Jesus, Culture, Irrelevancy & the Church

Today Christians face a daunting reality. As it has in Europe, the church is declining in numbers and influence in the United States.  It seems everywhere one drives, he or she cannot help but notice the multitude of churches with FOR SALE  signs. Such snapshots project a mental image of another holy institution that has become extinct and irrelevant to its culture. 

To add to this reality, are the various scandals, that like a branding iron, have left a hurtful impression on our hearts. In the past decade for example, there have been sexual scandals involving young boys, hypocrisy among leaders who opposed same sex marriage, and even the imprisonment of pastors who did nothing as sick members died because of destructive dogma that  rejected medical treatment. 

For many centuries our culture has tried to convince us the church is no longer relevant. Key historical tenants like the inerrancy of Scriptures, the exclusivity of Christ, and biblical texts that speak against relational practices (i.e. divorce, pre-marital sex, homosexuality) are no longer regarded as true, but rather rejected as a primitive way of viewing life. The consensus is simply, "They did the best to understand the Divine, however, today, our culture is more advanced, more progressive, and more informed to simply know better." 

How our prevailing culture feels about the church is nothing shocking; but what is surprising is that more and more Christians are feeling the same way based on the way they live their lives. Inevitably, though they still reluctantly attend services, tomorrow is almost a forgone conclusion that their names will soon disappear from the membership directory. So what has happened? How have we become in many circles, irrelevant to our culture? 

  

Our lives indicate a Disbelief in the Inerrancy of Scripture

At the heart of the inerrancy of Scripture is the reality that the Bible represents God's revelation to man without error. It is quiet remarkable that with the thousands of NT manuscripts and fragments for example, there is over a 95-98 percent agreement when these texts are placed side by side for comparison purposes, despite most of these texts being from diverse geographic locations and time periods. Those that specialize in this field are confident that what we read in the Bible is almost exactly how the original autograph read. In the end, the differences are minor, which include copyist errors, and translating certain phrases and clauses.

However, Christians tend to focus less on what the Bible says and more on their "divine experiences." In many ways, the communal God of the Bible has been replaced by ones "personal" Yahweh. Quite frequently we live as if God is not the true God, we are, or as if His guidelines pertaining to morality are not the right ones, our is, or as if the Scripture is secondary to our personal experience. I recently spoke to a divorcee, who told me her pastor husband told her that "God told me to divorce you." How someone like him could justify such a ridiculous statement in light of God's heart on the issue in Scripture is beyond me. Yet, it serves to show that it is not uncommon for personal experience to trump what the Biblical text teaches. When we do not live our lives as if the Bible is inerrant, we make God's regulations in Scripture relevant to the majority, yet irrelevant to ourselves due to "special circumstances." As CS Lewis once remarked, one cannot rely on experience to navigate them across the ocean; they need a compass. Likewise, we must follow and submit to God's perfect map when it comes to living out our Christian lives.

Imagine a Jesus who did not back up what he taught by using the Scriptures. Imagine a Jesus who parsed out what the Bible taught in favor of what he believed. Such a Jesus would soon become irrelevant to a culture that thirsts for God's truth.


Our Lives Indicate a Disbelief in the Exclusivity of Jesus
Our culture has a hard time with the claim of Jesus that he is “the way, and the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6)."  To mainstream society, the exclusiveness of such a claim seems arrogant and disrespecting of others and their spiritual convictions. Such a claim our culture feels is intolerant and divisive when it comes to relationships simply because it tears people apart, rather than bringing them together. Yet, no one wanted to bring people together more than Jesus. Remember, he left the comforts of heaven to offer reconciliation of all peoples to God. He died for such reconciliation. John 3:17 says that Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save it. Consequently, at the heart of the mission of Jesus was the hope to reconcile humankind through his propitiation offered to God.  


Yet, the church has in many ways, failed to model the driving passion of Jesus, who left the Ideal Gated Community to become a part of the prevailing culture. The heart of Jesus was to love and engage his culture, and he taught his followers to do the same. Unfortunately, most Christians do not share the same kind of heart for their respective communities. Rather than engaging the culture for Jesus, many choose primarily to focus on their own needs because their hearts are not big enough to include non-Christians in their life. 


Imagine a Jesus who lived within the walls of the synagogues, spent most of his time with his followers, and never engaged his culture because he did not agree with their practices. Imagine a Jesus who did not come to share the hope of God with those outside the church, but rather preached to the choir. Imagine a Jesus who kept his spiritual convictions to himself because he wanted to be liked. In the end, such a Jesus would become increasingly invisible and irrelevant to his culture.


Our Lives Indicate, a DIsbelief in Biblical Relational Practices
When it comes to biblical compromise, it seems no area is more evident than with issues dealing with relationships and sexual sin. Several years ago, I remember feeling sick to my stomach when it was revealed that a prominent pastor in the Colorado area, who was a key spokesman in opposing gay marriage, was discovered on television, by the very male masseuse, he had been having a sexual rendezvous with for the past five years. The pastor later resigned once it became public.

In addition to this hypocrisy, the church is faced with some other troubling realities, such as the divorce rate exceeding fifty percent, and the reality that in mainline churches, not only is same sex marriage embraced, but many gay clergy are ordained and ministering from the pulpit. Many  Christians feel uncomfortable discussing sexual inconsistencies in the church, but the Bible speaks loud and clear against such practices. Illegitimate sex was a big deal with God and should be a bigger deal with us. Not engaging in masturbation, pornography, and premarital sex, should be ideals we are determined to keep at all costs because it is such a major concern with God.

Imagine a Jesus who taught God's ideals for sexual relationships, but failed to practice them himself. Imagine a Jesus who had to apologize continuously for his lack of self-control with other women. Imagine a Jesus who had burned bridges with females and friends because he bought into the view which teaches that sexual expression is a biological necessity. Such a Jesus would be unconvincing as a teacher and irrelevant among his culture, especially the women.

Miscellaneous Stuff
There are several other reasons the church has become increasingly irrelevant in its culture. For example, many Christians today have no real heart for discipleship.  For many Christians, if not most, Sunday is their one day spiritual excursion. Moreover, if some in the church are not being fed, they will simply be forced to take their talents to another church.

In addition to Sunday Christians, there is seldom a drive for personal sacrifice. Sacrifice to some degree of your time, your finances, of your preferred lifestyle, even personal habits. The reality is that about the only thing the majority of Christians are willing to sacrifice is getting up early Sunday morning to go to church. The reality of the situation is that we are more committed to our idols than we are to serving Jesus.

According to the Church Pew, the average person spends about five hours a night watching television. Though sobering in and of itself, additional data reveals that people also spend an additional 2.5 hours involved in some other media portal like MP3 players, video games, or the internet. In contrast, the average follower of Christ spends five paltry minutes in daily prayer, which includes praying for their meal.

Imagine a Jesus who would rather watch television than pray to the Father. Imagine a Jesus who felt it was an inconvenience to study his Bible on a daily basis. Imagine a Jesus who spent most of his time on the internet, or playing video games, or not wanting to give a tithe because it is too much of a sacrifice. Such a Jesus would become spiritually and socially irrelevant because of the way he spends his time.

The reality is that Jesus taught there is a cost for following him, namely you must be willing to lose your life before you really find it. 

What's the Point? 

The point is not to bag on Christians, but to stand face-to-face with the reality that the church has become increasingly irrelevant in our culture. Jesus did not die so that we could live lives that do not reflect the very essence of a Christ follower. No, Jesus sacrificed so that we could make a difference in our culture like he did. He wanted us to be lamps that were not covered but shined in a culture that did not know about Jesus. He wanted us to be effective witnesses and not to lose what he termed, our saltiness. As Christians, our lives should resonate with the flavor of Jesus. Does yours?

In order to make a difference, we must evaluate our lives, and if need be, confess and repent that we have not been living the life. In the end, Christ died for the church because it possesses great value when its focus is on loving people and the Father. I do not know about you, but I am tired of losing my focus. Now is the time to make sure when we look thru the camera lens, we see Jesus, not ourselves.