Relevance - does it matter?

The week most of the nation was glued to a debate amongst a large group of candidates for president. When it was all said and done the issue at hand is whether any of them are truly relevant to the normal people of today that make up America? I agree that it is very unlikely that a Billionaire will ever understand the struggles of a low wager earner. Much as someone who is a child of an immigrant or married to one gets it when it comes to being relevant to the concerns and problems with the broken immigration system.

I got into a very lively discussion with a good friend over the topic of whether the church and Jesus are relevant to today’s generation. The debate was a byproduct of my friend’s entrepreneurial skills of bringing a band from Oregon to do a show at his college, GCU. It was during their time together that my friend, Aundre, attempted to explain his vision for a business plan that would ultimately bring people of different backgrounds, religious views and political expressions together for the purpose of helping at risk youth and address social injustice. It was my young friend’s choice of a name for his LLC that got him into hot water with the 30 somethings in the band. He chose a name that has both a secular expression, from ancient Greek world and a modern day Christian term that is very popular. The word Koinonia refers to sharing together, having things in common or in today’s lingo building community around a purpose and mission.

My friend Aundre became incensed over the issue that it wasn’t possible to use a Christian name to do something that involved those outside the church. The real discussion that Aundre and I have tossed around for the last year is whether the church can be relevant to those on the outside if we don’t venture into their world and culture? We have to intentionally take the time to study the culture and language of those that are different from us if we are going to have an impact in their world. Sadly, the church has become so isolated and fearful of the world around it that we spend more time on the attack mode then having an openness to build bridges of understanding.

So is it possible to build bridges between a diverse group of people that have different racial backgrounds, religious or nonreligious views, educational and socio-economic settings? The real tension in the church over the last twenty years is whether or not Christians are called to separate themselves from the world around them to be purposely different. This mindset, which I believe is a misunderstanding of Jesus’ mission, has seen the church purposely go on the attack of culture and has created a climate of enmity that just magnifies the simple truth that Christians aren’t perfect, can be hypocrites and at times do more damage than good to the world around them. Often the church has viewed social justice causes as being synonymous with liberal paganism. The discussion next moved to how Jesus lived and what we can learn from his example?

Jesus seemed to always be at odds with the educated religious elite that controlled the culture of Jewish religious practice and thought. Jesus wasn’t against the laws of the Tora or the Old Testament but ultimately came to explain them by living them out and fulfilling them. The difficulty then and now is that we are too quick to make the assumption that our way or interpretation is the only correct expression of God’s way of living. Jesus often took a conciliatory approach to those that had been condemned by religious elite’s understanding of the law. Jesus chose to not pick up a rock to stone an adulterous woman but instead diffused the situation.  He did something radical and put the spotlight back on the men who most likely had committed adultery with the woman and urged them to do some self-examination. His hand of forgiveness stretched out to the woman and even to her accusers.

The difficulty today is that most truly see this tension of us and them when it comes to how Christians live out their faith expressions. If I get involved with someone that is a hardcore pagan I might get influenced by them? If I befriend a gay or lesbian I might have my reputation tarnished or be pulled into the LGBTQ community? What if I invite into my home someone of a totally different racial background isn’t possible that they might ‘case’ my house and have their friends come back and rob me? The discussion with Aundre and the band came to this point of the purpose in Christ’s coming. Did Jesus come to seek and save the lost, forgotten and broken or did he come to establish an elite educated theologically correct group that have all of the answers?

I believe that Jesus has always been relevant to the culture of his day and to ours. The difficulty is that Christians are the ones who are his representatives in the world of today. We, including myself, have done a poor job of being like him, instead we have created a Jesus who looks like us, talks like us and wears the same clothes. We have ended up either looking like the culture around us or have chosen to condemn the cultural expression of today without much interaction with those outside of the church. Most outside the church view Christianity as being out of touch and incapable of understanding their life stories.

So is it possible to purposely choose to create bridges to different people groups that represent the spectrum by giving them opportunities to work together in a positive constructive way to see the world became a better place? My friend Aundre and I would hope and pray so. Yet, there is a tension in the church that at times would portray the world as a lost cause that we should abandon and seek refuge in the mountains waiting for Jesus to return. 

So is it possible for the church of today to be relevant to the world around it?