Relevance will always be an issue or a question…depending on your side of the fence.

There will be those who say the church has to stay relevant and individual believers must stay relevant. That can lead to all sorts of broad interpretations. So we will hear of pastors who smoke, drink, chew and all sorts of others things in an attempt to stay “relevant.”

There will also be those who question relevance. How up-to-date should a church/individual be? Clothing? Type of worship? Approach during the worship? That too can lead to broad interpretations as we have smoke machines, sometimes music w/ questionable lyrics, guest speakers from heretical groups…all in an effort to stay “contemporary.”

Matt uses the word “contextualization” instead of relevance. His explanation is when you use language of a culture, you are contextualizing. When you deliver age-appropriate messages from the pulpit and the children’s ministry, you are contextualizing. When you wear a suit rather than a tunic, you are contextualizing. His point? Everybody does it.

However, as has often been said, the end does not justify the means. I personally believe this is where we need to “right the ship.” In an effort to be “all things to all men” we have become “nothing to anybody.” I am not saying the church should be stuck in the Dark Ages or Renaissance era. But there has to be a distinction. I do like what Matt does when he shows how it works.

Over-contextualization- affirm too much of the surrounding culture and we lose our distinction.

Under-contextualization- affirm too little of the surrounding culture and we lose our clarity and connection.

Contextualization- contend for both the message and the mission.

As so many have found out, it is a slippery slope, one easy to take a ride on. But also one hard to get off of.

The Jesus-centered church is a church that holds firm to the message of the gospel while strategically affirming cultural practices. They become like the ones they want to reach, but they also hold to the truth, which gives them something with which to reach the culture. (p.209)

How do you see relevance? Does your church do a pretty good job of reaching those around you?

The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If we are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. C.S. Lewis 

So begins the chapter in Matthew’s book curiously titled “Jesus-Centered Flower Committee.” I have to admit I raised an eyebrow or two with that title wondering what in the world he was getting into. Honestly, the first couple pages didn’t reveal to me what he was talking about either. It wasn’t until I was about six pages in that I began to catch what Matt was referring to. Of all things it was found in a story about Van Halen. When Van Halen was in their hey day they traveled with nine semis of equipment. So it was absolutely essential the venue where they were to perform be prepared. So they had a rider in their contract: a bowl of M&Ms with NO brown ones. David Lee Roth wrote that if he walked into a dressing room before a show and noticed brown M&Ms, he immediately ordered a line check. It spoke to them of a venue not prepared for their show.

Attention to details. Small details tell a lot. Many churches pay no attention to details…big or small. The lack of preparation is glaring. I realize there can be a fine line between obsessiveness and excellence, but preparation is a necessity. “Flying by the seat of our pants’ is not a good practice for a church to get into. It can often become a substitute word for laziness.

My take: when people come to OVCF to worship or to visit, I do want things to run smoothly. Glitches happen, but a regular habit of things happening does not bode well. Musicians who have not practiced and think all they have to do is show up is not preparation, nor is it giving the best you have. A pastor who says on a weekly basis “I didn’t have time to study so…” or “I don’t study I wait for God to reveal the sermon to me” is saying, “I am lazy and don’t want to study so I’m taking the blame God way out.” Sorry that doesn’t fly with me. That is also MHO.

The flip side of this is the necessity for allowing the Spirit to move and work. We can be programmed to death and on such a tight schedule that if the Holy Spirit did show up He would have to make an appointment.

What is your take on this? Where is the line between too much prep and not enough?