"Meeting them where they are" turns out to mean, "Hey, we'll come be wordly with you. "Seeker friendly" is rather the flip-side of the same coin: "Hey, you can come be worldly with us!" [Read...]
Original in Blue, my response in Green. When I refer to "you", I mean to the people posing the questions, not Steve, who's blog this was posted on:
Panel Discussion
I've been asked to be part of a panel discussion taking place at the ABC 75th Anniversary Homecoming Weekend. The panel will be hosted by the President. Here are the questions we've been asked to respond to:
1. What are the most obvious couple of changes that you have seen in Christian witness, in your life time?
2. Which ones are the most significant? Why?
3. How do you think these changes have come about, that is, what particular cultural factors, are the changes addressing or responding to? Do you think the responses are a good thing?
Questions 1, 2 and 3 are all pretty much inseparable, so I'll address them all three at once.
I'm not sure what "Christian witness" means when taken apart from a personal level, which is how this question is worded. It is asked as if "Christian witness" were something external, something "otherly." If the question had been "what's changed in your Christian Witness, I suppose it could be answered. But Christian Witness is not something that exists apart from a specific Christian. It would be like asking has the hair changed colour? Who's hair?"
Nevertheless, I can deduce from the wording of the question that whatever it is, you are asking about how it has changed. If by Christian Witness, you mean anything to do with God, Jesus Christ, The Gospel, or God's word, or about the "Church" or Christians in general, then I think I can answer.
God, Jesus Christ, The Gospel, God's Word, the Church, and Christians in general have remain completely unchanged from the very beginning of time (or in the case of the Church and Christians, since their founding). None of these change at all, ever. If it appears that they have changed, it is only so because the world has changed - not the Gospel, or the Christians who proclaim it.
What you really see happening is one segment of the world (the lost who are making no pretenses) calling another segment of the world (the lost, pretending to be the "church") a bunch of bad names. It is truly, in every sense of the word, the "pot calling the kettle 'Black'."
4. The church in Canada is increasingly seen as marginal, irrelevant, bigoted, conservative, and self-absorbed. For at least a generation of Canadians, there is not merely an apathy about the church, but increasingly a cynical view of the church.
If you are a Christian, then you are looking at something that you are mistaking for the church. If you are perishing, again, you are mistaking something else for "the church." And on top of that, should you ever actually see the real "church", then your disdain for it is expected. We would be very suprised indeed if you did not malign and despise the Gospel - that would make Christ a liar, and us very confused. And in all cases, it is very highly likely that most people making this claim of "marginal" (et al), have never seen the church, nor a Christian either for that matter. And how does "conservative" end up (artificially) in this list anyway? Isn't it funny when "conservationists" decry and bemoan "conservatives?" (Sorry, a little political tangent there. Couldn't resist. ;-)
In spite of this, there remains widespread popular belief in some of the key things that make Christianity unique. Reg Bibby’s research has found that two thirds of Canadians still believe there is “something special about Jesus.” What do you make of these things?
There is only, and exactly, one thing that makes Christianity unique, and that is Jesus Christ. Apart from Jesus Christ, everything that parades itself around dressed up as "church" is indistinguishable from any other religion in the world. Christianity is life IN Jesus Christ, and service and obedience to Him alone at the loss of all else including your own life, self, identity and "self-esteem." That's why I find it endlessly entertaining to hear things like "some people still think there is something 'special' about Jesus Christ." I get a good laugh from that. Jesus Christ created the world and everything and everyone in it. It is all his property and he does with it as he pleases. Jesus is "special?" Wow. Golly!
5. Only a “consumer driven” church is called to “be relevant,” a significant problem for many who see consumer behavior as culpable in the exploitation, abuse, and alienation of Western societies. At the same time the churches message of salvation and call to be the “salt” that keeps societies/the world together, has to be heard and/or experienced in terms people not only “understand,” but “engage” in radical, public discipleship.
a) How does the church learn to “be” in the world, in such a way that she is living as “salt” and “light,” rather than contributing to ‘the problem’? b) How might a ministry like Alberta Bible College contribute to the solution rather than the problem?
I can see already that your conference is doomed to failure. You have more psychology buzzwords in there than a room full of guys named "Sigmund."
But I think I see where you are going with this. Again, it is a matter of mistaking the Church for something else.
The Church is not called to be "relevant." The church is called to preach the Gospel of irrelvancy to a dying world. I have no intention, nor even any desire to "relate" to any of them. I expect them (like myself, and all real Christians) to relate themselves to the Gospel that calls them to forsake all and follow Christ, or perish in the flames of hell.
There is a misunderstanding of "salt" in this case. Jesus said, you are the salt of the world, and if the salt has lost it's savour, wherewith will it (the world) be salted?"
We are not here to add a little zest to the culture pot. A little colour to the drab tapestry of human existence. We are not here to "spice things up" and "keep things interesting." We have Muslims for that.
The salt mentioned here is refered to in it's preservation capacity - it's ability to save meat from rotting (a brilliant and wonderfully apropos choice of words if ever there was one! Jesus really knew how to get right to the heart of a matter, didn't he?)
6. What other implications can be drawn from “the nature of the church,” and her presence in this particular world as agent of God’s rule, for “equipping the saints for ministry?”
We are not "agents" for God's rule on earth. We are his subjects. HE rules. We don't play into it. And, if you will recall, it is the word of God that equips the saints for Ministry - not "the church."
7. What is the encouragement you would give to a young person who is thinking about becoming a “servant leader” in the church of the 21st C?
Don't!
No, seriously. If YOU are thinking about it, you are already half way to your eventual and unavoidable defeat. You enter the ministry if God PUTS you there. Whether that involves any conscious decision on your part may or may not be. I tend to think "not be." People who end up in ministry (that is, REAL ministry, ordained by the REAL God, at the calling and election of the REAL God) are not there because THEY decided to be there.
