I've been struggling over the past few years over the issue of being culturally relevant. For years I have heard how the church needs to be relevant in order to reach the current culture. In fact, I was one promoting the need to be relevant. I had no trouble being on the cutting edge, or even the bleeding edge. I would make fun of those who would recite long creeds, or sing two hundred year old hymns. I would stand up front and play the newest and freshest songs available.

Over the past couple of years I have found myself growing tired of being relevant. I'm still not sure where this weariness is coming from. All I know is that it has been around three years that I've been practicing silence and solitude. I'm beginning believe that the two are connected although it could be related to my growing older each and every year. All I know is that the things in the culture are growing tiresome to me.

I understand the yearning to use current cultural relevance to reach the world. I know that to reach people you must learn the culture and speak the cultural language before you can share the message of Christ. But I have to wonder if we have allowed the 'numbers reached' to out weight the lives changed. I am beginning to question if our culture relevance is even effective. If we are simply wanting to get people into our building, or church, or apartment, then being as relevant as possible will certainly be effective. Is that really what we are after though? Is the goal to get them into our buildings or is there more than that?

In my experience we use the culturally relevant event to draw people. Once they come we usually will have some type of devotion, lesson, or message. We might even use the events so we can connect with people we might not meet otherwise. Of course this can lead to some pretty significant ministry, but what is the cost? Or do we sit back and say, it doesn't matter.

The New York Times questioned using Halo 3 as a way to draw youth to youth ministry events. There are people on both sides of the issue. Some say we should use any means available to reach those in our culture. Halo 3, even though it is very violent and rated M for mature, is used because it is an effective means to draw youth to the events. Halo 3 nights are an effective means to draw youth. Some say using Halo 3 is fine because we are reaching them for Christ.

Others question this method. They feel it is counter productive. They feel that mixed messages are being sent. Are we really willing to use any means necessary? Someone in the Times article asked why not use alcohol and pornography. Their point was that there are some things we will not use. We do have things we believe are inappropriate ways to draw people. If that is the case, then the question becomes, where is the cut off?

What if questions like these miss the point though? What if being relevant is irrelevant? What if by getting caught up in our culture we become so like the culture that we have lost any influence we might have on the culture? That is the question I've struggled with the past few years. As I spend time in silence and solitude, I'm discovering the relevance of the culture becoming more and more irrelevant.

Jesus told us to be in the world but not of it. I wonder how I can call others to be "not of the world" while I'm so busy trying to be relevant. It is an old question that probably won't be answered anytime soon. It certainly won't be answered in this post. All I know is that as I've grown closer to Christ, the things of the world have grown old. As I've spent time in silence, the cacophony of the media has become wearisome.

What if people don't really want or need the church to be culturally relevant? What if people really need the church to be counter-cultural rather than culturally relevant? What if the creeds and hymns I use to make fun of contain a foundation for living? What if our culture doesn't have the answers people are really needing? What happens if we keep allowing our culture to set our methods for reaching people for Christ? What does the Prince of Peace want say to those playing Halo 3?

I for one have decided that God is not calling me to be culturally relevant. I will continue to be "in the world" but I am choosing to do so by finding broken places in this world and being a part of "putting them back to rights." When you are a part of bring healing to brokenness, you discover just how relevant you are and that hearts begin to open to hear about the love of Jesus. I believe that is the type of church people need today. I also believe that is the kind of people God is calling us to be.