Relevance Is A Tool. Not A Goal.
Published: July 07, 2008
I've got a DeWalt 12-inch dual bevel compound miter saw with a slide. (Grunt.) Oh yes, it's a serious tool and, no, you can't borrow it. I tell my wife that I have to have the right tool for the right job. She smirks and points out that I haven't used it in 4 years - but I know what really matters: I might.
And when I do, I need the right tool.
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Tools matter. They make it possible to accomplish the goal. Relevance is like that - it is a tool to accomplish a more important purpose, communicating Christ in culture.
Relevance is a word seen more and more these days on church marquees, yellow page ads, and websites. It seems that every church wants to make sure everyone else knows how relevant they are. This strikes me a bit like the advertising agency named "Creative Ads." If you are so creative, could you not share that with me in a more creative way?
No one advertises their lack of relevance. Who wants an irrelevant church? (Well, it must be a lot of people, but that is another story. But, I am guessing that most of them do not read articles on this site.)
For most of us, we are tired of people criticizing culturally relevant churches. I have heard dozens of sermons against contemporary worship, music, and casual dress. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt (or the tie, depending on your perspective).
But, we also need to be careful. Relevance can (and sometimes is) over-emphasized. The problem isn't found in the desire to be relevant. After all, the word relevant means, "to be pertinent." The problem is that sometimes we have too little confidence in the Gospel and its ability to prove relevant on its own merit.
The Gospel is relevant, in this and every culture; it is often our churches and ministries that are not. We can find ourselves putting too much emphasis on relevance itself, and not enough on what we're trying to make understandable - the Gospel.
While relevance can bridge some gaps to the Gospel, it is only a tool, not a goal.
Recently I shared some thoughts with a group at the National New Church Conference (Listen at http://www.exponentialconference.org/podcasting) to illustrate this point. We cannot lose the Gospel in order to find relevance; relevance must be a tool that spotlights the Gospel within culture.
Are you focusing too much on relevance?
Here are some ways you can know that relevance has become more important than the Gospel to you:
1. If we focus on personal transformation and not Gospel transformation.
Too often our messages are driven by the steps method (i.e. five steps toward financial freedom), when oftentimes these steps have little to do with Biblical advice on the subject. If this is the case, you'll find more secular advice than Biblical advice on certain subjects. It's not that we can't learn from others in the world; however, the goal of our churches isn't to simply reflect the culture but to impact it. The danger of relevance in this area is to enforce an already narcissistic mentality that permeates our culture. The consumeristic, me-istic mindset is thorny ground that threatens to choke out the Word in people's lives.
2. If your sermons are so practical they lack any Gospel.
Do not preach any message that would not be true if Jesus had not died on the cross. It is great to be practical in what we teach; but, if we hesitate to share about the work of Christ, what is the eternal value? Using practical messages can help us share Biblical truth, but ultimately our goal is that they leave with the Truth, not just true stuff. The Truth is the person of Jesus. Think through the inner logic of Jesus and his very character. How does his viewpoint - what he really treasured - shine through here? The very essence of Jesus should waft through the room during your sermons.
3. If you talk about practical more than you talk about biblical.
This is more than simply how we preach, it is how we carry out our duties in the ministry. When sharing the vision of your church, what is prominent? What do people walk away with? What strikes them as being at the very heart of what your ministry is all about? There are many pastors who have visions of a new building, higher giving, and so forth. While these fit practical needs, many focus on them more than we focus on a Biblical aspect of our faith. You want the people you are leading to be built on the solid foundation of God's Word - not the wood, hay, and stubble that will eventually fade away.
4. If your outreach demeans others that preach the Gospel.
This shows that your confidence is in your relevance and not His Gospel. Do not communicate anything that feeds people's tendency to devalue other churches that preach the Gospel. There are plenty of churches today promoting their church by diminishing the ministry of another. While some of these churches may be irrelevant to much of the community, we shouldn't make an extra effort to prove this to the community. Those churches are probably able to reach some people you couldn't. We are all on the same team, even if our methods and styles are very different - so let's begin to act like it - even when others do not.
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Relevance Is A Tool. Not A Goal.
Published: July 07, 2008
Ed Stetzer provides 10 ways you can tell if being 'relevant' is more important to you than the Gospel.
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