Let's Get Relevant!

This past Sunday marked the last weekend of service at Southeast Christian Church for Senior Minister Bob Russell. After 40 years of service, Bob Russell's last sermon, his last words of admonition to the staff and members of Southeast were simple: "Preach the Word." This message was taken from 2 Timothy 3 and 4, where Paul instructed his young apprentice in his duties as a pastor. Paul wrote:

"But as for you [Timothy], continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

A pastor's duty is not to entertain or be "cutting edge" or stay up with pop culture. While it is beneficial for a pastor to be all of these, his singular charge is clear: Preach the Word. Obviously, this method has been successful for Bob Russell and Southeast Christian. Forty years ago, the church had some 130 members, and their first sanctuary was someone's basement. Now, with over 18,000 attending weekend services, it cannot be denied that God has blessed the efforts of Bob Russell and the rest of the Southeast staff and members. So, what is it that accounts for the success and blessing of this church? Russell suggested three things: the primacy of Christ and the Gospel at Southeast, the providence of God, and presenting the gospel in such a way as to make it relevant for today. Russell stated, "The Word of God is eternal in its message and application. So, if you want to be relevant, be eternal."

It was this last part that struck me and has stayed with me. I began to realize that, overwhelmingly, the world no longer sees Christianity as being relevant. The Church is no longer pertinent, the Gospel is irrelevant. And is it any wonder? It has been my own experience in the previous churches that I have been associated with that more concern is given to music style, the number of hymns to be sung, music volume, the color of choir robes, preaching style, and the like, than to those matters that mattered most. And most recently, the Southern Baptist Convention added to this list by adopting a resolution on the prohibition of alcohol use in America. Much has already been written about this matter, so I will be content to only point to this resolution as yet another example of "irrelevancy." The fact that delegates spent hours debating this resolution, eventually adopting it, undercut so much of the relevant work that was accomplished at the convention. Unfortunately, little is being said about the resolution denouncing North Korea's Kim Jong-Il and his murderous regime, or the resolution calling for action by Christians everywhere to help end the horrible tragedy in the Sudan that has caused 400,000 deaths, 2.5 million persons being displaced, and 3.5 million persons living in starvation, or any of the other "relevant" measures that were adopted, both past and present.

The Gospel message is one of Love and Hope, Grace and Forgiveness, Salvation and Mercy, Freedom and Peace. True religion. according to James 1:27 is "to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." We are to go out into the world and care for those who are hurting. We are to refuse to sit comfortably by and bemoan the evils of the "rest of the world." To be relevant, we have to put our faith into practice. Again, this is the message of Scripture, as James 2:14-17 reminds us: "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." It is irrelevant.

It is time for the Church to become relevant again. We have to focus on the eternal. We have to ignore silly disputes, which, in the end, will count for little, and take to heart Paul's admonition: "Preach the Word." It is our duty to be the face of compassion for the refugees, of hope for those millions of Africans losing the battle agains HIV/AIDS, of comfort and love for the millions of children who are abandoned, mutilated, and orphaned, and of salvation and freedom for those captured in the prisons of abuse, addiction, and confusion. It is time for us to take seriously Paul's instruction in Philippians 2:

"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."

I would take Bob Russell's message of "Preach the Word" and make one small change: "Live the Word." And we can expect that God will do nothing less than to absolutely amaze us and do "immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine."