Relevant Truth (or something like that)

I reading a lot of blogs lately but haven't done much posting myself.

Yep, I'm yet again using the "having blogged in a while" clíche opening.

Anyway, reading a great post earlier by Philip on Nexus4Change (check my reading list) based off his reading of Don Miller's Blue Like Jazz, a book that I reccomend. He raised a concern that I have feeling myself, not so much with Miller's writing specifically but with a lot of modern Christian books.

Before I talk about the concern, let me share what I like about the recent works of Don Miller, Rob Bell and a load of other authors I've yet to read: Christian faith is being shared in a manner that is relevant, honest (in terms of the human condition), attractive and intelligent. These men have moved with the times and acknowledge that times have changed and text book theology isn't going to go down with the Web 2.0 generation.

But my concern is this: that as postmodernism, relationalism (if that's a word), and the centrality of the human condition have been embraced, that their grasp of truth has been lost. It's is not culturally sensitive to call people sinful or declare that a large group of people will suffer for eternity because they don't believe the right thing. So, its not said.  Scripture is re-examined or deconstructed in light of our modern context. As Brian McLaren's book states: Everything Must Change.

I'm not going to outright reject the thinking of leaders like that and I'm trying to broaden by own understanding but let me offer my own belief as far as sharing the Gospel in our current culture.

In one hand, we hold our methodology, our ways of communicating, our structures of meetings, etc. This hand is open. This things can change. In fact, they should. We have to engage people where they actually are, not expect them to fit into a cookie cutter before we give the hope that exists in Christ.

In the other hand, we hold the Gospel, the Words of God, the centrality of God's truth and the challenge to understand what we believe without unnesscarily reinventing the wheel. We take the truths and ideas of the Bible in the context of when they were written with the understanding that it's not relative and that there is intention behind the writing. This hand is closed. By that, I don't mean that we arrogantly shout off what we believe but we avoid the blind leading the blind. There is actual truth that we are moving closer to.

I think that maybe the length of this post will make up for the post drought. If you made it through, well done.