Relevancy

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.  For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.  To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?  Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.” (II Corinthians 2:14-17 NIV)

Over the weekend, I continued to think about Rob and Kristen Bell’s comments to Oprah Winfrey on the relevancy of the Church with regard to same-sex marriage (see full video here). Quite honestly, I don’t think being relevant mattered much to the early Church.  In fact, I don’t think it matters much to the true Church today.

For the true Church (not the institutions, but the true followers of Jesus) down through history, the struggle has not been to stay relevant, but rather to remain faithful to the Gospel in the face of persecution and death.  Do we really think the Coptic Church of Egypt has been holding seminars on how to stay relevant in a Muslim society, while 21 of its members were held by the Islamic State (and recently beheaded for their faith)?  Or that the believers in India are focused on strategies of how to get more people into their buildings when faced with persecution from both Hindus and Muslims?  Or that the Chinese believers are intent of finding ways to be more attractive to unbelievers in their culture while their government oppresses them?

The pursuit of relevancy is a luxury the early Church had no time to afford and it remains true for much of the Church today.  The Gospel is by nature rather black and white.  Either people are drawn to it so much they surrender their lives to it and are willing to die for it, or they find it so offensive they want nothing to do with it, to the point they may seek to destroy it and those who embrace it.  

The mission of the Church, unlike what the Bells and others may think, is not to be relevant, but to be faithful to proclaiming the Gospel and let the proverbial chips fall where they may.  And what our Christian ancestors knew and many of our fellow believers today have experienced is that people often reject our message and hate us.  Is that being irrelevant?  No.  It is the price we pay for proclaiming the truth.  And many have paid it and are paying it.  

In essence, being relevant today means being popular and accepted in the wider culture.  This is what many churches and individual Christians pursue.  They want to be “trendy” and “cutting edge,” when what the Lord commends us for is our faithfulness to Him (Matthew 25:14-46). The truth is that the long history of the Church is a struggle for survival in the face of a hostile world.  They had no time to try to be relevant; they were too busy just trying to remain faithful the Gospel they had been entrusted to proclaim in word and deed.  

Today, recognize the most important thing for you, as a follower of Jesus and for the Church is not to be relevant, but to be faithful.  This is the command and the legacy we have been given.  

© Jim Musser 2015