In part 1 I bemoaned the fact that I am no longer culturally relevant. Well, I didn't actually bemoan anything. Basically I have decided that being culturally relevant is over-rated. I guess, in my old age, I've begun questioning the validity of using cultural relevance to reach people for Christ. Of course I will still be living in my culture, but I do not want the culture to drive my methods of drawing people to Christ.

I feel like I'm in good company. Irrelevance is not new. My image of irrelevance comes from the desert fathers and mothers. Around 300 AD the church became culturally relevant under Constantine. Up to that point the church was counter-cultural and persecuted. When Constantine made Christianity the official religion of that society, the church saw an influx of people. Within a short period of time Christians went from being persecuted to having a privileged position within the culture.

This was not without its problems. While Constantine professed Christ, his life remained largely unchanged. The church followed his lead. Some, however, felt the church was being diluted by the very culture it was called to reach. It was then that some courageous men and women left the safety of the culture and went to the desert. It was there in solitude and silence that they discovered the voice of God.

To me the ultimate image of irrelevance is heading to the desert. In the desert these men and women were no longer part of the culture. It was this image that caused me to begin re-evaluating my role within the culture. To be honest, I identify with these desert people. So much of cultural relevance seems to be centered on our culture's addiction to entertainment. There, I've said it. Our culture's drug of choice is entertainment. I have decided that entertainment has taken up too much of my time and of my life. It is time to head to the desert!

Some may point to Jesus telling his followers to be "in the world." Some may point out that we are to be a part of redeeming the culture. Yet, something amazing happened as these men and women became irrelevant in the desert. People followed. People came into the desert; people who desperately wanted to hear a word from God. They came into the desert to ask these men and women to speak a word from God into their lives. The people knew these desert fathers and mothers would be able to do so. By becoming culturally irrelevant, the desert fathers and mothers became relevant.

I have to stop and wonder what this kind of irrelevance might look like today. For me, it looks like Eugene Peterson. Many people know of Eugene Peterson's work even if they don't know his name. He is the one who wrote "The Message" translation of the Bible. He has written many different books and I can always count on Peterson to speak a word of God into my life.

A few months ago I was reading (ironically enough) Relevant Magazine when they talked about Bono wanting to spend some time with Peterson. Peterson declined for a couple of reasons. One, he was working on a commentary on Jeremiah or something. The second reason was because he didn't know who Bono was.

I couldn't believe that Peterson didn't know who Bono was!! Bono has done so much, not just with his music, but with various organizations. While some may criticize Peterson for his irrelevance, anyone who has taken time to read the message or any of Peterson's books will realize he is anything but irrelevant.

Is it time for us to become relevant through irrelevance? Is it time for us to go into the desert? Is it time for us to put down our remotes and our Xbox controllers? Is it time to find a place where we can be irrelevant? By doing so, we might find we become more relevant than we thought.