Relevance
There’s a group on the social website “Facebook” that is dedicated to “Independant Christian Church Ministers”. The moderator posted this note on “The Wall” this week.
What does it mean to be relevant?
What is your church or ministry doing to stay relevant to it’s people/ community?
How do you balance being relevant without sacrificiing the message?
The space allowed for Wall posts is limited and I hit the end of my short space before I finished typing – so I’ll just post a link to this note there and answer here. 
Works for me, hopefully it’ll work for the folks in the group as well.
Relevant – having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand – affording evidence tending to prove or disprove the matter at issue or under discussion, having social relevance
OK, now that we’ve got a definition – how does it apply to me as a christian? It is my belief that through a life devoted to following Christ I can demonstrate relevance to those around me by having the answers to the questions that torment them. And not just a “pat answer” but an answer demonstrated through a life changed by God. When I go through the same trials and temptations that they do – but with demonstrably better results, that affords me the opportunity to show them what Christ could do in THEIR life – if they would but let Him.
So, what do I do to maintain relevance? I do my best Monday through Saturday to put into practice that which I teach on Sunday – so to speak. When the church is so busy with their “worship service” and their “praise service” and their “bring a friend Sunday” and other such programs and activities that they don’t take time to live out the Truth in their lives during the week, they lose relevance. They are no longer able to “have significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand” because they are so wrapped up in themselves and their programs that they forget to whom they were sent to minister in the first place.
Our ministry maintains relevance by “the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ”. I do not believe that the Apostle was referring to “full time Christian service” when he mentioned “work of ministry”, but rather he referred to the Church serving (ministering to) the world around her – thereby maintaining relevance and building up the Body through natural means.
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