what i’ve learned about [church]: part vii

I promised this today and I must live up to that promise so here goes:

“We aren’t that smart and we aren’t that cool either.” By writing these posts I don’t intend to point any fingers at anyone in fear that my finger might get broken and point right back at me. But, the [church] has to realize that it will never be cool enough to change any one’s life. [Relevance] (another misunderstood word) is important and as Mosaic LA says, “relevance to culture is not optional.” Agree 100%. But relevance doesn’t mean being cool or hip or whatever. Hollywood spends billions of dollars to create the culture of cool…the church just can’t compete on a worldly-cool level and it shouldn’t try.

I think that most would agree that world doesn’t really need the church to be cool. It needs the church to be the church. I don’t want to be cool as much as I want to follow the Scripture’s recipe for what makes the church what it was intended to be.  I know that no one really ever starts out with the plan of being cool at the expense of following the Scriptures but often we get start down a path and only after we’ve traveled down it too far do we realize where it leads. It is especially difficult to know where the “line” is between relevance to culture and just an attempt at “coolness” because we are, afterall, trying despartely to connect to this culture. I guess the bottom line is that the church cannot allow the world’s standards to influence her decision making. I hope that day|twelve will be guided by the Scriptures and prayer in its decision making. And, when it isn’t, I pray that someone or many someones call us on it.  

Church, we can be cool but let’s not put our coolness on the throne of our ministries.

We’ll talk to you all next year…have a fun AND safe New Year’s celebration!