Cultural Relevance begins at the Cross

Relevance is such a buzzword in churches right now. We all say that we are and we take a great deal of time ensuring the cultural relevance of our services. I’m a huge fan of what I call ‘intentional relevance’ in churches. I believe that intentional relevance can be a very powerful tool to create an environment that is optimum for reaching the unreached. It’s really just a term I use to encompass how we use various elements like drama, music, lights, sound, visual art, etc. to get the message across on any given Sunday.

I was on a walk not long ago doing some brainstorming. As I strolled around, I passed a church in my neighborhood. I’ve passed it a million times, but this time it really caught my attention. The sun wasn’t quite up and this church has a glowing cross lit on the top of it. I just stopped and stared. This cross that I had seen before suddenly was so mesmerizing. I felt God say; “This is relevant above all other things” It just really spoke to me as a creative in the church.

I never felt that my thoughts and ideas have compromised or water-down the message, but in that moment I realized something: My thoughts and ideas need to begin at the Cross-, every time. Usually we take ‘what’s now’ and try to tailor the message of the Cross to it, but that’s backwards. We should be the most creative group of people on earth, and to really reach our full potential, we must start with God and let Him dictate our creative thoughts.

I don’t say this to deter anyone from using all the creative elements, but rather to help us use them better. We don’t need to copy Movie Titles or TV Show to be relevant. You don’t need to copy cultural catch phrases and slogans. We really need to let God give us His fresh ideas. Which are light years ahead of anybody in Hollywood. The Church has developed a reputation of being irrelevant and stale because of our attempts to achieve relevance by our own means. Just like with anything else, we need to rely on God to direct us and inspire us.

God is not this fuddy duddy grandpa we all make him out to be. He knows what will reach people today, next year, and five years from now.

Cultural Relevance begins at the Cross. From there His creativity breeds our creativity.