“You need to come down to their level and meet them where they at”.
I recently came across a church that embodied this saying and incorporated Drake and Future’s music into their services. That is pretty fresh if you ask me – alternative, new, different and, importantly, relevant. Yet it seems the minority view it this way, instead there are haters.
It reminds me that; “the method has changed but the message will always be the same”. This reality has shaken many people’s identity in what church should be. Sadly, it has caused great conflict amongst religious believers, families and cultures.
There are the classics complainers who find problems with everything that is not conventional – like Triangles being used in décor, images or anything really, because “of course” it represents the Illuminati or the fact that there are lights beaming off stage, or a live band, or why does that musician have a tattoo? Just imagine triangles were really evil? Would we refuse to associate with them? That would mean no Dorito crisps, no pizza slices or for our fellow South Africans no samosa’s. Jesus came to bring freedom, living within these restraints doesn’t spell freedom to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoF2Rl52YcM
So, are your feelings more important or are the lost more important?
We give the modern church such a hard time, why don’t we look internally at our lifestyles rather? We have evolved over time, why shouldn’t the church? We have gone from bootleg jeans to skinny jeans, from hats in church to no hats, from hymnal worship to personal revelation songs, from absorbing sugar in everything to a no sugar diet, WHY? Because no one wants to be stagnant, we are in an ever-changing society. The basics remain – but the expression of life will change, so why should the church not be allowed to express itself as well? Our God is a creative God, He created His children to be creative – as the church we should be leading in all creative spheres, not leaving it up to the world.
The church has thought this through well and realised their feelings and opinion on tradition are not as important as reaching the lost and welcoming them Home into a place where they a feel loved, accepted and are able to see a hope in the possibility of them finding a home.
I’m sure for those who have ever dated someone, or pursued someone, you have tried different ways to pursue that person, why because you love her/him and in the same way the church loves their congregation but at the same time they pursuing the lost who needs Jesus as well.
Sometime we need change our lenses that we look through, stop looking at the church through eyes of judgment, hate or fault, but look at the church through the eyes of love, and see-through perspective that is driven by the bigger picture. There is more out there than just your comfort zone, and your opinion to be honest. It takes crazy love to accomplish crazy goals – I pray the church will always have crazy love and therefore, sometimes, do crazy things.
May you keep pushing the borders, breaking the moulds, and leading the lost into a relationship with Jesus and may they find a Home where they can come into contact with the Father.