Since cool is hard to define it
is difficult to be sure if Jesus is cool.
But it seems that many churches are working to make sure Jesus and
Christianity are cool. I don’t want to
sound like an old cantankerous Pharisee, but these efforts are leaving me a
little tetchy.
I know the church has to be relevant. It has to speak to a new generation. It has to communicate the unchanging message
in the ever-changing language of the unchurched. I know all these things; I said all of these
things 30+ years ago when I was arguing the merits of taking the youth group to
a Petra concert.
This was brought to mind recently
when a saw a list of church names compiled by Christianity Today. Here are a few that caught my eye:
Oasis
Church
Paradox
Renaissance
Church
Origins
Legacy
Tapestry
Relevant
Radiant
Elevate
Illuminate
Matthew's
Party
The
Salvage Yard
Sandals
Compass
Paradox
2
Pillars Church
Immersion
Impact
Urban
Refuge
EpicLife
Church
Liquid
I’m
not questioning the faith, sincerity, or effectiveness of any of these
churches. I’ve not attended, nor do I
know any of these churches. What
concerns me is the faddishness that seems to be creeping into the Church, and
names are just the example of the day.
Over
the last 30 years, we have seen fads sweep the church like flu in a day
care. Each seemed to promise a spiritual
awakening, or a dynamic renewal, or a new and more effective way to do
something. Each had its flash; each had
a conference with a book, a three ring binder, and a set of cassettes (followed
by cd, then DVDs, then podcast). Now you
can buy the books second hand for a quarter.
In
Acts 6, we see the choosing of seven to serve the needs of Greek widows. What we sometimes miss is the job description
of the Apostles. “…And will give our
attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” Acts 6:4. Not flashy, not hip, not cool and certainly
way to simple for a conference. “Talk to
God about people, talk to people about God.”
It is
my sincere hope that all these churches with cool names will faithfully
proclaim the Gospel, and will be faithful in making disciples. My point is not traditional verses cutting
edge. My point is that we not get so
enamored with cool stuff and attempts to make Jesus and the Church cool that we
forget the basics.
How
about this for a cool church name, “Double Talk Church”....
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