Leadership

Relevance

It’s a sliding scale depending on the demographic, and yet it is incredibly black and white. Nothing is “kind of” relevant. It either is or it isn’t. Especially in the church.

In centuries past, the church was an epicenter of the art community, a place where culture and religion merged to form amazing works of art we still enjoy today. The Church understood that art, as creativity, was giving glory to the greatest creative being ever known- God. There were plenty of contributors to this art community who were trying to do it for their own glory, or who weren’t “strong in their faith”- if they had true faith at all.

But the Church believed that God’s glory could (and would) shine brighter than that. We need to get back to that idea that God will get the glory He is due, and His glory will inherently shine brighter than any light we could possibly produce.

But back to relevance- as I’m writing this- I’m sitting at a coffee bar in Nashville, a city I’ve never been to before. The culture here is much different than my hometown of Greenville, SC. The guidelines for relevance have shifted from where I was to where I am.

When we are crafting our worship services, we need to be mindful of where we are. Not where we were, or where we want to be. Your people may not be ready for the ideas you have seen pulled off so well at another church or venue. Or your people may be hungry for the latest and best technology.

I will use three churches I have worked at as examples. One church said they wanted to stay relevant and modern. I did a song (for privacy I won’t disclose the name, but it is a song each one of you would know, and is only a few years old in most worship rotations), and the church said it was too modern and I needed to change it.

The second church I had to slowly work up to and taught it, and was very well received.

The third church from day one was on board fully with it.

Relevance, from something simple like song choice, to something large like a vision for the ministry, is a sliding scale.

Know your people. It is great to watch and learn from other churches, from other shows, and from events you see. But if it doesn’t fit your people, it isn’t relevant. The Gospel will always be relevant, because it was written by an All Encompassing God- but the way we reach the people around us has to constantly shift to stay relevant.

Nothing is “kind of” relevant. It either is or it isn’t. Especially in the church. @jhwilliams @twelve30media Click To Tweet