A Reverend's Rambling Review of 'Relevance'

Who is the real culprit? Some would place the sole blame on the ‘liberal’ minded folks. I disagree. Others would say, “It’s all those holiness standards that are keeping people away.” Again, I disagree. At the risk of making some enemies I have to tell you that I think it’s a unsavory blending of those two factions. The culprit is a gross misunderstanding of real holiness on both sides.

At the risk of making enemies I’m willing to offer my opinion;
• I know some who are so ‘liberal’ that they would cast down all lines of separation from the world in a moment. Some are sincere but, ultimately, they are in error.
• I know some who are ‘holy’ to the extreme on the outward man but their spirit is vile, their demeanor is obnoxious and their attitude is self righteous. Again, they are sincere but just as wrong as the first group.

And herein lies the core of the problem in my opinion; neither understand the true nature of holiness. I’m not talking about cliché’s or yet more ‘catchphrases’ explaining how the ‘other side’ is wrong. I’m talking about knowing that the true nature of holiness…
• Works inside and shows outside.
• Convicts about inward attitudes and outward immodesty.
• Drives you to be more like Jesus and less like sin.

So then when sincere hearted men think of reaching the world you have some that want to ‘reach’ them to dress them right and others that want to ‘reach’ them while resenting the self righteous attitudes of their own brethren.

The end result?
The wholesale purchase of ‘relevance’ to make the Church look better to the world.

And the fault lies directly with both ‘sides’ of the ‘liberal vs. conservative’ mentality! But might I remind you that, in the midst of our ‘relevance’, that God’s Word demanded that we ‘be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds’. Oh that every heart knew the dire importance of this scripture as it pertains this misperceived need to be ‘relevant’ to this present world!

First, God said, “Don’t conform to this world!” We have to stop trying to shove this precious Church, baptized in blood for redemption, into the mold of this world that is anything but redeemed! While I’m not against being ‘relevant’ to a point I’m of the persuasion that our leaders, our ministry and the heart of the Church needs to run back to a ‘renewing’ of our minds; we need to unlearn some things this world is trying to teach us! Chief among them is generations old lie that we must ‘be like them to reach them’.

The answer, in my opinion, is surely two fold;
1. First of all we need strong preachers that are not afraid to hold firm to bible absolutes. We have strong, quality possessing men among us who are sufficient for that task. Among the present group of District Youth Presidents we have are some of the finest men I’ve ever known. They, and others like them, have what it takes!

Don’t buy the lie that you have to be ‘relevant’ to the sacrificing of the very principles that make you Apostolic to begin with! Accept the fact that some are extreme in their views of standards but don’t use it as an excuse to run from what is necessary to be right with God.

Avoid making the critical mistake that far too many are making by refusing to preach passionately about real commitments! I was shocked and saddened by a conversation recently with one of the other speakers in a meeting I was preaching. He said, “I can’t believe that you preach conviction and commitment like you do! I wouldn’t do that in a million years!” When I laughed and asked why he quickly shot back the reply, “Job security! I’m not going to preach anything that doesn’t make them feel good because I want to come back again.” I could only weep and weep even now.

Brother ‘Preacher’, when you cease to preach commitment to the cause of Christ you then cease being Apostolic altogether. This Church was built on commitment to not only the Pearl of Great Price but the field in which it was purchased.

2. The second part of the answer is just as vital as the first. Those who preach a strong standard should endeavor to show the world a ‘proper’ spirit that matches your ‘proper’ attire. Too many of us have stripped the beauty out of holiness in the eyes of the people.

It’s shameful and even sinful to make our ‘holiness’ an offense to lost souls! God called you to be shining examples of ‘life more abundantly’ but far too many times long skirts come with long faces, a good sleeve length comes with a bad temper and uncut hair seems to be a ‘package deal’ with an unruly spirit!

We call them ‘holiness’ standards but is it really holiness if it’s just a church ‘uniform’ instead of an expression of a wholesome, happy life? I’ve come to call it ‘Irresponsible Holiness’ because it becomes a lie easily seen through when our appearance says “Victory!” while our attitude says, “Venom!”

We need a renewing of our minds!

Hold on to separation but hold on with a right attitude!
Preach a strong message but preach it with a tender heart!

Oh that God would restore to all of us the precious truth that the spirit of holiness was given to the Church as the ultimate outreach tool and not mortal to build walls between us! A right spirit and a holy life were designed in the mind of God to draw the world to the ‘beauty of holiness’. That’s not called ‘relevance’… that’s called righteousness.

Relevance wants to make the Church look good to the world;
Our calling is to make righteousness look good to the world!

And it’s an irresponsible holiness to live a standard or reach for the lost without making God’s righteousness look appealing to those who need it the most.