One of the more disturbing aspects of the Call to Action Steering Team's Final Report is the use of the term "relevant", as in, "the church is no longer relevant in our society." Considering the changing nature of our society and culture, which seems absent from the actual report, one can ask whether any church, regardless of denomination, is "relevant" in the sense of striking a chord of familiarity with the larger society.
All the same, what is disturbing to me is the implications of the word as it appears in the report. It sounds to me, at any rate, as if the Bishops, via the authors of the report, are bemoaning our shrinking numbers as a sign of a loss, not of relevance, but of social prestige.
Not so very long ago, the United Methodist Church was the largest Protestant denomination in the country. Our words were heard in the corridors of power. Our pews were filled with politicians and journalists, corporate executives and community organizers. Our diminishing numbers means, obviously, that we have fewer such people in our churches. We no longer have doors opened for us in some places. If indeed, this is what "relevance" refers to, I say, hurray for irrelevance!
At a deeper, theological, level, we need to come to terms with this idea. The message of the Church - the Good News of God's loving condescension to all creation, incarnate in Jesus Christ, lived out in his death and resurrection, embodied in us through the Holy Spirit - is the most relevant thing I can imagine. At the same time, nothing could be more irrelevant to any society; we always exist in greater or lesser tension with the world around us. Our message, particularly in an age in which "God" is an empty concept for so many, is not just quaint. It is meaningless.
Making church "relevant" is a constant challenge. We need to remember that preaching the Gospel, being Church, will create conflict as often as bring about loving community. We need to remember that, if we really are going to be the Church, relevance should not even be on our radar as far as priorities are concerned. At least as far as ensuring some kind of social prestige or cache is concerned.
I suppose that is what disturbs me most about the CtoA report. I do not read about preaching the Gospel, performing the sacraments, or even in a theological sense administering the life of the church. Full members of Annual Conferences are ordained to word, sacrament, and order. They are not ordained to relevance, vitality, and busy congregations. Worrying about "relevance" outside any contextual understanding of the Gospel message, without even a reference to it, is disturbing, to say the least.
