Vision is a clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be. -Andy Stanley
Did you know that there are over 200 churches here in Gilmer County? With that many churches here, you would think that God was doing some serious business here in our midst, wouldn’t you? But look around, do you see that kind of life change in our community? Do you see our city, our county as a beacon for God’s Word in our world? Unfortunately, even though we have a ton of churches, most of them seem too be hopelessly stuck in the past, caught up in tradition, and even teaching a performance-based religion that people will never be able to live up to.
Get this… My observation has been that many of our churches, while well-meaning, want people to attend a church where they are expected to:
- wear clothes they don’t own
- Sit in pews they hate
- hear music they don’t like
- use a Bible written in a language they don’t speak
- learn from a preacher they can’t understand
These things simply don’t make sense to any thinking person in the 21st century. It all seems to them like unnecessary religious convolution. It seems like a lot of form, but no substance. And people are quitting in droves.
And it isn’t simply Gilmer County. It is the church at large, also. Let’s be honest, church… Our old habits are pushing an entire generation away from Jesus. Nationwide, young people are simply not willing to be connected to the Body of Christ. According to a recent Pew Research survey, fewer than 25% of Americans identify themselves as “church attenders,” down from half the population who were regular churchgoers a generation ago.
We aren’t losing this generation. We never had them to begin with.
As Christians, our vision is HIS vision… We want to be part of transforming our communities. We want to see people “love God, love others, and make disciples that make disciples.” As ambassadors for Christ, we MUST find ways to communicate God’s Word in clear, refreshing ways. The way we say this is that we are here to
Make the Gospel Relevant to Our Community.
In other words, we must approach people WHERE THEY ARE with the Gospel in a language that THEY can understand. We have to be willing to give up our old habits, and learn to speak the language of the lost people around us.
Sure, some people really get mad when you suggest this. Some believe that they must hang on to that “old time religion” as if that’s what Jesus did. The truth is he didn’t. He turned all the “old time religion” up on it’s ear. Every chance he got. And it made religious people mad just like it does today.
The Apostle Paul did the same. He wrote down his philosophy on the subject, saying “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22) He was totally committed to sacrifice everything of himself, including his preferences, his well-being, his education, his privilege, even his rights as a human being for the sake of spreading the Gospel.
So. What’s important ISN’T your worship style, the color of your church carpet, your order of service, the clothes you wear, or even the Bible translation you use.
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.
-1 Corinthians 15:3-4 NLT
The GOSPEL is what is important. IT is the answer for everyone, no matter where they find themselves. AND regardless of their spiritual maturity. The Gospel is the most important thing for me and for you. The Gospel allows me to
- see my sin
- recognize my inability to rescue myself
- leads me to repentance
- compels me to surrender to His transformational work in my life.
Making the Gospel Relevant is our method of accomplishing Jesus’ vision for our community. If we want to see people love God, love others, and make disciples, we must first and always present the Gospel in ways that impact lives of all around us. How do we make the Gospel relevant? Well, you’ll have to read the next post in this series for that.
What do you think? How have we been irrelevant? How have we tried without succeeding? How can we connect better with our community?