Recently, a friend complained that on the Sunday following
the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States, his pastor preached
a sermon without once mentioning those events. It was probably the thing that
most occupied people’s minds that morning, yet his sermon did not relate to it
at all. To be relevant is to be aware of and involved with what our community
is aware of and involved with. Like the men of Issachar, all preachers need to
be men who “understood the times and knew what (God’s community) should do” (1
Chr. 12:32 NIV).
This is not about merely using scenes from “The Simpsons” to
demonstrate that one is “hip” to today’s
trends. One may use “The Simpsons,” current events, or other items from popular
culture to relate the eternal WORD to this present cultural experience. The
distinction is that one will use anything from popular imagination to help one
understand the logos of the Scriptures. One does not start with the message of
“The Simpsons” and look for a Bible verse to illustrate one’s point. One begins
with the Word of God and looks for any way to relate its message to the real
lives of one’s congregation.
Christian
preachers must know the language, culture, and history of their communities to
help people listen to the Word of God in their context. Christian leaders live
in two worlds: God’s revealed reality and their own existential realities. It
is the former that must define the Church and be the measure of the latter.
This has always been the case for the biblical community. Eugene Peterson
writes, “God does not put us in charge of forming our personal spiritualities;
we grow in accordance with the revealed Word planted in us by the Spirit.”
