4 Ways The Church Can Be Relevant Without Compromising The Message
By Rob Wiltshire
Have you noticed how the current culture surrounding the church is one driven by consumerism?
In an article from the Barna Group on “What Millennials Want When They Visit Church” has this to say on the subject;
“like it or not—and there are plenty of reasons not to—consumer culture shapes what people expect of church and how some churches approach ministry.”
If you don’t already I’d encourage you to follow the Barna Group on Facebook.
I believe the Church is supposed to be relevant to the culture around it. And honestly, reaching the culture around us is an impossible task if the gospel we are proclaiming is anything but relevant.
The concern so often is that to be relevant means you have to compromise the message of the gospel. Or worded another way, “water it down.”
So if around us is a consumer driven culture, how can we as the church remain true to the message while at the same time being relevant to the culture?
4 Ways The Church Can Be Relevant Without Compromising The Message
Church Needs To Pass The ‘So What’ test
The so what test is this. My life is full of XYZ; how does that have any relevance to my current situation?
There are a lot of theologies out there and all of which are important to our faith, but not all of which are relevant to people’s day to day lives.
Our opinion on the end times and how Christ will return is important, but in honesty… for the new unchurched person who is going through financial debt, divorce, addiction, or whatever other example you want to insert in; they just want to know how Jesus is relevant to them and their lives under their current circumstances.
Christianity is supposed to be relevant. There is a time and place for end times theology, but let me suggest it’s not the Sunday sermon.
Church Is Supposed To Be A Place Where People Discover God
The article from the Barna Group What Millennials Want When They Visit Church highlights that 44% of millennials believe that church is a place to go to get closer to God.
In a word that is pulling people in every direction, people want to come to a place where they can be set free from all of that distraction, so they can discover God.
Is our worship, greeting, café, coffee, message, etc. done in such a way that is free from distraction and creates a path for connection with God?
If it’s not, what needs to change?
Church Is Supposed To Be Transparent
A hypocrite is often another name used to describe a Christian. Honestly, while this isn’t true it is partially is.
There are people who are great at putting their best Christian costume on for a Sunday service, and then come Monday do things that most non-Christians wouldn’t dream of doing. Those people in my opinion are a rarity.
What isn’t rare however is Christians talking about everything that’s good, and never letting people know they have bad days.
You know what unchurched people want to know?
That we struggle just like them. How our life is a mess at times just like theirs. How we just like them struggle with sin. The want to know we are real and have real struggles. When they know that they are happy to listen to how Jesus has transformed our lives.
Be real and share your mess, and then share how Jesus has cleaned it up.
Accepting Is Not Agreeing
We don’t have to agree with people’s opinions, lifestyles, biblical interpretations etc. But we do have to be accepting of them.
Hold up… are you saying we have to accept people’s opinion that are completely wrong?
Yes.
Accepting doesn’t mean you are agreeing with them it means you are accepting of them as a person.
A great question to reflect on is; what is the correct order
Believe, behave, belong?
Behave, believe, belong?
Belong, believe, behave?
If you haven’t worked it out. Its the third one; they belong before anything else. Are we a church that helps people feel as though they belong or are we a church who just highlights how they are wrong?