Most modern, thriving churches will posit that this is a result of cultural relevance and hard work. Mars Hill Church, in Seattle, for example, has been listed as one of the top 10 fastest growing churches in America for the last seven years. Lead teaching Pastor, Mark Driscoll, claims this is a result of tailoring their ministry to the city of Seattle, and the specific issues therein. If we look closer to home; Kingdom City Church in Wangara. This church has transformed from a small congregation of around sixty people to a little under three thousand in around four years – this kind of growth is phenomenal. Both of these churches are modern, fast paced, culturally relevant and (from most reports) a loving welcoming environment.
While this is all well and good, I struggle sometimes to intimately grasp the concept of super cultural relevance. I do agree, most wholeheartedly, we need to do as Paul says and ‘become like the Jew’, but where do we draw the line between being relevant and being reliant? Ultimately, churches should be a result of the Gospel, but often times I am not convinced this is the case. The question you should most likely ask is why the sudden anti-culture argument? To tell the truth, it was attendance at a Youth Alive conference a fortnight ago that has triggered this thought pattern. This conference was filled with more undercuts and hipster boots than New York. For someone who was not the stereotype of ‘popular’ in high school, floods of memories of not fitting in and being excluded came rolling back. This was confusing for me, because just like in high school I have quite a few people who I would call friends – and yet in attendance of this conference I almost felt like I could lose them all for not wearing the right clothes.
Right now you’re probably thinking that I am some sort of desperate emotional young adult who needs a counsellor and more prayer, but bare with me! If I, as an adult, with significantly less hormones and a lot less reliance on popularity can feel uncomfortable in this church culture, how will the kid who does have these feel? For arguments sake, lets say that this indie-hipster trend is the culture, and it is how we should be relevant. This does pose one or two issues. Firstly, as pointed out, what about those that aren’t indie-hipsters? Secondly, what if, in our pursuit of cultural relevance, we just become a secondary part of the existing culture? These two questions are some that I personally have been asked by some of the older generation, so I thought it should be good to discuss these in depth, and as to where I personally stand.
Jesus Christ lived in a time of agriculture and huge family values. Thus, whenever he taught or spoke with others, he modelled parables and stories around these two core units of society. Jesus also wore (from what we understand) cultural footwear, and can probably be assumed cultural clothing. We know this because Jesus could not have been significantly different to the culture around Him, because He came to preach to the culture around Him. If Jesus was markedly different, it would not have been questioned if He was God, and more than likely would not have been murdered for His claim. So it is safe to assume that Jesus, who the entirety of Christian faith is based on, was culturally relevant in his dress. This does not necessarily mean that we should go to our local department store and spend $1000 on a new wardrobe that is on the cutting edge of fashion and culture, by any means! What this posits, however, is that wearing a Jeep t-shirt and some Ruggers may not be the most suitable attire for talking to a group of youths dressed as hipsters. This, I feel, prepares us for the first question – what about those that aren’t indie-hipsters?
The answer, realistically, is quite simple. Anyone that was not popular in high school can probably confirm that they wanted to be, and would have liked to have worn the clothing that those ‘popular’ kids wore. That is because most people wish to be a part of culture. All people desire community and inclusion, and often times fashion trends will define culture. In our current time period, skinny jeans, snapbacks and big t-shirts are the standard for young people – fifteen years ago, however, it was big jeans, skate shoes and plain shirts. The sad truth of the matter is that those who are not part of this fashion culture do want to be part of the fashion culture, because it represents community and inclusion. Mark Francey, a pastor from Boysie, Idaho, claims this for his ministry – if you can affect the people that affect culture, you will likely have a cultural effect. Moreover, there is already a stereotype for Christianity that is irrelevant and a group of culture-haters. If we hope to engage a culture and affect a culture, we need that culture to realise that we are relevant and that we love them. For those of you who are Christians and refuse to be relevant to the culture around you, I would posit that most people will write your opinion off as irrelevant and a waste of time. I would also like to point out that cultural relevance does not always mean following current fashion trends – but being relevant to the culture that you are wishing to minister to.
The second question that was raised to me needs a serious address. If you are defined by what you wear and who you hang out with, this will likely end in disaster. In fact, Christianity will likely become an insignificant part of culture if this were the case. However, as David Platt claims, Jesus Christ asks for radical belief, radical faith, and radical ministry. Jesus does not say ‘go out and be culturally relevant and hope that through your relevance people will repent and be baptised.’ He says, plainly, ‘Go, and make disciples.’ I would argue that anyone that claims that God creates will not disappear into culture. Anyone that believes that people chose against God, and thus created a humanity that was evil by nature and choice, is unlikely to dissolve into a society of possessed with logical positivism and self esteem. Anyone that claims Jesus Christ as Lord and God Who has paid the price for the propitiation of God’s wrath is definitely not going to sublime with the cool water of culture, and anyone who claims that eternity is real, with two distinctly different destinations is highly unlikely to be accepted as another facet of the existing culture.
The truth of the matter is that Jesus Christ, His gospel, and His bible are offensive, and none of them are easy to swallow. Culture demands inclusivity and tolerance. If you are already on the back-foot by appearing irrelevant, these truths are even harder for people to take seriously. This brings me to my concluding point – if you do not understand the culture you are a part of, you are unlike to enjoy preaching the gospel to the culture you are a part of. Study your culture, learn about them, figure out what makes them tick – musical style, television programs, language use, fashion trends. This is what it means when Paul says ‘be all things to all people’. Do not become an unimportant subset of culture, but become culturally relevant in order to bring relevance of the gospel to the culture.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23