Scripture reading: Romans 12:1–2

Trendier than Thou

Stand by the roads and look, and ask for the ancient
paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and
find rest for your souls. (Jeremiah 6:16)

When I was growing up churches seemed to compete with one another in an effort to be “holier than thou”.  Using litmus-test issues such as length of skirts, hairstyles, jewelry, and smoking, the point of the competition was to determine which church behaved in ways that proved they were “holier” than other churches. Today, however, the game has changed. Jockeying for advanced placement in holiness is no longer in style. But that doesn’t mean churches aren’t in competition. Au contraire. Today the focus seems to be centered around efforts to be “trendier than thou:” Our praise band is better than yours . . . Our jumbo-tron screens are bigger . . . Our services are edgier . . . Our pastor is cooler . . . Our cappuccino lattés are frothier . . . Our smoke machine and lighting is more awesome .

The temptation to be relevant is great. But it is a temptation. In a desire to reach the unreached, the seduction is strong to think that newer is truer, later is greater, and bigger is better. And in the process, we often actually begin to believe that we must embrace the times in order to have an impact. Really? Dean Inge captured the false allure of such thinking in his celebrated line, “He who marries the spirit of the age soon becomes a widower.”

Jesus saw through such seduction. The devil tempted him to turn stones to bread. The temptation was not just to satisfy his own hunger but to become a messiah who doles out free food. “Give people what they want,” the devil hissed, “and the masses will flock to you.” But Jesus did not take the bait. Thank God! Man does not live by bread alone. He looked beyond our wants and saw our need.

The race to be trendier-than-thou is self-defeating. Not only does the church who falls into this seduction become guilty of what C. S. Lewis calls “chronological snobbery,” but this is the surest path a church can take to cultural irrelevance! The passion to be up-to-date is the surest recipe for becoming out-of-date. A church whose main purpose is to be cutting-edge will soon discover she has a very short shelf-life.

I am slowly learning that the best way to speak with relevance to our generation is to be “retro.” Simone Weil stated the matter succinctly when she said, “To be always relevant, you have to say things which are eternal.” Exactly!

Churches that preach the Word, love their neighbors, pray for one another, confess sins, and invite people to sell all they have and follow Jesus are amazingly relevant. Outsiders marvel at their creativity and forward thinking. The deeper truth, however, is this: when we walk the ancient paths we are always on the cutting edge!

I am dedicated to unoriginality. I am pledged to
irrelevance if relevance means indebtedness to
corrupt modernity. What is deemed relevant in
theology is likely to be moldy in a few days.
—Thomas C. Oden

point to ponder • God calls us to change the world, not conform to it.

prayer focus • Strength for worship leaders to throw off outside distractions in order to be moved by the Holy Spirit.