CULTURE

Not long ago I was talking with a fellow pastor and he told me he didn't think 'relevance' had much bearing on what we should or shouldn't do in the church today. To be fair, what he really said was: "We put too much emphasis on relevance." Maybe.

If the alternative is 'irrelevance,' I'll risk putting too much emphasis on it.

People assume Christianity and culture are at opposite ends of the spectrum and that more of one means less of the other. Of course, there IS a distinction between Christianity and culture. That much is clear. But just because culture is distinct from Christianity doesn't mean it is absent from Christianity.

The 'absent' viewpoint is what happens when we divide life into secular and spiritual categories. Within that view, prayer and sharing your faith are spiritual activities, while eating and exercise are secular. Pastors and missionaries hold spiritual jobs, while factory workers and lawyers hold secular ones. God shows up in spiritual venues, like church sanctuaries - while He is absent from secular venues, such as sports arenas and theatrical auditoriums.

That is a toxic worldview.

I know I talk about this a lot, but it is always on my mind. I want us to be the best we can be for the Kingdom and bring in people who don't understand church and have no context for church. That's always my prayer.

And be blessed.