Emerge or Submerge
The obsession of the American evangelical church with “cultural relevance” is symbiotically related to the role of pragmatism in mainstream, evangelical churches. The starting point for most contemporary churches has been, “What works?” This is evident in looking at who is leading the prominent churches in the movement. “The central figures [are] no longer the scholars who had been prominent in the immediate post-war years but rather a host of managers, planners, and bureaucrats—and not far behind them, marketers. This new set of leaders view growing a church, or for that matter, any Christian ministry as essentially no different from growing a business” (Wells 1994, p. 71).
Pragmatism, efficiency, and effectiveness have been the hallmarks of doing church in the 80’s and 90’s. “What’s right? What’s true?” Those questions seem to be “assumed” at best and at least subconsciously, are deemed irrelevant. In his book, Dining with the Devil, Guiness (1994) writes, “Today theology is rarely more than marginal in the church-growth movement at the popular level. Discussion of the traditional marks of the church is virtually non-existent. Instead, methodology is at the center and is in control” (p. 26).
So what if we assume the validity of the pragmatist’s starting point for a second. If we were to evaluate the American evangelical church over the last 25-30 years on her own terms of pragmatism, has cultural relevance worked? How effectively have our seeker sensitive, non-offensive, shopping mall like approaches to the Gospel, complete with cool music and movie clips been in effectively calling people to follow Jesus? Statistics demonstrate it’s not been a very effective strategy. That’s the short answer.
The evangelical church has had little lasting impact upon American culture. Instead, the philosophy, methods, and style of the secular culture have invaded the Christian Church. “Rather than adjusting the secular culture, the grand evangelical experiment in cultural relevance has produced a Christian culture that is virtually identical with secular culture. Many churches are businesses. Their pastors are CEO’s. The worship services offer entertainment…. A Christian ghetto has been produced. While Jesus told his church to be in the world not of it, the culturally relevant evangelical is of it but not in it” (Matzat 1998).
Here’s a more daunting finding that’s quantitative in nature—There is not a single county in the United States with any higher percentage of Christ-followers today than there was 25 years ago (Barrett, Kurian, & Johnson eds. 2001). Clearly the results of “cultural relevance” aren’t impressive. It would be overly simplistic to suggest “cultural relevance” alone is the cause of Christianity’s decline in the United States. However, clearly our obsession with cultural relevance should be in question!
Lest I come off as saying everything that’s happened in our evangelical churches the last 30 years was a waste, that’s not my sentiment at all. Clearly God has done some marvelous things in and through us, and often despite us. My friend Bill Clem talks about “spiritual alchemy,” the process whereby God turns “lead” into “gold.” Much of the culturally driven ministry that’s occurred over the last several years has produced some God-honoring results. My interest is not in undermining the noble attempts of some men and women of faith. Instead, how can we more effectively embody Christ’s presence through our churches?
Making a Case Against Relevance: The Chinese Christian Church
Travel with me to the most populous country in the world—China. Christians are reported to have first entered China in 635 AD along the Silk Road that connects Jerusalem and China. Some records suggest the Gospel may have entered China via travelers on this road just decades after Christ’s death. The church established in 635 by Nestorian Christians was established primarily among foreign groups rather than Chinese. As a result of their irrelevance, the Christian influence waxed and waned and was nearly absent for several centuries (Yun, 2002).
Protestant missionaries followed the Western trade and imperialism boats to China in the mid-19th Century. J. Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission in 1865 and began to establish churches and hospitals. By 1949, there were about 20,000 Protestant churches with over a million members in China, however the church was largely irrelevant and not accepted as an indigenous faith. Soon thereafter, all the Christian missionaries left because of the Cultural Revolution (Taylor, 1971).
When the churches began to open in 1979, it was discovered, even to the Chinese Christians’ amazement, that there were at least 6 million Christians. God’s Spirit moved among these churches and they were truly “Chinese” in the flavor of their worship, discipleship, evangelism and leadership structures. Given the restrictions of the Chinese government, nearly all the churches in China are heavily indigenous. Thousands of Chinese, young and old, continue to turn to Christ daily. So while my examination of the Chinese Church was supposed to be a case “against” cultural relevance, perhaps this lends more support for relevance than against it. But is an indigenous church synonymous with cultural relevance? Perhaps it depends upon how you define the terms. At the very least however, the Chinese Church gives us a picture of a paradox—an indigenous church that’s not all that “culturally relevant.”
Let me explain my reason for contending that the Chinese Church isn’t all that relevant. China is the home of yin and yang and other concepts and practices admired by New Agers. This nation has been steeped for thousands of years in non-Christian religion and then mercilessly indoctrinated into atheism. Meanwhile, millions of Chinese have been called by the Chinese Christian Church to turn their backs on most of what pervades their culture.
The Chinese government separates Christian parents from their children. The government indoctrinates the Christians’ children in Taoism and atheism. These children are taught that their parents are “negligent and abusive” parents as evidenced by their faith in Jesus. Pastors are told to teach the Bible in a way that makes it subservient to the government. However, parents and pastors persist in their faith; and the countercultural Chinese church continues to grow.
Category: Ministry, Winter 2007
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