In, but not Of...

I know this is a subject that has been discussed over an over again for millenia, but just in the past couple of weeks I have entered the discussion with some of those in my circle of "churched" friends. (Yes, I know I am slow; and yes, I do still have a few "churched" friends.) Actually, we weren't really talking about being in the world, but not of the world. We were talking about whether it was more important to be culturally relevant or Biblically relevant. We came to the conclusion that we as followers of Jesus must be culturally sensitive, but Biblically sound. We walk the way of Jesus, as revealed to us through Scripture and the Spirit of God, but we should do so in a way that can be understood by the culture around us.

"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth." Psalm 86:11 That should be our priority, but it should be done in such a way that it penetrates and influences the culture around us. Unfortunately, it seems that too often we have switched the order around and we have elevated cultural relevance to the point where we have become Biblically sensitive at best. Too often we order our lives around the cultural norms and then check with the Bible or our pastor to see if that lines up with Scripture instead of ordering our lives around Scripture and then checking to see how that lines up with culture.

I am pointing a finger at myself here, so don't feel too offended. But since I'm already offending some, I might as well take the next step. I hear Christians from more traditional churches bash "contemporary" or "emergent" or "seeker-sensitive" churches for doing this very thing. They claim that they water down the Gospel and the preaching in order to attract more people into their churches (cultural relevance) and have abandoned sound Biblical doctrine in the process. In some cases, they are right and it is a shame. But on the other hand, some of the traditional churches that I have visited have supplanted Biblical doctrine with tradition as their highest standard. Their church culture has become more important than Scriptural commands and they have done the very thing that they accuse other churches of doing. "We've never done it that way before" takes priority over clear Biblical commands.

A mentor of mine shared with me a long time ago, "There are a lot of things in the Scriptures that aren't in our churches, and there are a lot of things in our churches that aren't in the Scriptures." Why is that? Is it because we have followed cultural norms even in our churches without checking to see what the Lord had to say about it?

Now, I know I've offended some of you so let me offer you a blessing and my prayer. May each of us seek God's Way first. May we have the courage to follow His Way only. May we challenge others around us to seek His Way and follow it with us, no matter whether they come from a pagan culture or a churched culture. May we never stop seeking His Way.
Blessings,
Shiloh