Hey bloggers,

Does anyone read this blog?

Brandon

Hey Kindred Bloggers,

I'll cut out the chit-chat and get right to the point. I want to talk about the irrelevancy of the church. My question, or rather, my rhetorical question for you is, "How and Why has christianity become so irrelevant to the world?" Wow! We don't mess around here at the GivePrayLove blog! Today is a no fluff blog day. So let's get started!!!

I believe that this whole relevance question is a Presence vs. Principle issue. Presence meaning relationship and Principle meaning theology and beliefs. As a church, we have played ourselves out of the ball game by the intense power struggle between ourselves and the world based upon our principles and beliefs.

First, the infighting between denominations over theology has us caught up in a whirlwind of doctrinal debates that mean very little to the world and aren't relevant to the problems people have. John 17:21 states that the world will believe because of our oneness. The people, you and I. Does this mean we should not have principles that guide our lives or our ministries? Of course not. We must have these gaurdrails, but not in place of the presence. Do you think that the little street boy in India who is wondering where his next meal is coming from is really worried about the debate over predestination vs. freewill?

I am a big believer that truth does not have to defend itself. The speed of light does not have to defend itself to the speed of sound. Light is not in a power struggle against sound to see who is faster! Beliefs have superseded relationship and this was never supposed to be the case in the new covenant. If we cannot lay down our agendas within the church, how are we going to be able to lay down our agendas to the world? I bet you the guy who was blind from birth, mentioned in the Gospel of John, is glad that Jesus did not value principle over presence. The day he was healed was a Sabbath day; a day forbidden by principle to do anything other than rest. Love won out to the disgust of the religious. Think of how many prostitutes and homosexuals the church has missed being in relationship with because we've been too busy worrying about their influence in our own lives. As a whole, Christianity has become irrelevant because we have valued theology over relationship. 

Well, if you are not convinced that Christianity and the church have become irrelevant worldwide and locally, then you may not be up to snuff on what topics are relevant to the world today. I'm talking about AIDS, water supply issues, malaria, childhood prostitution, and genocide just to name a few. And if you want to start locally, in Clyde, America, what about meth addiction and the statistic that 1 in 3 girls have been sexually molested? If the church is not going to become relevant to these problems, then who is? Relevancy is not new lights or shiny new programs at the church. Relevancy is simply answers and solutions to the world's problems.

You and I are the Hope of Glory to the world. The world is waiting for the desire of the nations (Jesus) to be revealed through US! In the next couple of weeks, I will talk about the fear of letting go of our agendas and how the Bible has taken the place of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity. 

I hope all of you reformers have a wonderful week! Remember, "Love never fails!"

Give, Pray, Love,

Brandon

P.S. How do you like that font size change? I didn't realize I was making everyone get out their reading glasses to read this. Hope it's a little easier on the eyes now!