{"id":3035,"date":"2016-11-30T03:15:50","date_gmt":"2016-11-30T09:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=3035"},"modified":"2016-11-30T03:15:50","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T09:15:50","slug":"church-doesnt-need-make-cool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2016\/11\/30\/church-doesnt-need-make-cool\/","title":{"rendered":"The Church Doesn’t Need You To Make It “Cool”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I cringe watching young preachers trying to sell faith as \u201ccool\u201d to a group of youths. They stand there in their Christian t-shirt and skinny jeans trying to package the Gospel as \u201chip.\u201d These guys do not realize that by trying to appear cool and \u201cauthentic\u201d to young people that they are actually coming across as just the opposite.
\nThese preachers are trying hard to compete with professional entertainers and reality show stars. They use cool analogies, have impressive PowerPoint slides or videos, and have powerful stories in their lessons. In addition, they have a huge social media footprint\u2014 receiving hundreds of \u201clikes\u201d for every article or picture they post.
\nSadly, these preachers forget that just 12 hours earlier these same young people were watching a movie with professional actors and million dollar movie sets, or attending a concert with a professional entertainer\u2014they know what is authentic.
\nSo in the end, the young people realize this for what it is: a middle-aged preacher trying desperately to be \u201crelevant\u201d and \u201ccool.\u201d As a result, the Gospel gets watered down, and young people leave the church because they never heard what they really needed to hear.
\nHere\u2019s what I intend to teach my children regarding being relevant.<\/strong>
\nJesus Christ did not call the church or Christians to be “relevant.” In John 15: 18-20 we read, \u201cIf the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, \u2018A servant is not greater than his master.\u2019 If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.\u201d
\nWhat is your duty? What should you be doing? Consider the words Moses wrote, \u201cAnd now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,\u201d (Deuteronomy 10:12). Did you read anything about being “relevant,” “hip,” or “cool” (or wearing skinny jeans)?
\nHowever, many people seek to change the church or change the message in order to better \u201cfit in\u201d with our culture. Quoting Paul\u2019s words to the church at Corinth, \u201cTo the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some\u201d (1 Corinthians 9:22) they seek to be \u201chip\u201d and \u201ccool\u201d to the younger generation.
\nLet me remind you that the Gospel is roughly 2,000 years old and has stood up to all kinds of attacks, insults, and weird new fads. It doesn\u2019t need you coming along trying to make it cool. In fact, what many don\u2019t realize is in that same letter to the church at Corinth Paul wrote: “For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Corinthians 1:22-25).
\nThe truth is, in too many cases we\u2019ve worked so hard at being all things to all people that we\u2019ve jettisoned the message of sin and Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection! People need to hear about their sin and what it has done to their relationship to God. They need to hear about the saving power of the Gospel. Your job is not to be “relevant.” You job is to go and make disciples.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I cringe watching young preachers trying to sell faith as \u201ccool\u201d to a group of youths. They stand there in their Christian t-shirt and skinny jeans trying to package the Gospel as \u201chip.\u201d These guys do not realize that by trying to appear cool and \u201cauthentic\u201d to young people that they are actually coming across […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3036,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,59,32,66],"tags":[145,386,229,333,808,352],"class_list":["post-3035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-christian-living","category-church","category-think-excerpts","tag-brad","tag-churches","tag-ministry","tag-preaching","tag-relevance","tag-think","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Church Doesn't Need You To Make It "Cool" - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2016\/11\/30\/church-doesnt-need-make-cool\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Church Doesn't Need You To Make It "Cool" - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I cringe watching young preachers trying to sell faith as \u201ccool\u201d to a group of youths. 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