Andy, this is for you. I tried putting it on your Facebook as a response, but for whatever reason it was not letting me do it. I would certainly covet a response from you as well as your additional thoughts at where you find yourself currently for this difficult question:
I think the more I learn about the Bible, the less relevance I truly see to our society. How do we try and share this good news that we fail to live out so much ourselves? More than that, once we get past the good part, how do we then share these teachings(or torah; chalk me up for one point! haha) that bid us to take up our cross and abandon family and other distractions. I think part of helping this has been coming to some sort of resolve within myself to think through it "logically" rather than through my life's context so far. For me, I can recognize that this world as it exists needs to be "put to rights" and that there has to be some sense of order that has initially created it and seeks to restore that. Now, this is where I am somewhat limited to my context, but I can say at this point the character of the Christian God is most compelling in completing this puzzle in my brain. If I at least have a starting point, I feel this can aide in setting some mutual footing.
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JD – thank you very much for your response and input. The word relevance that you use is very interesting. Churches develop evangelism ministries that are relevant, i.e. they outwardly look similar to mainstream culture. They are attractive, feed on emotion, and are “seeker sensitive.” As you point out though, the Bible we read and submit ourselves to is not attractive (at least not in the sort of commercial commodified way that we are accustomed to be attracted to). The individual consumer is not the one for whom it was made, and neither does it seek to sell itself with flashy lights and “extras.” As you said, the message we read in the Bible and the call extended forward is to deny oneself, take up the cross and follow Jesus. Evangelism has gravely failed when “numbers” and “conversions” have been the rubric to judge success or failure. It’s easy to sell a cheap gospel (can we start calling that cheap 4-point gospel a discontinued model yet?). If the extent of what it means to “accept Jesus” is to believe cognitively a certain way about the world, then evangelism can continue on its current path. But if not, and the gospel is in fact something much deeper than “believing a certain way” or “feeling a certain way,” then evangelism needs to be reshaped.
ReplyDeleteNow, almost everyone who I speak with will agree with the statements above. Most people believe that they can have a deep personal relationship with God (a combo of belief and feeling), and remain fully in culture as relevant players; faith and culture are not incompatible. This works in a politically-liberal society where public reason and private faith are both given value, so long as they do not cross the line and encroach upon the other. But again, we have to ask: Has this distinction (public/private) been formed in us by Scripture and our understanding of God, or has it has been formed by other powers (political, capital, social, etc.) that are seeking to achieve alternative/competing ends?
I don’t see how evangelism can continue as it is within this context after we raise and address these types of questions. When we define relevance as “looking similar” or “having application to our formed systems,” I think you are right in stating that the Bible seems to have little to say. But when we give our allegiance first to Scripture and God’s story, then it can do nothing but have relevance for how we are to live our lives. It strips away the public/private distinction, for we are not dualistic in nature, but are instead one-whole-complete being who has died with Christ. It redefines what relevance means. It reverses the order: the Bible isn’t relevant because it speaks to our current situation, but our current context is understood because we have submitted to the story.
What evangelism might look like when it is not selling relevant material, when it is not selling a good spiritual experience, when it is not selling absolute truths – this is what I am trying to address in the paper. Thanks a lot for your input JD.