Tuesday, August 05, 2008
This'll Work!
Milt Stanley looks at a report out of Ontario and quotes as follows:
If I understand this correctly, seeker models discuss relevancy in terms of music, media and other cultural issues. That is, of course, while the church is decidedly counter-cultural when it comes to values, and most people know that. So, one conclusion would be that genuine relevancy is steeped not in the surface issues of cultural like music and clothing, but in the values.
The flip side of this; however, in in the churches that have a somewhat deeper understanding of this so they try to change cultural values as their means to developing relevance. These are largely the politically active churches, church organs and para-church organizations.
In point of fact there is some value in both approaches and their ineffectiveness lies a great deal in their unwillingness to cooperate with each other and therefore take advantage of the strengths the Apostle Paul presents with his body imagery in scripture.
But I would like to add a different approach to this. People come to church, like anywhere else they might go, because church has something they need or desire. So the essential question is what does church have to offer that people need or desire?
The answer of course, has nothing to do with culture, it is Jesus Christ - Him crucified and resurrected for the sake of our transformation into the beings we were created to be. Why don't people find that "relevant"?
I would submit to you they do not find it relevant because they HAVE NOT SEEN IT. Why did the first century church succeed so well when we do not? Because they genuinely reflected the glory of the risen Lord!
Relevancy does not lie in presenting ourselves in a package that appears more culturally in tune with our times. Relevancy does not lie in changing our culture into something that is more in tune with the church. Relevancy does lie in each of us coming to be more in tune with Jesus Christ - and allowing that fact to transform us into something the likes of which the world has never seen.
When we truly reflect the glory of Christ, people will beat a path to our door like never in history.
Think about it.
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The church recently asked community members to describe their objections against Christianity. They found that many didn't have objections; they just find Christianity irrelevant. Going to church doesn't even make the list of options for Sunday morning. The seeker approach assumes that people will attend church if its relevant. But many won't go to church no matter what we do.I find that quote a bit self-contradictory in its use of the word "irrelevant" as the reason people do not have church on the Sunday morning options list and then using that to refute the argument that relevancy brings people in. Let's try and untangle this knot a bit.
If I understand this correctly, seeker models discuss relevancy in terms of music, media and other cultural issues. That is, of course, while the church is decidedly counter-cultural when it comes to values, and most people know that. So, one conclusion would be that genuine relevancy is steeped not in the surface issues of cultural like music and clothing, but in the values.
The flip side of this; however, in in the churches that have a somewhat deeper understanding of this so they try to change cultural values as their means to developing relevance. These are largely the politically active churches, church organs and para-church organizations.
In point of fact there is some value in both approaches and their ineffectiveness lies a great deal in their unwillingness to cooperate with each other and therefore take advantage of the strengths the Apostle Paul presents with his body imagery in scripture.
But I would like to add a different approach to this. People come to church, like anywhere else they might go, because church has something they need or desire. So the essential question is what does church have to offer that people need or desire?
The answer of course, has nothing to do with culture, it is Jesus Christ - Him crucified and resurrected for the sake of our transformation into the beings we were created to be. Why don't people find that "relevant"?
I would submit to you they do not find it relevant because they HAVE NOT SEEN IT. Why did the first century church succeed so well when we do not? Because they genuinely reflected the glory of the risen Lord!
Relevancy does not lie in presenting ourselves in a package that appears more culturally in tune with our times. Relevancy does not lie in changing our culture into something that is more in tune with the church. Relevancy does lie in each of us coming to be more in tune with Jesus Christ - and allowing that fact to transform us into something the likes of which the world has never seen.
When we truly reflect the glory of Christ, people will beat a path to our door like never in history.
Think about it.
Technorati Tags:church, relevancy, transformation
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