How do we make Christianity relevant?

One of my good friends shared an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal with me earlier in the week on "Hipster Christianity." The author, a young evangelical named Brett McCracken acknowledges the growing concern amongst Christian communities, namely, the flight of younger generations away from the church. McCracken doesn't explore the reason behind the mass exodus, rather he critiques attempts by churches to make Christianity relevant to younger generations by making it cool, hip, trendy, shocking, etc. It is really not hard to think of churches, congregations, worship leaders, and writers who 'revamped' their image to reach their audience. Today, everyone's in the business of marketing. So, why not the church? Several questions popped into my mind as I read this article: Is this wrong? Is the "image overhaul" even necessary? Better yet, how do we make Christianity relevant?

There is no reason to make something relevant if it was never irrelevant in the first place. Last I checked, creation had fallen, man was sinful, and Christ had yet to return. Therefore, the Gospel is still relevant. I think the real problem is the fear, laziness, and unbelief amongst Christians. We, myself included, believe the Gospel is powerless and that somehow Jesus is not enough. Why else would we present another image to non-believers? Why else would we revamp our churches or feel the need to make Christianity cool? I think we are ashamed of the Gospel and I think we have convinced ourselves that that preaching the Gospel and calling upon the Lord to intercede is not enough to save sinners. Christians need to reach the broken, the sex addicts, the hipsters, the failures, and the youngsters, but we don't need to be hip, shocking, or trendy to do so. We just need to be bold enough to preach the Gospel there - and believe in its power and the power of our Father to change even the hardest hearts.

I love the way that McCracken concludes:

If the evangelical Christian leadership thinks that "cool Christianity" is a sustainable path forward, they are severely mistaken. As a twentysomething, I can say with confidence that when it comes to church, we don't want cool as much as we want real.

If we are interested in Christianity in any sort of serious way, it is not because it's easy or trendy or popular. It's because Jesus himself is appealing, and what he says rings true. It's because the world we inhabit is utterly phony, ephemeral, narcissistic, image-obsessed and sex-drenched—and we want an alternative. It's not because we want more of the same.

Thoughts?

The Saviour

I read this earlier today from The Valley of Vision and have to share it:

Thou God of all Grace,

Thou hast given me a Savior,

produce in me a faith to live by him,

to make him all my desire,

all my hope,

all my glory.

May I enter him as my refuge,

build on him as my foundation,

walk in him as my way,

follow him as my guide,

conform to him as my example,

receive his instructions as my prophet,

rely on his intercessions as my high priest,

obey him as my king.

May I never be ashamed of him or his words,

but joyfully bear his reproach,

never displease him by unholy or imprudent conduct,

never count it a glory if I take it patiently when buffeted for a fault,

never make the multitude my model,

never delay when they Word invites me to advance.

May thy dear Son preserve me from this present evil world,

so that its smiles never allure,

nor its frowns terrify,

nor its vices defile,

nor its errors delude me.

May I feel that I am a stranger and a pilgrim on earth,

declaring plainly that I seek a country,

my title to it becoming daily more clear,

my meetness for it more perfect,

my foretastes of it more abundant;

and whatsoever I do may it be done

in the Saviour's name.

Community & The Local Church

...And I am back from the blogging sabbatical! Gotta love an unintentional sabbatical.

Jeff Lacine of Desiring God ministries had a phenomenal series on the importance of the local church. I think Christians today love to talk about community. Key word here: talk. I think community is something we pay a lot of lip service to, but we often struggle to integrate it into our daily living (myself included). The best place to find and partake in community: the local church. Many try to down play its importance, but I truly believe the local church is vital to the life of a believer. It is a place of deep friendship and sharing, a means to interact with grace, and a source of encouragement and support. Lacine's first installment in the series on perseverance (pasted below) is my favorite. To have people in your life "battling" for your sanctification and perseverance - what a beautiful gift!

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. (Hebrews 3:12-14)

In this passage we have wonderful assurance and firm warning. The wonderful assurance comes from the last sentence: For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. Said another way, if we have come to share in Christ, we will persevere. True believers will never fall from grace and be disqualified from their inheritance, period.

On the flip side, this passage comes as a firm warning. We are exhorted to seek out the means that God has appointed to keep us from falling away. Namely, the local church. Not only as an institution or formal assembly, but as friends and encouragers—brothers and sisters battling for each other's sanctification and perseverance. This regular and honest interaction with other believers is a means of grace that God has appointed to counteract the self-deceiving, heart-hardening sin that would otherwise lead us away from God.

God has designed for our perseverance to be realized in authentic community—living and dying together in the gospel of Christ.