Relevant to today

The conversation came up about Church being relevant. Is it good or bad, is there a place to draw the line? This was my 2 cents, I am curious to know what any of you might think about it. Please leave a comment, or e-mail me, my e-mail link is on the upper right side of the page.


One thing that always bothered me about Church when I was younger was everything taught about the Lord ended in past tense. He WAS crucified, God PARTED the waters, Jesus HEALED the sick and afflicted, Christ PREFORMED miracles. There was no “now” there was no “present” we were taught that all of this happened, and we should live our lives in remembrance of the past. Hence church became for me more of a history lesson, with guidelines on how I should live my life now, based on things that happened long ago. From that perspective what you end up with is a church community that believes in religion, but they do not believe in today’s power of Christ and His Church.

We have to energize the community by showing that our God is very much a 21st century God, and he is very much alive and in action today. Which brings up the question where do we draw the line. I think we have to draw two lines. One behind us, and one in front of us. There is not a chapter in the bible, and I am sure that you will all agree, that we cannot read and see where the point of the chapter follows today’s events. I think that is by far the key. We have to make the bible come alive today. We have to draw all of the parallels between the past and today. When I read the bible I am always amazed that when you strip it down, humans today are no different than they were in the days of Moses. Same mistakes, same short comings, same problems with the same sins. That is our challenge, to bring those examples (good and bad) in to modern times.

The line that has to be drawn in front of us is one of reverence. God is not a rock star, nor is he a celebrity. HE is our creator, and a loving and compassionate God. I have seen pastors try to bring Christ “up to date” so much that they almost trivialize the Lord. They go too far in making him like the common man in an effort to make him more accessible. Much like the child that thinks their parent is their “friend” not their Parent, Christ’s desires for them become more guidelines, than Law. Many churches also tend to drop off a lot of the correction of Christ, if not all of it. All that is left is a feeling of American theism, “God is great, and we all go to Heaven”. Without reverence for the Lord and his laws, it is hard to profess, or acknowledge his plan.

The line behind of us has to be one of keeping the Lord current. We cannot continue to “live in the past” we have to keep Christ current, by showing that yesterday’s problems are today’s problems, Christ is alive and well, and the church community is the new living human body of Christ. The laws laid down so long ago are not just old laws that we follow because that is the way it has always been done. We have to show that they are vital to the health of the church today. We have to show not only that the Lord DID many wonderfully divine things, but that we continue to see them today. Christ might not have one human body today, but he does have entire congregations of people that are charged with carrying on his work. This is our purpose, continuation of Christ’s legacy. Not just to live a “good Christian life” and wrap ourselves in a cocoon of self righteousness, but to bring the living Christ to the forefront in modern times, and continue his work through an energized community. One with a clear understanding that Christ is alive in each of us and that the Church’s mission is not one just of praising the Lord; but one of bringing the good news to this modern world. In my opinion this is what builds a strong working Church Community, and not just a building filled with many believers.

To summarize, yes, in my opinion we have to make the church relevant. It is bringing the message to a relevant perspective that will increase the faith of the followers. However we cannot take it to the point of excess. This is the challenge we face today. We have to have one foot in the past, and one foot in the present. We have to bridge the gap, and keep the balance between old and new. We have to maintain a balance between reverence, and accessibility. We need a Church that promotes the unchanging doctrine of the Christian faith founded all of those years ago with a 21st century perspective.