fcaministers by Rich Doebler
The other day I read a short blog post that talked about how Christian Media (specifically TV and radio) are increasingly irrelevant. The post and the conclusions made me wonder if it might say something about the state of western Christianity in general—including what we do as a church to communicate a relevant message to our society. We are all trying to develop ministries that connect with our community, but are we even able to speak the language of those who are not yet believers?
This blog raised several questions for me that I would like to bring up here to hear from you:
- Forget about Christian media—has the church become irrelevant to the world? What I mean is:
- Is our message really connecting with people? Does the world view the church as a relevant voice in their lives?
- Does the church speak more to believers on the inside or to those on the outside?
- Is our message really connecting with people? Does the world view the church as a relevant voice in their lives?
- Is relevancy determined by what people want to hear or by what God says they need to hear?
- Does the message of the church become more irrelevant when we ignore the buzz in contemporary society or when we join it?
So, let’s say we choose to speak to the contemporary issues that everyone is talking about, which topics do we select:
- Is the chaos in the Middle East leading to Armageddon?
- How about the dysfunction of power politics in Washington?
- Or, what about popular topics like poverty, abuses of big business, global warming?
- the list could go on and on…
In all of this, how do we follow Paul’s example, who said, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” (Gal 1:10, NASB) and at the same time said “…I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some”? (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)
The blog post I read seemed to advocate more of the popular or sensational fare as what is relevant. However, we get frustrated, at times, because what is popular seems to be somewhat narrow or immature in its perspective. People with “itching ears” are often interested in topics we would put way down on our priority list. How do we connect with people on things they want to hear while at the same time, nudging them in the direction of what they need?
What do you think? How do we become all things to all people while at the same time not striving to please people instead of God???
Rich Doebler is Senior Pastor of Cloquet Gospel Tabernacle in Minnesota and also serves as a Fellowship Elder for the Upper-Midwest.
As usual I have an entire article in response to this – It may not answer Rich’s question but nevertheless….
The blog Rich references ended with this statement: “We get upset because secular journalists don’t get the spiritual perspective of what’s going on, and yet, when it comes to TV, are we offering a better alternative?” I’m not too sure who exactly is upset that secular journalists don’t offer spiritual perspectives on what’s going on – I certainly am NOT anxious to hear a journalist’s take on what God is thinking about. But I digress from the topic…
Much of Christian TV is indeed irrelevant. I haven’t watched TBN or CBN for many years – in great part because they seem to offer nothing more than platitudes and hype that pretends to be life changing information but doesn’t do much more than ask for funds to continue to present their message of need. I believe GodTV has filled a niche for many and GodTube certainly provides many videos that are actually uplifting to people. So there is a mixed
bag of what is available. I believe most of these venues tend to connect with the saved rather than the unsaved.
Many churches today are looking more and more to discipling their congregants, with varying results. If we truly want Christians to reach out in relevant ways to the communities around them then we need to be preparing them and providing a strong and growing foundation from which they can present the case for Christ. We have several women with a gift of compassion who regularly do what I call “Walmart Evangelism” – they take their faith shopping with them and engage people in need in conversations about Christ. They don’t have all the answers and they don’t pretend to, but they have seen the power of a living God at work in their own lives and seen answers to prayer and they are not shy about offering prayer and encouragement to the people they speak with. THIS is relevant Christianity.
Do we need to find a way to support & disciple those who are gifted and prepared/preparing to be involved in Media avenues – whether that be news reporting or movies etc? – Absolutely. Those who are “called” to vocational work in media venues need to have pastors and leaders who will have their backs, who will give biblical advice and accountability, who will be prayer partners with these frontline Christians. Does that mean the pastors themselves or the evangelists or the Christian who desires to use social media must involve themselves in the “relevant” issues that run rampant across Twitter & Facebook or the modern news cycle? I don’t believe so.
As for “relevant” topics in society, for those of us who are active in the Twittersphere or presenting faith challenges on Facebook or in the public square – the World and the unsaved are looking for more than “relevance” from those who profess to know a living God. They are looking for people willing to engage their own faith and challenge those who lack faith. They want to know that things like “Faith in Jesus will change your life” or “The Bible is Truth” or “A Christian isn’t perfect, just forgiven” are statements that are being LIVED by those who profess them. If you want to bring your faith into relevant issues you better be prepared to defend it – and that means you don’t let the conversation devolved into meaningless arguments about historical Christianity or the Crusades or whether Jesus was a Socialist. You want to be able to enter a Twitter conversation with an Atheist who wants to challenge without believing and making sure others are tuning in to your one-sentence conversation? Then don’t give in to their sound-byte atheology, know how to be relevant AND biblically sound.
As for us in ministry – DISCIPLE YOUR CONGREGATION! Sunday sermons won’t do it. Be strategic in what you want them to know and how you will provide them the knowledge and accountability to grow. Maybe for ministers
this is the real conversation we need to be having – how do we raise up Christians who live in the power of God, actively seek His gifts and a walk of faith and know how to share that faith when the rubber of “relevance” hits the
road in the lives of the people they interact with?
I hear you, Jan! Discipleship is way more than three points and a conclusion. It’s a way of life—lived out in practical terms so it can be caught as much as taught.
I am a bit fearful that in an age of sound bites and 140 character tweets, we run the risk of reducing relevancy to what’s trending. How do we get people raised on Sesame Street (accustomed to a cultural Attention Deficit Disorder) to listen to the more substantial (and the more relevant) message they really need to hear?
right on Rich – I sync with you on this issue. I believe the sons of Issachar knew something about relevance, — they “understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” I Chronicles 12:32 While understanding the times – they knew what to do, — and the converse – while knowing what to do – they understood the times. In concert with markjuane’s comment — Relevance must aim in the right direction, – by adjusting the subjective to the objective.
Great question Rich…I’m going to have to give it some thought. Love to hear how you do it so well.
Hey Trevor! It’s a never-ending stretch for me. Just about the time I think I’ve figured something out about
the culture, there’s a new trend to figure out. I do, however, feel that many of us in the church culture talk in biblical platitudes and, like the blog suggests, leave others scratching their heads and wondering why we ignore the great issues of the day. Maybe we could bypass some of our talks and try instead to connect the dots between biblical truth and current events,
It seems to me that in Galatians 1:10, Paul is referring to his message. Whereas, in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, he is talking about his methods. You will always be relevant when you address the felt and real needs of your audience. And you will always be Biblical if you address those needs with the gospel.
One rule of thumb in ministry I learned early on is, “First, meet people where they are. (relevance) Then, take them where they’ve never been before (faithful to the message).”