The myth of cultural relevance…
Picking up on the debate below by Teakles, Olivia, ‘No 3’ et al.
The following quote is taken from an article I wrote called ‘The past is good’, the whole article is available here. (JAC Issue 45) - It lays to rest the distracting myth of culteral releavance -
Picking up on the debate below by Teakles, Olivia, ‘No 3’ et al.
The following quote is taken from an article I wrote called ‘The past is good’, the whole article is available here. (JAC Issue 45) - It lays to rest the distracting myth of culteral releavance -
“Some argue that our earliest converts were familiar with the teachings of the bible and that society generally accepted the bible as true. Proponents of this theory would argue that if a Salvationist in 1880 confronted a sinner for long enough with the gospel the inevitable result would be repentance. This theory is well passed its sell by date and in desperate need of dismissal. Many of the Army’s earliest converts had experienced no contact with any kind of religious education whatsoever, many of them were unable to read or write and were accurately identified by the Army as belonging to an un-churched underclass. The gospel preached and the methods used in reality were no more culturally relevant to the un-churched masses then as might be the case today. The truth is that the gospel has never been culturally relevant – this was true when Judaic monotheistic Christians tried to convert polytheistic Greeks and Romans in the first century and it remains so today.
Our need is not to make the gospel (nor the Army) culturally relevant but to simply recognise the relevance of the gospel full stop.
The world needs Jesus, sinners need Jesus and it is the responsibility (and ought to be the natural desire) of the Salvationist to go after them. Without judgement, without hell, without heaven the Salvation Army is indeed redundant. We were raised up to be a mission engaged in the active redemption of the lost – quite literally plucking souls from the fires of hell. Take away man’s universal need for salvation, take away the urgency of our evangelism and we become like a hospital without patients or worse - Doctors without a cure.
In order to rediscover this essential our soldiers once again need to become ‘saved to save’. Collectively The Salvation Army needs to become a living corporate testimony to both the need for and the efficacy of Salvation. The truth is that not ‘one’ but millions of souls ‘remain without the light of God’ and God still requires an Army to go and fight for them.
O is not the Christ 'midst the crowd of today
Whose questioning cries do not cease?
And will he not show to the hearts that would know
The things that belong to their peace?
But how shall they hear if the preacher forbear
Or lack in compassionate zeal?
Or how shall hearts move with the Master's own love,
Without his anointing and seal?
In George Scott Railton’s book “Heathen England” printed in 1877, the old warrior expounding the value of open-air evangelism is asked “How many are considered necessary to undertake a procession?” – Railton’s response – ‘One!’"
Yours set apart by Christ, for the lost, in the Army.
PS - Olivia thanks for the prayer cover it is needed and appreciated :-)
10 comments:
Reminds me of my many one man processions with the flag! Yes...I truly am mad!
I seem to remember Stephen Court saying that prophetic relevance trumps cultural relevance...we are culturally relevant to the extent it serves in proclaiming the gospel, otherwise, we stand counter-culture. Well, Stephen said some of that, the rest of the waffle is me.
"The truth is that not ‘one’ but millions of souls ‘remain without the light of God’ and God still requires an Army to go and fight for them."
I regularly travel the Victoria Line tube in rush hour. Its a striking picture seeing everyone streaming down on the escalators. They are all souls we are responsible for. That image helps makes hell more of a daily, vivid reality in my mind.
Whilst I agree that "prophectic relevance trumps cultural relevance" it feels like the majority of people who use this card in the Army seek to return us to the methods used in the days of the Booths, not only in terms of their fervent evangelsim, but also in terms of the way we speak, look and sing.
What seems to be oft forgotten by some of those who lift up the names of the early Army pioneers as an example of how we should be doing things miss the point. These great pioneers were so successful because they used the cultural images of the day to communicate the Gospel. The use of Music Hall tunes, street corner preaching etc were all elements of the mid-late 19th Century culture, and this was, whether we like to admit it or not, a reason for the Army's appeal and also why the established churches looked down their 'spiritual noses' at us.
If we look at the story of Paul at Mars Hill it is clear that he understood the importance of cultural relevance when speaking to people. If Paul was prepared to use the cultural situation he found himself in to better explain the Gospel then why shouldn't we.
My belief is that we seem to be scared of using today's culture and I can't understand why. God has spoken down the ages through people who were prepared to use the things that people understood in order to communicate eternal truths.
However, if it was good enough for Jesus to use stories that spoke to the heart of his listener's understanding then I should surely learn from his example!
Don't get me wrong, I do not believe that we should embrace today's culture as the 'be all and end all' but we should also not dispel cultural relevance as a myth to be ignored at all cost. To do so actually writes off much of the heritage some advocate so strongly.
Wasn't saying that we should ignore it, but that we should adopt it when it suits the needs of the gospel.
Moreover, I guess what we're talking about is when the gospel is diluted down and when our evangelistic vervour is weakened to relationship evangelism and 'don't warn anyone about their soul' kind of thinking. Nooma DVDs are perfect examples of cultural relevance gone wrong!
Andrew
CAC,
What's wrong with the Nooma DVD's?
Andrew C, I agree fully that we shouldn't water down the gospel in anyway at all. My comment was really directed at the post itself which writes off the "distracting myth of cultural relevance".
Andrew B, you are right to say in your JAC article that people in the 1880's weren't churched. However, it feels to me that you then proceed to throw the 'baby out with the bathwater'. Because they are wrong about that, then cultural relevance is irrelevant.
It ignores the fact that the methods by which the early Army evangelised were very much reliant on cultural relevance. I believe that ignoring this fact actually devalues the work of those early pioneers. The very reason we celebrate the wonderful work of Booth-Tucker is that he made the Army's work in India culturally relevant and started to see people come to the Lord.
My own great, great, grandfather was attracted to the Army simply due to the use by Elijah Cadman of the terminology of warfare that was culturally relevant to England of the 1870's.
I suspect the voices raised for 'cultural relevance' are so loud at the moment for exactly the same reason as you are calling for a return to Holiness. In many, many situations the church finds itself locked into a model of evangelism and worship that is simply not understood by the very people we are called to go out to.
We need people who are prepared to seek ways to put across the very real message that the majority of people in this world are going to Hell. What are the ways of doing this in a culturally relevant way? How can we take the modern day cultural icons and redeem them for use by the Kingdom, in the same way as throughout Christian history those who have gone before did?
I am strongly committed to the cause of holiness, but the Lord is leading me to ask the questions about the methods we will use into the future in order to communicate and fulfil the divine charge of Matthew 28:19-20.
teakles,
Nooma are fine until they get round to talking about salvation and evangelism. Can't remember the name of it, but there is one that stops short at God loves you, which of course he does, but thats not the whole gospel. I've heard this cheap gospel come many times from the mouths of folks like Rob Bell and others and its blatantly a false gospel. It turns grace into a cheap commodity that is doled out to the individual who just needs to understand 'God loves him whatever'. The point of the gospel is that it shows us grace at the point of repentance and faith, then regeneration by the holy spirit and the growing life of holiness further leads us away from sin.
The Bell idea is that God loves you...no more to the story. Hope you know what I mean.
Then, there is the one called Bullhorn or something, which preaches the gospel of friendship evangelism, not only that, decries every other type of evangelism. Again, if you've got soft salvation, you'll want soft evangelism to boot. The evangelism portrayed again stops short of actually getting to the point! Its all well and good to 'journey' with people, but sometimes what people need is the gospel.
I could say more....but I need to go to a meeting!
Graeme,
I always enjoy your posts.
Although I don't always agree with you you seem to be a voice of reason and I dig that.
" In many, many situations the church finds itself locked into a model of evangelism and worship that is simply not understood by the very people we are called to go out to."
This is the voice of reason and common sense.
It is so true. What good is Salvo jargon and (to many) christian rhetoric to people who who have never set foot in a church.
The church on the whole is always getting bad press. Sometimes I think that some christians rest on the fact that they can just keep "doing church" the same way for 100years and that the bible tells us that we will be persecuted if we are doing the Lod's work. They don't see what needs to change or even what the unsaved need. Do they need just to be told that the blood of the lamb will wash away their trangressions and they will be pure as snow? "
That they need to aspire to a life of holiness?
Try it out on the street.
CAC,
So, Rob Bell says that God doesn't love you?
Is that what you are saying?
It's a big call saying that someone is blatantly preaching false gospel.
Are you sure you have the knowledge to speak like that.
You have heard or read what he has to say about grace?
Have you read his books or listened to his sermons or are you making a judgement on what he didn't say on an 11 minute DVD?
Who are these "folks like Rob Bell?"
Soft Salvation?
What do you mean? Do you mean that some folks are saved more than others.
Is their a quantifiable amount of saved-ness?
Are there people who are more full on christians than others?
"The Bell idea is that God loves you...no more to the story. Hope you know what I mean."
No, I don't but I would like to.
"I could say more....but I need to go to a meeting!"
I look forward to hearing what else you have to say about it.
Thanks,
Teackles.
Yes, I'm saying Rob Bell preaches a half gospel. I am saying that its not thorough enough. I mean soft salvation in that it doesnt go far enough. I'm saying that Rob Bell says God loves you, but the gospel is more than that...you cannot just stop there. It demands a response.
I've read much of his thinking and watched several of his DVDs. I've no axe to grind with regards to his approach, so no need to criticise out of hand, but I believe we must be aware of his loose theology.
In terms of 'savedness' there are not degrees, you either are or aren't, but its jolly difficult to get saved on a half baked gospel.
Yes, there are Christians who are more full on than others...there are those who are saved but not growing in holiness and those that are. Carnality is a topic that the apostle Paul deals with in his writings to the Corinthian Church.
The 'folks like Rob Bell' are the ones that follow his type of teaching. No need to name them.
I believe this is happening:
2 Timothy 4:1-5
3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
so...hope that helps clarify.
Andrew C
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