Dear Christian...

Dear Christians,

It is with gladness that I call you Christian. It is with joy that I look forward to eternal fellowship with you, but it is with sadness and disappointment that I write this letter. Some of you have been crying for relevance on the part of the church. No doubt this is sometimes a needed cry. Many times it is not.

People want a church that is relevant, one that speaks to them, ministers to them, and feeds them. If the church is full of lambs who cannot fend for themselves then perhaps this is what is needed. If, however, the church is full of warriors in God's army then perhaps it is time Christians took on some of these responsibilities for themselves.

The church only becomes irrelevant when the Christians who make up the church become irrelevant. The church is not made up of pastors and elder boards, it is made up of individual people. These people/missionaries have been given the same mission the pastor and elder board have been given. That mission is to make disciples. I wonder what you have done, Christian, to participate in and accomplish this great mission. Do you carry with you the message of Christ? When you see your neighbor do you see a person who desperately needs the church? Do you simply hand out Bibles hoping those who receive them will read them? Do you see people in need and simply pray that someone will help them, someone other then you? Are you unwilling to take the risk necessary to do what God has commanded?

I know, the church is irrelevant, but it is not irrelevant because of organ music and old programs that don't work anymore. The church does not become relevant by lighting candles, playing guitars, and using clever video clips. There is no magic wand to be waved or magic chant to be recited in the form of prayer. There is only you, Christian.

Have you become irrelevant? There are real people with real questions and confusions. They are waiting for someone, anyone to help them see and understand the relevance of God and His kingdom. They desperately want to understand the gospel, have you taken the time to share it? Are you willing or unwilling to follow the commands of God?

The church is only as relevant or irrelevant as the Christians who make it up.

P.S.

I have not read the book Dear Church and this is not a response to that book. It is a play on the title and response the criticism directed at the church often by those who make it up. I have grown tired of hearing Christians tear down the church claiming it is irrelevant. I have grown tired of listening to people claim they have the next great program when all the church needs is to actually do what God has asked us to. If the church is made up of Christians then Christians are the only ones who can make the church relevant.