. Many of these words have some truth…many are spiritual hogwash. Some ministers create a “SPIRIT OF…” for every sin. That is just a modern day version of “The devil made me do it” syndrome.
What is my point in all of this? First, it is to say that “buzzwords” are just that…BUZZWORDS. But, too many times ministers are simply using a “word of the day” mentality…taking that word and “PROCLAIMING” it to a congregation. Just as in the Word of God, the Lord spoke many things…but in each case Jesus did NOT get a “buzzword” that He liked and use it to SOUND spiritual. Jesus spoke truth that was needed. Jesus spoke life. Jesus spoke to the SPECIFIC needs of those He encountered. Today, it often seems quite the contrary happens. Words get spoken for reactions. Ministers use “buzzwords” and hype to get a shout…or, in most cases, to get an offering.
Now…back to RELEVANCE. That is what ALL ministries are claiming and/or searching for in the Church today, it seems. But…I have to be honest…and I have to be true to God’s Spirit as He speaks to MY spirit. In ALMOST every case…I cannot find what they are searching for. In each case…I do not see that the ministry or church is seeking relevance…they are seeking popularity and better attendance! Why do I say that? Because what they claim, or change, to be RELEVANT is always based on APPEALING to the masses…APPEALING to the lost…APPEALING to the world. And it is there that I lose my understanding of their motives and ministry.
There are so many passages in the Word of God that tell us that the proclamation of the Gospel will not be popular. The Bible also tells us that those who proclaim the Gospel will NOT be widely accepted or even liked. Scripture also tells us that the gate/path to ETERNAL LIFE is narrow and only a FEW will find it. On top of all of that, I am DEFINITELY sure of this…being APPEALING is OFTEN times ANYTHING BUT being relevant. Even Satan uses the APPEAL of many things to ensnare humanity. It is the very idea of something APPEALING to our flesh that brings on the thought of sin, and when that APPEAL is harbored within us, it brings forth sin.
It is with all of this in my thoughts and spirit that I write this warning: THE SEARCH FOR RELEVANCE IS CAUSING A MISTAKEN FOCUS ON APPEALING TO THE MASSES!
Jesus lived on this earth approximately 2000 years ago. He came as a man…as the Son of God…to redeem mankind. He ministered for 3+ years, he was crucified, he arose on the 3rd day, and He is present with God the Father even now. Jesus did all of this so that we would not be condemned…He did it all so that EVERYONE could have eternal life. We accept this through BELIEF….FAITH….and Jesus gives salvation by grace. There is NOTHING irrelevant about that! It is totally RELEVANT!
Jesus, God’s Living Word, and His Written Word are relevant in every life, in every church, in every country on every continent. And all that He did….all that He said…all that He Is….can NEVER be made IRRELEVANT! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is always RELEVANT! And the message of the Gospel is the NUMBER ONE priority of the Church! The message of the Church, therefore, should always be RELEVANT!
Sadly, the Church’s focus and claim to be “searching for RELEVANCE” is, in essence, telling the world that….somehow….the message of “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” has become IRRELEVANT. Yet, the Church will only become IRRELEVANT if it ceases to preach and proclaim that message! And….sadly….it is beginning to do just that!
The Church has become APPEAL focused. The Church has become ATTENDANCE focused. The Church has become SELF focused. In doing so….the Church has made the GOSPEL a secondary issue. The thought is this: “We need to get them here to reach them (the lost). So, we must APPEAL to them.” Really? Really? REALLY? Paul would write to Timothy and say it this way: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4) Paul is writing about this very subject: APPEALING to the listeners.
It is here that the Church fails to recognize why it is losing influence in the world today. It is here that the Church fails to see that the statistics by George Barna regarding the loss of Biblical truths within the Church are NOT a reason to try different ways to APPEAL to the masses…but, instead, the statistics SHOULD lead us to realize that all the modern ideas of entertainment and APPEAL built into modern “worship” are destroying the foundations of the Church! In trying to PLEASE the masses…the Church has quit being RELEVANT. Why? Remember my story at the beginning of this writing: my recent shopping trip? That story applies here.
This generation has almost every possible device, game, gadget and “new idea” at its immediate disposal. I am AMAZED at what kids have today! Even before many go to elementary school, they already have things that most adults never had 20 years ago. We live at a time when it seems “the sky is the limit.” With all that kids have today…they STILL get bored. There just doesn’t seem to be enough to keep them happy. Therein lies the problem: in my day, in my generation, my parents…THANK GOD…did not seem to focus so much on my HAPPINESS! They, instead, focused on my WELL-BEING! And trust me…there IS a difference.
With all of this in mind, I have come to realize…not on my own, but through prayer and through God’s Spirit…that the Church has become just like most parents today: it is in the “make them happy” business. APPEALING TO THE MASSES has become the “LAW OF MINISTRY”. Yet, notice with me some examples from the business world that gives us insight to reality: BEST BUY is struggling to survive, office supply stores are closing down, KMart/Sears is on the verge of disappearing, and other businesses of various kinds that were once so POPULAR have now found themselves struggling. In a market driven world, when people quit buying, businesses close their doors. But…the Church is, and never was supposed to be, a business. Yet, many churches are finding the same problems. But, unlike in business, the Church was…is…WRONG to ever base its success on APPEALING to the masses.
If you are like me, you would agree with my opening story of shopping. So, let me ask this: would you even enter the doors of a store that ONLY had…ONLY offered…items that you ALREADY HAVE? If you looked through the windows of a department store and, in every area, you saw shirts that were EXACTLY like ones you already have at home, would you bother going in? And if you did go in and have a look…finding that the store DID INDEED only have things EXACTLY like you already have…would you ever bother going back? I think not. This is the problem with the Church today.
The Church, in its search for RELEVANCE, has been supplying the masses with things they want. In the realm of music, the problem IS NOT music that is modern and new…the problem is the FOCUS of the music and how it is presented. And…using the term PRESENTED is appropriate. It was a great time when the Church began to leave behind what we called “song service” and began to utilize and enter into a time of WORSHIP as a body of believers. That change from simply singing Christian songs to actually using songs to focus on Jesus and to worship Him was…and remains…a powerful aspect of ministry in the Church. But many fail to see that MANY songs considered WORSHIP today are NOT worship songs at all…they may be good Christian songs, but they are not WORSHIP. I have said it before and I say it again…even PRAISE and WORSHIP are not the same thing. I can praise anyone for anything…yet WORSHIP is much more. In a figurative sense…and maybe we should make it more literal…BOWING is maybe the ultimate act of WORSHIP in Scripture. That act alone shows our reverence to God…showing He is above us, we are below Him, that He is the Supreme God of the Universe, that HE IS ABOVE ALL. Here is an example of a SONG OF WORSHIP:
“Worship You…I will worship You. Lord, in this place I seek your face and worship you. Through all my days I will give you praise…Lord, in this place my hands I raise, and Lord I worship You.” (WORSHIP YOU by Rick Riso)
Notice the focus of the words: they are from CREATION to CREATOR…from me to God. The focus here is upward. That is ALWAYS the direction of worship. But today, I sit through services where MOST songs are SELF focused…or even OUTWARD focused…with very few songs actually UPWARD focused. Instead of paying attention to FOCUS and DIRECTION during worship, the Church has bought in to songs with admittedly beautiful lyrics and beautiful melodies…but many of these beautiful songs have NOTHING to do with worship. I recently even sat through what could be considered nothing more than a PERFORMANCE…yet they called it WORSHIP. It was complete with cute moves and staging for all to see. The worship team moved into groups at one point, they did cute hand motions, they bounced and moved to the beat together…a nice PERFORMANCE. But NOT worship. There is NO WAY to focus on what THEY were doing while still focusing ON GOD! What they did was for VISUAL EFFECT…to appeal to those watching. Somehow…they forgot the intent: to put ALL FOCUS ON GOD. Now, music is just ONE very visible example of this problem. But it does paint the picture of how we give the masses the style of music…the style of ministry…they want, yet we leave out the necessary SUBSTANCE to make it real.
All of these ideas and words have culminated in this: the Church mistook APPEAL for RELEVANCE…and in appealing to the masses, it actually began to offer to the masses EXACTLY what they can get…and have….outside of the Church. Thus, this MASS APPEAL may have gotten people to come see what we offer…but it also caused the masses to realize the Church was not offering anything beyond what they already have! And, worst of all, the masses saw no difference in those who labeled themselves as CHRISTIANS and those who did NOT take on the Christian label. In essence, the masses were offered much of the same things that they already had…and they saw that what they were offered didn’t seem to have ANY effect on those who already HAD it. They saw a WORDLY Church that offered no real change.
So….WHY ATTEND?
Whether I have spoken all of this in the best possible way I do not know. I sat today and simply wrote from the heart in a way that I would say it to anyone in person. But, I know this: the Church must return to being DIFFERENT and DISTINCTIVE from the world…rather than seeking ways to be more LIKE the world. It is JESUS CHRIST that makes us different. It is our desire to please HIM that makes us different. It is our adherence to HIS WORD that makes us different. We must be a part of the world…but we must not let the world be a part of us. We have tried to make the Gospel palatable…yet we made it weak and phony. In an effort to be NON-OFFENSIVE, we started using terms such as CHURCHED and UNCHURCHED…when the truth is we are all either SAVED or UNSAVED. CHURCHED is irrelevant…SAVED is RELEVANT!
I think the Church should do this: stop offering the masses the same ol’ shirt! We CAN be RELEVANT…but RELEVANT is NOT synonymous with APPEALING. We can try all we want…but the Bible says…and will ALWAYS say…the GOSPEL is an offence to those who do not believe. The Gospel, I admit, is HARD to believe. It is HARD to live. But…it is believed and lived by FAITH! It is not accepted by being APPEALING…it is accepted by FAITH. And the Gospel is ESPECIALLY this: RELEVANT!
I pray the Church again begins to let the HOLY SPIRIT do HIS work…the work of drawing men to Christ. I pray the Church then again begins to simply preach the GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST and again makes strong disciples out of all believers. In doing so, I pray the Church leaves the four walls of its buildings and again begins to go out, witnessing everywhere they go, proclaiming the good news…the GOSPEL. I pray the Church does this: dares to be DIFFERENT!
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