There’s been a debate going on for about 10 years now in Evangelical churches regarding being “relevant” to culture. Recently, the discussion has pushed the envelope so far as to have some pastors employing profanity while preaching as an act of “being relevant” and connecting to current culture (This is pretty shocking to most reasonable and humble servants of Christ). Here’s a different take on being relevant from where I sit.

What if relevance is helping others process major cultural events that people are struggling with? An example of this would be the recent shootings in Colorado last week. How many pastors even mentioned this tragedy that is in the forefront of everyone’s minds? My guess is, most went ahead, business as usual and preached what they had been planning on all week anyway. Many people walked out of churches Sunday with deep and troubling questions about this evil event without any solid Biblical answers, left only with our media to form our opinions and perspectives.

I’m not saying we should look to the current headlines to determine preaching content, but there are times when a pastor must set aside previous plans or incorporate a significant current event into a message and guide those whom he leads through Biblical truth regarding that situation or circumstance that is preoccupying the minds of the people.

Where would you get an idea like that from, Greg? From Jesus himself! Check out Luke 13:3-5, Jesus takes an event that everyone was aware of and applies it to his hearers. No wonder He is not only our Savior, but also a Master teacher. It seems like less cussing and more Biblical preaching would go a longer way toward making disciples of Jesus.

If you like to hear an example of what I’m trying to explain, you can find my message from last Sunday, “Frontline Fighting” HERE.