A Cultural Crisis: The Need for Relevance
The world is full of hurting, needy people. Many in our culture feel alienated, disconnected, and alone. And we suggest the outward manifestations of crime, drugs, rebellion, abuse, addiction, and family breakup plaguing our culture spring from alienation at two levels. First, people are alienated from God and His Word. Second, people are alienated from one another, feeling empty, unloved and alone.
And do we as Christians— the Body of Christ— have an answer for pain-filled people in a crisis-filled world? Absolutely! The bright gleaming in the darkness of a hurting generation is the person of Jesus Christ and His message of love and forgiveness. Christ is the answer. We believe it wholeheartedly. We proclaim it with conviction and passion.
The World Isn't Listening
But does the hurting world find our message relevant to their lives? On one hand, many unbelievers seem to be very God conscious:
- 57% of the unchurched consider religion very important to their lives.
But, ironically, another study shows that an astounding,
- 91 % of non-Christians feel that the church is not sensitive to their needs.
In other words, what they see in us is largely not applicable or pertinent to their lives. They find us irrelevant!
Missing the Mark Among Our Own
You may be surprised to learn that recent evidence suggests we are failing the test of relevance inside the church, as well as outside. A staggering:
- 74% of today's Christian adults claim that the church is not sensitive to their needs.
Loneliness at the Top
Ministry leaders and their families are not immune to the painful alienation plaguing our culture, nor is the message of hope we proclaim always perceived as relevant to those who seem most deeply committed to it.
An alarming number of ministers are hurting and finding little relief among those they serve:
- 80% of ministers believe that pastoral ministry negatively affects their families.
- 90% feel they are inadequately trained to cope with ministry demands.
- 70% do not have someone they consider to be a close friend.
Something isn't working. When the message of Christ's love and forgiveness is not being applied to resolve the personal and relational pain of so many of those who proclaim it, we have a crisis of irrelevance in the ministry.
The Heart of the Issue
Where have we missed it? We are the Body of Christ, ordained by God to proclaim the Good News. So why do we seem to have so little impact on a hurting world, not to mention our spiritual and relational health and that of our leaders?
I propose that our culture no longer sees us as a relevant solution to its needs because we have lost touch with the very heart of who we are. As the people of God, we may hold the "right" views on sin, embrace the "right" concepts of truth, and proclaim the "right" steps to salvation. But if we are out of touch with why we do what we do, our ministries will be irrelevant to the needy world around us. In my judgment, this is precisely why hurting people are not flocking to our churches today, where the solution to their deepest needs awaits them. And it is also the reason why so many church members are hurting and unfulfilled.
We have lost touch with the very heart of who we are.
What is our essential motive for the ministry of reaching and teaching people in Christ's name? I like to use the term Great Commandment love. In one of the most defining moments of his ministry, Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest. He answered, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40 
, NASB). This Great Commandment to love God and love people defines the true identity of those who are called his church. Great Commandment love is at the heart of who we are and what we do.
Compare Christ's Great Commandment with the equally important Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20 , NASB). The Great Commission to declare God's truth on the vital issues of sin, Scripture, and salvation, and to call people to bow in obedience to God, relates more to the mission of the church. The Great Commandment to love God and others defines our identity or heart as a church. The Great Commission capsulizes what we do while the Great Commandment embodies who we are. What I refer to as the Great Commandment Principle is the accomplishing of the Great Commission within the context of the Great Commandment.
The Great Commission capsulizes what we do while the Great Commandment embodies who we are.
Both are vital to our ministry to the churched and unchurched. We cannot effectively do what we have been called to do unless we embrace and live out our identity as people who love God and others. In fact, when we adhere to the Great Commandment Principle of loving God and one another, we can "do" church effectively because we are "being" his church.
As the Great Commandment Principle comes to more clearly define who we are, it will be God's love that prompts our activity, empowers our work, and becomes the explanation for any "success" we might have. This principle will bring the evidence of his love into every relationship we enjoy and every message we share. "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you" (Ephesians 5:1-2 , NASB).
Right on the Issues, Wrong in the Heart
During the first century, a group of religious people clung together doggedly to their positions on sin, Scripture, and salvation. They upheld ethical absolutes and did not shrink from denouncing sin. They condemned immorality and rejected Roman paganism. If anyone could claim religious "rightness," it was the Pharisees.
But these champions of "proper" doctrinal correctness were the least responsive to Jesus' mission and message. In addition to missing the mark on real truth, something just as vital was missing from their "ministry," making them irrelevant to the needs of their culture. When Jesus compassionately healed a man racked with disease, the Pharisees objected because it happened on the Sabbath when no "work" was to be done. Jesus offered forgiveness and a new start to the woman caught in adultery, but the Pharisees wanted to stone her. Jesus displayed his love for sinners and drunkards by dining with them, while the Pharisees fraternized only with the "righteous."
The Pharisees were obsessed with "correct" doctrine and performing religious duty, but they lacked a heart of love. No wonder Jesus had such harsh words for them: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (Matthew 23:27-28 , NASB); "Go and learn what this means, 'º desire compassion, and not sacrifice' " (Matthew 9:13 , NASB).
Jesus, who is truth incarnate, did not compromise on sin in his expression of love and compassion. He called people to obedience and promised dire consequences if they failed to obey. Jesus believed correctly and behaved correctly, but most significantly, he, unlike the Pharisees, loved correctly. It was his compassion and love that drew people to him. It was his compassion and love that made his message of submission and obedience to God attractive, compelling, and relevant.
Being relevant is not only about believing and behaving; it's also about loving. It not only means fulfilling the Great Commission to reach and teach others; it also means fulfilling the Great Commandment to love God and people. It is essential to take a biblical stand and teach the truth on all the right issues. But without a passionate heart of love for God and others, such efforts are as appealing to people as noisy gongs and clanging cymbals.
Relevant, biblical ministry means fulfilling the Great Commission with Christ's constraining love permeating every aspect of our lives.
Relevant, biblical ministry means fulfilling the Great Commission with Christ's constraining love permeating every aspect of our lives. Minimize Great Commandment love in the church, and you have irrelevant ministry. It's that simple. Seeking to advance Christ's cause without demonstrating God's compassionate heart still tends to turn away more people than it attracts. Sadly, this is the state of many believers at the dawn of the twenty-first century.
People Need God and One Another
A pastor and his wife approached me during a break in one of our conferences. They wanted to talk about Rachel, a woman in their church they had been counseling for months. As a little girl, Rachel had been sexually abused by her father. Anger and resentment were eating her life away.
"David, we have tried everything we can think of to help her forgive her father, but she won't let go of her bitterness," the pastor lamented. "We remind her that God has forgiven her for things she has done, so she must forgive also. We tell her that forgiving is for her own freedom and that it doesn't mean what happened to her was right in any way. We have gone through all that and more, but nothing works. She is as bitter as ever."
"As you have come to understand Rachel's pain from her past," I said, "what kinds of feelings for her has it prompted in you?"
The couple's response was classic. "Feelings? Just as we said, we feel she needs to forgive her father."
"Yes, Rachel needs to forgive," I agreed. "But what do you feel for Rachel as you consider the painful trauma she experienced?"
I received blank stares, so I rephrased the question. "Can you imagine how God feels toward Rachel for all she went through? This innocent little girl was betrayed and violated by someone she trusted. She probably lay awake in terror coundess nights, dreading her father's appearance at the door of her room. What do you think God must have felt toward Rachel every time this defenseless little girl was physically and emotionally wounded?"
Can you imagine how God feels toward Rachel for all she went through?
The couple was silent for several moments. Then they began sharing their reflections. "God must have felt loving compassion for little Rachel. He probably hurt deeply for her. Her pain must have caused him great sorrow."
Then I said, "If God feels such loving compassion and sorrow for Rachel— and I believe he does— do you think it would be all right if you did?"
Silence again. The pastor seemed to be processing the concept through his theological training. He finally concluded that it was sound.
"The next time Rachel comes in," I continued, "instead of focusing on her need to forgive, try comforting her lovingly for what she has gone through. Say something like, 'As we think about the abuse you suffered, we just want you to know that we really hurt for you. It saddens us that you went through all that.' Simply share your love and comfort and see what happens."
The couple agreed. Several weeks later I received a note from them. It read, "It worked! We shared comfort with Rachel like you suggested, and something wonderful began to happen. She seemed so deeply affected by our sadness and love for her that she is now dealing with the issue of forgiving her father. It's a miracle!"
Did Rachel need to forgive her father? Yes. Were this pastor and his wife wrong to urge Rachel to forgive as she had been forgiven by God? Absolutely not. Forgiveness was essential to Rachel's spiritual health and growth. Then why had this couple's ministry to her been, at least in part, ineffective? Because it lacked the full impact of Great Commandment love. Rachel needed someone to challenge her to obey the Scriptures with regard to her father. But she also needed someone to minister to her God's heart of compassion for the pain she had suffered. She needed someone to hurt for her just as God hurt for her and to minister God's love and comfort. When this couple simply expressed godly sorrow for her, she was comforted. Once someone began to meet her deep need for compassion and comfort, Rachel was better able to deal with her need to forgive.
Did Rachel need to forgive her father?
That's what I mean by relevant ministry. The pastor and his wife were diligent in their beliefs and behavior about forgiveness. They exercised Great Commission fervor as they urged Rachel to obey Scripture. They were doing the right thing, but it was not sufficient. They were speaking the truth, but it lacked love. Once their demonstration of Great Commandment love matched their Great Commission fervency, things began to happen for Rachel. That's relevance!
But why have so many churches failed to see— and put into practice— the importance of expressing compassion to hurting people? Why have we so often emphasized the Great Commission without emphasizing the equally vital Great Commandment? I believe one significant reason for the imbalance stems from a basic misunderstanding of human need. In order to correct this misunderstanding, we must revisit and reevaluate the first human crisis.
Crisis in Paradise
Where would you turn in the Bible to find the first human crisis? We have asked this question of thousands of ministry leaders attending our conferences. Roughly 30 percent point to the conflict between Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 . Most of the remaining 70 percent suggest that the first human crisis was the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 . While both of these events are significant human crises, neither is the first. To find the first human crisis you must turn to Genesis 2 .
In Genesis 2:18 , God utters these words: "It is not good." This is the first reference to the sobering words "not good." Up to this point in Earth's history, everything in creation was good. Now when people state that something is not good, it may not be a big deal. But when God shows up on the scene and declares something to be "not good," you have a crisis— a very big deal.
So what could possibly be "not good" about the Garden of Eden?
Adam lived in a perfect world. There was no crime, no traffic, no pollution, no disease, no war. It was a totally crisis-free environment. Most notably, the Fall had not yet occurred, so Adam was sinless, innocent in heart and mind. This is all good.
Adam also possessed everything he could possibly need or want. The Garden and everything in it— with the exception of one unique tree— were his to use and enjoy. Adam had it all. He never suffered want from a low bank balance, an empty pantry, or an investment loss. In Genesis 2 , Adam was living a dream existence. He was in a perfect world and owned everything. What could be "not good"?
Adam had an exalted position. He had an excellent job with no competition for advancement. He was CEO over "the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground" (Genesis 1:26 ). He had no problems with job insecurity, jealousy or envy with coworkers, or pressure to perform. Career-wise, he was at the top of the ladder. At this point he was the only person on the ladder, but at least he was at the top! Where is the crisis? What could be missing?
It is not good for the man to be alone.
Adam enjoyed an intimate relationship with God. Above all the earthly benefits and blessings in the Garden, Adam walked and talked in perfect, uninterrupted fellowship with his Creator. Sin had not yet come between them. Can you imagine the thrill of communing with God face-to-face? You and I might talk about our daily "quiet time" with God. Adam could boast about literally being with God every day. Yet something was still "not good." What could possibly be wrong in such an ideal setting?
Created Perfect but Needy
You know the rest of the statement from Genesis 2:18 , "It is not good for the man to be alone." God's startling announcement suggests that all the material and spiritual benefits Adam enjoyed did not provide a relevant solution for one particular need. Something vital was missing.
Adam was created with physical needs. God met those needs in advance, and it was good. Adam was created with a spiritual need. God met that need in advance, and it was good. Adam was created with a need for human relationships, but he was alone in the Garden, and it was not good. There it is, the first human crisis: Adam, needy for human relationship by God's design, was alone.
"Wait a minute," you may argue. "Adam wasn't alone. God was there. God and man enjoyed intimate fellowship. They walked and talked in the cool of the day. Didn't God meet Adam's relational needs?"
Yes, God is the ultimate source for meeting all our needs. We understand both biblically and experientially the need for God. Nothing else— not possessions, not position, not success, not another person— can fill the void that seventeenth-century French physicist Blaise Pascal referred to as the "God-shaped vacuum" within every soul. God and God alone can bring peace and order to the human heart. We know it, we feel it, we live it, and we preach it. Stated simply, people need God.
But we are biblically incorrect when we assert that God is all we need.
But we are biblically incorrect when we assert that God is all we need. This is precisely why we need a new perspective on human needs and God's provision for those needs. In reality, God provides for our needs through a variety of intermediaries.
For example, consider how God meets our need for physical nourishment. God was not duty bound to create us with a need to eat grain, fruits, vegetables, etc., to survive. God is sovereign and omnipotent. He could have arranged for us to receive our nourishment directly from him without eating, like some kind of heavenly IV drip. But in his wisdom and design we are nourished by gathering, preparing, and eating the various foods God has created for our use. To be healthy, we need God and food.
Nor was God forced to create us to need sleep for restoring our strength. Had he chosen, God could have equipped us to receive perpetual energy drawn directly from him. But instead, he meets the need for physical restoration through the process of nightly sleep and rest from labor. In order to meet our need for physical strength, we need God and sleep. The fact that God provides for our physical needs through these intermediate sources in no way diminishes that he is the ultimate provider.
Similarly, God did not have to create Adam with a need for a relationship with another like him. The King of the universe could have simply declared to humankind, "I am all you need. Our intimate, personal relationship is sufficient for all your relational needs." Yet, according to Genesis 2 , our sovereign God created us with relational needs and chose to meet some of those needs through other people, just as he meets our physical needs through intermediate means. Therefore, we have a need for both God and other people.
We Need God and One Another
Two very significant implications for life and ministry derive from the truth that God created us to need each other.
First, none of us can rightfully say, "All I need is God." To do so is to reject other people as a channel of God's loving provision. Adam lived in perfection with a deeply personal knowledge of God. If anyone had grounds to think his intimate relationship with the Creator was all he needed, Adam sure did. "It's you and me, God," he could have said. "You created the world, and I take care of it. Our relationship couldn't get any better. Together we can handle anything, right?"
But God disagreed. "Adam, our relationship is primary," he might have said, "and I will be your most intimate friend. But I also desire to bless you through human relationships, persons with whom you will experience the joy of giving and receiving to meet relational needs. For you and many of your descendants, some relational needs will be met by a spouse and other family members. For those who do not marry, I will provide close single friendships. And one day I will establish my church, where loving relationships will abound."
I also desire to bless you through human relationships.
Meeting some of our relational needs through others was God's original plan in the Garden of Eden, and it remains his plan today. Claiming that we only need God discounts his purpose for human relationships.
Some people point to Philippians 4:13 : "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." They contend that if God was all Paul needed, he is all we need. They equate a holy sense of self-reliance with spiritual maturity. "As long as I walk in constant fellowship with God, as long as I love God completely and exercise enough faith, I don't need anyone else."
The truth is, I need you, and it's OK for you to need me!
But that's not what Paul conveyed to the Philippians. The apostle's expectations and faith were clearly and rightly focused upon Christ, but he follows with verse 14: "Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles." His message is clear: "I can do everything through Christ, and he has chosen to involve you!" Paul, the spiritual giant of the early church, recognized that God lovingly involved others to meet his material, relational, and emotional needs.
I am reminded of Paul's declaration concerning the way each of us functions within Christ's body. One part of the body can't say to another part, "I don't need you." The truth is, I need you, and it's OK for you to need me! When we deny our need for each other, we risk being identified with the lukewarm Laodicean church, who said in proud self-reliance, "I... do not need a thing" (Revelation 3:17 ). The rest of the verse reveals God's appraisal of fiercely self-reliant people: "You are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." By God's design, we need him and others.
The second implication is closely related to the first. Just as we cannot claim, "All I need is God," we cannot truthfully convey the message, "All you need is God." To do so is to communicate a message of condemnation: "You should be able to take care of yourself without needing other people. If you still have needs, you don't have enough of Christ. If you were more consistent in your quiet time, if you had more faith, if you loved God with all your heart, soul, and mind, you would not be needy." As important and necessary as faith, quiet times and loving God are, God has chosen to involve people in meeting the needs of other people.
The "you only need God" message is crippling ministry after ministry today. This message is irrelevant to the real needs of people because it represents only half of the Great Commandment. We may have the loving-God part right, but love for God is incomplete without love for our neighbors. Dismissing our need for one another is the equivalent of saying to a starving beggar, "Go, 1 wish you well; keep warm and well fed" (James 2:16 ). To the single adult, it may sound like this: "You shouldn't be lonely because Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother." Or we might communicate to a faithful ministry worker, "Your need to be appreciated is nothing more than pride. God sees your labors, and his reward should be enough." Or we might say to the Rachels in our life, "You just need to forgive and forget your abuse and move on with your life."
I wonder what some people might have said to Jesus if they had been with him in the Garden of Gethsemane along with Peter, James, and John. Agonizing under the weight of rejection and impending crucifixion, the Savior turns to his disciples and says, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me" (Matthew 26:38 ). I am concerned that he might hear some say, "Why do you need us, Jesus? Don't you know that you have your Father?"
The "you only need God" message is crippling ministry after ministry today.
Did Jesus have his Father? Of course he did. He and his Father were one! But at that moment the despised, rejected man of sorrows asked his closest friends on earth to be there for him, to support him, to pray with him. If the divine Son of God in the fullness of his humanity needed the Father and human relationships, how much more do we and the people around us need both the Father and his love through others.
—Great Commandment Principle
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