Or, if Jesus came for the irrelevant, why are we trying so hard to be relevant?
It’s a question for those who insist that the problems with the church are strategic and cultural.
Another related question: who did Jesus talk to and why them?
And one more that’s been on my mind: what would Jesus blog about?
Just wondering.
I’d be really interested in Jesus’ “25 Things About Me” list on Facebook…
“Central” and “relevant” are places of balance and safety. The margins and irrelevancy are often uncomfortable and messy. We haven’t done church that way very often and we don’t like the way that reality feels when we’re outside the four walls of the building.
Seems like the answer to your first two questions is found in the answer to your third one.
That would be interesting to read.
As someone in cross-cultural ministry, I’m always conscious of communicating in ways that make sense. No problem with that. But if the goal is to be heard, what will help unbelievers really hear what the gospel is all about? Will they hear the gospel if we can package it so that it looks and sounds like everything else? Will they hear it if we actually live it? And then, of course, a lot of people just won’t hear apart from the gracious work of the Spirit.
Jesus changed the world, but he didn’t do it be imitating the economic, military, religious, or culture centers of the world. He did it by confronting them through his words and life.
I would question whether Jesus came just for the marginalized and the irrelevant. Did he not come for all?
Regarding relevancy, do we not need to be relevant to the irrelevant? Being relevant is just a popular name for contextualization. I believe one of the great things about the good news of Jesus is its translatability. That is, the good news can be communicated in the words and forms of any culture or subculture (including the marginalized and irrelevant).
where the margins are depends on where you are standing. But sick and lost and wondering are pretty clear places that Jesus is working. And we are pretty often at the edges.
You are subversive.
I think a living Body of Christ will be doing what your questions suggest without even having thought of the questions. Blogs belong to an elite culture — so perhaps He wouldn’t blog …
Thanks, guys, for the discussion. You’re making me think (albeit, a bit too early).
Michael, the verse that immediately came to my mind was Jesus’ words to the Pharisees that it is the sick rather than the healthy who need a doctor. Of course the Pharisees were as sick as anybody else, just didn’t realize it.
Which leads to Jon’s point that the margin depends on where we’re standing. If God is the center, we’re all marginalized – true. What I find interesting is that God is often at work with those who are marginalized from main stream society – refugees, divorced people, the sick, the poor and oppressed – yet these are the people who find it so hard to ‘fit in’ at many churches. Often times people like us find it hard because the church has ‘contextualized’ itself to the (apparently) successful and healthy people.
Maybe this is why some of the healthy expressions of Christ’s body emerge on the margins. As you point out, Thomas, it can become second nature.
Would Jesus use Blogger or WordPress?
Love the discussion.
I have seen SO many posts on how the church should be more relevant. VERY few have looked at how Jesus lived and acted. Your post did – and very well.
Thank you.
Oh, and WordPress.
(I’m going to switch, once of these days, when I can find time.)
Many years ago, one of my early team leaders had the whole team read a gospel (any one would do) and list observations about how Jesus ministered. We all came together a week later and compared notes. Then we did an inventory of our current ministries to see if we could justify what we were doing in light of what Jesus did. What did we need to do less of? What did we need to do more of?
It was quite revealing.