Chuck Bridges Blog

From time to time I find myself thinking randomly about a number of topics that take me on some pretty interesting adventures. It’s kind of like one topic leads to something related and so on… Recently I have been thinking a great deal on the subject of RELEVANCE. Amazingly, for years now I have prayed while preparing a message, before delivering the message and in the midst of the delivery for God to help His “timeless” Word be applied in a RELEVANT way to those who listen to the message.

There is no doubt that applying the principles and precepts of God’s Word to our everyday lives is extremely valuable. Anyone who has received wisdom, counsel, encouragement, etc. from God’s Word would quickly stand to defend the importance of “RELEVANT” teaching. For years I meticulously preached through books of the Bible, examining each text for the ancient message and asking God for the contemporary application (or RELEVANCE). I have felt affirmed and even fulfilled when consistent attenders would share what a difference the Word was making in their lives.

**Please understand, I am not apologizing for this approach to biblical preaching. Anyone who knows that God has called them to this specialized ministry should “plow on!”

Several years ago I started feeling less fulfilled in this method of preaching. I also noticed that it certainly was not changing the culture around us. It was not leading the church of Jesus Christ to accomplish our PRIMARY Mission: i.e. “Making Disciples!” So, I started striving to understand why the church had become so ‘marginalized’ in our culture. My conclusion is simple: The Church was not RELEVANT to the masses of people in our society!

One of the reasons traditional-minded people resist change is because they have confused the term RELEVANCE with the term RELATIVE! To be “RELATIVE” means we shape our message and change our fomats to “fit-in” with our culture. A RELEATIVE mindset coexists well with the pluralistic philosophy of many Americans. This simply means that all spiritual beliefs are equal no matter what they are founded on or who they identify as their “Savior!” TRUST ME, I will never be a part of any attempts to make the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ RELATIVE to this or any culture!

Having said that let me say just as strongly that I will do anything God puts in my heart and mind to move the life-changing message of Jesus’ love and forgiveness back into a RELEVANT position in our secular world. The church’s failure to change in the midst of a changing world has left many with the idea that God is “out-dated.” The power to change the human heart resides within the Gospel Message. It has changed my life and continues to change lives today. People who are looking for the temporary things of this world for their futures, their contentment, happiness, etc. need to be given opportunities to hear about the “gift of God’s salvation through Christ.” There are many ways to do this — and they are FUN! Stay posted as we embark on a journey to uncover the countless ways we can take Jesus’ love to our world.