One of the major challenges facing the
church today is relevance. Is the church relevant in our
"enlightened world?" Many prominent authors have written books
on how the church can and should be more relevant in the lives
of people today. And I agree, the church needs to respond to
the needs of our world in a relevant way, while caring out its
Biblical mandate to make disciples for Christ. People of our
time need to understand how the Gospel of Jesus Christ will
make a difference in their lives, how following a faith that
is so counter to today's society can actually bring peace and
joy to someone, and how placing our trust in God is more wise
then trusting ourselves.
The church needs to do a better job of
communicating the Gospel and its relevance. However,
communication is a two-way street. In our
what-can-you-do-for-me-now society, the onus has been placed
on the church to convince society that following Christ is the
preferred path for living, and that attending church and
getting involved in ministry beyond worship is what we are
called to do as children of God. And to some extent the church
has this responsibility.
But those who hear the Good News also
have a responsibility to receive the news and act upon what
they hear, and to follow where the Holy Spirit leads. Too
often people simply complain about church because they feel
there suppose to get something from church. But in reality to
receive we must be willing to give. And I am not talking about
giving money; I am talking about giving of ones self to
wanting to know about God and wanting to truly experience
Christ. I suggest if we want to receive the peace, joy,
encouragement, and healing offered through Christ we must be
willing to do some work as well, not just sit in the pew
complaining that church is boring, or that the service is too
predictable, and nothing said or sung applies to my life
anyway. We cannot grow in Christ by simply being pew potatoes,
or by avoiding church all together.
If church is to be relevant than we
must be willing to do our part to make it relevant. How often
do you read the Bible, study its contents, or pray? Do you
participate in the ministry of the church beyond one hour of
worship per week? Are you involved with other Christians in
fellowship and service? Are you helping those in church
leadership better define what the church ought to be in our
community?
One of the problems we have as
Christians is that we expect the church to awaken us, to get
us excited about Jesus, and to motivate us to a new way of
life. Well the truth is our faith does not work that way.
Following Jesus requires us to be active participants in our
spiritual growth by taking part in the spiritual disciplines
listed above. When we participate in the spiritual
disciplines, we begin to see and hear things in a different
light. Words we hear on Sunday morning, and receiving the
sacraments, begin to take on new meaning, and before you know
it we are excited and see the relevance of Jesus. Jesus never
said following him would be easy; but he did say the rewards
would be great.
How relevant is your church? What have
you done to make church more relevant in your life, or in the
lives of others?
Read other messages by Pastor Wade