The fight goes on. Like a giant tug of war, each side is pulling hard. The
battle lines: Cultural relevance versus biblical faithfulness-a classic
tyranny of the "OR." ...Let me
propose an alternative: our churches need to be biblically faithful,
culturally relevant, counter culture communities.
...Whole ministries exist just
to tell you not to pay attention to culture. To them, a virtuous church is one
that is culturally irrelevant.
Preaching against culture is not the pattern of the New Testament church...
Culture clearly does matter! For 2000 years, missionaries have courageously
sought to take the message and make it understandable.
The reason ministry models
have to change is because they have an unchanging message that must be conveyed
in a changing world...
...the Bible also clearly gives us a mandate to make the message understandable.
We do more than just translate it into a language. We also have to translate
it into a culture. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, "I have become
all things to all men." Why? Because the message needs to be contextualized.
The "how" of ministry is, in many ways, determined by the "who,
when, and where" of culture.
We have to both contend and contextualize...
Those who preach against culture are often unaware that they live in one. But
the dynamic culture around them is often not the culture of their church. What
they yearn for is typically not a scriptural culture, but rather a nostalgic
religious culture of days past....
...a culturally
relevant church in your community may look very different from culturally relevant
churches in other communities.
...The reason we engage culture is not to be cool, trendy, contemporary,
or cutting edge-words that have become idols to us-but so that those
who live in culture can hear the message of Jesus. That message is more than
just "come to Christ," it involves how we live and structure our
lives...
Churches that are biblically faithful to God's mission will work to relate
to people in culture. We who are Christians should look similar to, but not
be identical to, our culture. If we don't...they'll confuse Christianity
with a change of clothes, music, and political party registration. That means
that Christians should use language, dress, and live life in the "house"
of culture, while living differently because they are in the family of God.
Jesus said that we should be "in" the world but not "of"
the world. Many churches today do just the opposite. They are "of"
the world but not "in" it...
...Christians should be counter culture-in family life,
values, finances, and every other aspect of their lives. They should reflect
their culture while living in contrast to that culture.
Why, if we have the timeless truth of the gospel, do we need to concern ourselves
with culturally relevant ministry? Because if we don't, the message of
the gospel gets confused with the cultures of old. The unchurched think that
Christianity is a retrograde culture rather than a living faith. Our job is
to remove the "extra" stumbling blocks of culture without removing
the essential stumbling block of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:23). Unfortunately,
the stumbling block of the cross has too often been replaced by the stumbling
block of the church...
...the biblical route is found in Paul's activities in Acts 17.
Wander through your Athens. Look at the cultural idols. Let this break your
heart and burden your mind.... Then confidently take the gospel to those who'll
see its uncluttered message, trust its validity, and receive its Savior-Jesus
Christ.