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May 25, 2007

Making the Message Relevant

Topics: Christian Follies

Slice of Laodicea reports that VCY America has dropped Chuck Swindoll from its programming line-up as a result of his use of crude illustrations and, at times, questionable theology. I don’t share all of VCY’s objections but noted with alarm Swindoll’s response to an objection raised regarding his use of a vulgar and crude movie during a particular program:

Chuck feels that we must be real, in order to meet real people in their real world. In other words, if people won’t come to the sanctuary because ‘it’s not relevant to my life these days,’ then we must make it relevant by delivering a message with which they can identify. Whether they live in the mansion on the hill or the inner city, the message must be capable of reaching BOTH or it misses the very souls who have the greatest needs.

Scripture, as the very Word of God and the means that God uses to reveal Himself to man to ultimately and inherently relevant. In fact, it contains the most relevant message of all, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the "good news". The significance of the message is not dependent upon either messenger, the mode of communication or the circumstances. Instead, the relevancy of the message is tied to the authority of its author and the glorious truth it contains: Jesus died for our sins.

Consequently, it is quite deplorable that a man of Swindoll’s stature would believe that the relevancy of Scripture is dependent upon the the use of a vulgar and profane movie - or any other illustration. Of course, I’m assuming that the "message" that Swindoll desires to deliver is indeed a direct product of the Word of God.

Posted by calvin at May 25, 2007 04:16 PM

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