Reverence or Relevance?

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Monday, March 23, 2009

Are you called to be a speaker? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. — 1 Peter 4:11

Today's devotion is adapted from a recent post on Pastor Greg's blog. To see his latest blog entry, click here.

It seems to me that for some we have lost the "fear of the Lord," even in the Church.

There was a time when things were perhaps too uptight, and one spoke in whispers in the Church, and laughter was rarely heard. But today, many churches, in their attempt to be thought of as "cool" or "contemporary," they have lost their focus.

I am not suggesting we attempt to be irrelevant and uncool, but my question is "Have we traded reverence for relevance?"

For instance, you have preachers talking in great detail about sexual issues, ranging from programs to have "sex every day for seven days" to more extreme versions in which they speak very graphically about specific sexual acts from the pulpit.

The cussing preacher

Then you have the "Cussing Preacher" syndrome. The pastor thinks it's cool to use profanity in the pulpit so people will see him as one of them.

Is this all really necessary? I don't think so.

Look, I have been a pastor for 35 years, and we have never had a problem reaching our culture and seeing people come to Christ. I am all for being real and authentic, but I also stand up on the platform to speak God's Word.

1 Peter 4:11 says, "Are you called to be a speaker? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you."

We are also told in Scripture to watch what we say. Speaking of the tongue, James writes, "With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who are made in God's likeness. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so" (James 3:9-10 ESV).

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

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