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There is alot of talk these days about what it means to be relevant. Conferences are filled with men and women looking for new ways to make their church relevant, or different. There are as many voices calling out for the old ways, which were actually relevant and new at one time. In the midst of trying to determine what is relevant…what is watered down…what we like…what we don’t like…I think we miss the point.
Relevance is more than how you do church…it’s how you do life as a follower of Jesus Christ. This weekend we will be looking deeper into what this means…but for today it’s time for you to sound off.
What do you think it means for the church to be relevant?
type in your comments.
MC
I am so glad that you are thinking about these things because it causes me to investigate the question…..first I looked up the definition of relevant in the dictionary and it said, “relating to the matter under consideration; pertinent.” So, what is pertinent to the church? I decided to look in the back of my Bible under ‘church’ and looked at a few verses and then I found this;
I Corinthians 14:26, Paul says, “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.” To me this says, we all come together with different spiriual gifts and it stengthens the church plus pleases God which would make a relevant church!
To me, relevance in a church is about seeing and hearing the need for the love of Christ in a world, 2000 years after he died, that is bombarded with things that are “anti-Christ” everyday; then teaching, instructing, training and encouraging the present day body of Christ to go out in that world everyday and seek to make a difference for His Kingdom and His causes in some way, large or small … but probably small is big, in this sense. Touch one life and be relevant ourselves.
To me, relevance is “to matter”… “to make a difference”. Most groups are relevant. Seemingly most individuals are not. Or are they? My Mom sure was relevant to my life, but you would not know of her. She mattered to me. She made a difference in my life. Also this is true for my brothers and sister. And for her friends and enemies (yes, Mom had enemies). So, relevance seems to have some characteristic of scope. Your church is relevant to it’s members I bet. Is it relevant outside of that circle? Judging by your website it surely is what with all the ministries and outreach. Hmmm… isn’t that what it’s all about? Action? How can any group or any individual be relevant without it? Can’t. So, are my actions relevant to my God? I pray so. I want that they are. But somehow I think not. I tend to feel that there must be more to prove myself more relevant to God. So, what holds me back from glorifying God with more actions that would show Him my relevance in His kingdom? Fear. Always fear. Fear of what others would think were I to act. Fear that I may lose face or respect or money or anyone of a number of things that I don’t really HAVE to begin with. Fear that I may not get what I deserve if and when I do the actions. Always fear.
God, help me rise above the fears that trap me and all humans so that I may revere your presence.
Great thoughts WJ…great prayer…may God fill you with a passion that propells you beyond the fear that waits…
MC