My friend is an awesome librarian. Before she became a librarian I thought all librarians were pretty much geeks who had little regard for being relevant. She is doing amazing things that are culturally relevant and engaging new children and parents into the world of books and reading. What I find interesting is that she comes up against the very thing churches are willing to die for even in the secular field - being irrelevant to the culture around them.
Somewhere we have to understand that culture relevance is not the death of what's moral, right, and truth. Language changes, style changes, and so must our methodologies if we expect what we love so much to be around for the next generation.Take the word pimp. At first there is a generation that would associate this word's use in a negative connotation. But the very word itself has changed meanings for much of the culture around us. Pimp can also be used as a verb such as "You're pimped up!" or "Pimp my ride." The latter example refers to customizing an automobile, made popular by the show Pimp My Ride on MTV. It can also be used as an adjective connoting the same, i.e. "Man, that car's pimp!" Either use was originally a derogatory term, implying that the subject was overly decorated and tacky (referring to the stereotype of pimps with excessive jewelry, flashy clothes, or brightly colored cars with animal-print upholstery and crystal chandeliers). It was eventually reclaimed as an American slang term for being unique, "cool" or socially desirable, in much the same way as the term "ghetto fabulous."
All I'm trying to say is that if I could get people to wake up from their mundane hard working days and come to church to hear a sermon title, "Pimp my Church" - they're the very ones I want to reach. Leonard Sweet says it well, "The mystery of the gospel is this: It is always the same, and it is always changing. In fact, for the gospel to remain the same, it has to change. The old, old story needs to be told in new, new ways. In fact, one of the ways you know the old, old truths are true is their ability to assume amazing and unfamiliar shapes while remaining themselves and without compromising their integrity."
Maybe the real reason people find it hard to stay culturally relevant is because our world is changing so fast, then again, maybe we have some prejudices that we just don't want to face and death seems to be the better option. My wife also wrote a great blog about Christ and Culture.
