The Irrelevance Of Relevance

In chapter 2 of unfashionable by Tullian Tchividjian he writes that there is sort of an irrelevance to the whole trying to be relevant to our culture thing. Today's generation is 'yearning' for something greater than themselves and that churches are actually doing a disservice to themselves and to the gospel, by trying to be 'fashionable' and cool. He writes about the now generation,

"they want truthful engagement with historical and theological solidity that enables meaningful interaction with transcendant reality. They want desperately
to invest their lives in something worth dying for, not some here-today-gone-tomorrow fad. Just as people are starting to seek after truth, many churches are turning away from it. As a result these churches are losing their distinct identity as a people set apart to reach the world.

I have good news for all of us who are becoming weary of this pressure from church leaders to fit in with the world: we don't have to. "The ultimate factor in the church's engagement with society," Os Guinness says, "is the church's engagement to God." Contrary to what we've been hearing, our greatest need as twenty-first-century churches is not structural but spiritual. Our main problem is not that we're culturally out of touch; it's that we're theologically out of tune.

We need to remember that God has established his church as an alternative society, not to compete with or copy this world, but to offer a refreshing alternative to it."

So, New Life Church, we must not forget that eventhough we may be living our lives in a counter-cultural way, we are still called to actually engage the culture. To live lives that are different for Christ's sake, and yet, are attractive to the world that would peek in and take a look at your life.

Paul's exhortation to Titus is exactly this...Titus was to live and to teach those in his church to show themselves 'to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified', in order that the world may see this attractive living.

"but showing all good faith that they (the world) may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect." ~ Titus 2.10

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
~ Matthew 5.16