I very much loved the discussion today. Thanks for doing it! I would love for you to expand on the "tests" you mentioned very quickly - like the 'message', 'association', 'understanding', etc tests. Is it from one of your books? Really great stuff today - thanks!

I couldn't watch live so I was really glad to see that it was here this morning. All I can say is THANK YOU! The two of you confirmed what I have been saying and thinking a long time. Now if we can get our church folk understand this concept of worship being about God and that we do that in the context of our community. Lord help us as we lead your people to worship you with relevance for the people in our community. Amen.

I'm from Brisbane, Australia and am so grateful for being able to watch the video that was later uploaded, thank you. We have so many bruised, battered and hurting people out there... hungry for 'something' to fill that hole. A question often asked is how can we best serve them and bring them into a relationship with our Lord and Saviour? How can the church best represent Jesus Christ in our society/culture today and bring them to authentic faith in Him? Thank you for addressing this. May God bless you and continue using both of you to carry out His work. Thank you for being difference makers and kingdom builders.

But nothing is more relevant than the gospel, no matter what the "context" it is in. "Relevance" is a bad word to use, because the reality is everyone's need for the salvation of Christ. When that is at the heart of a Christian, then the context should make little difference. The two keys are God's truth being central in worship, and a sincere desire to bring glory to God through the means by which we proclaim them. When these two are in place I believe a sincere Christian will not mind music used.

I am engaged in CP in North Africa. Issues of contextualization come and go, rebounding in various forms on cycle, but fundamentally the questions are the same. Relevance/contextualization are tools for bringing people to understand their need of and position before Christ, so as to give them opportunity to submit their hearts in reverence to him, within a framework of shared values and perceptions.

You can dress in ways that are culturally appropriate, speak the language and master the cultural nuances of a generation or a culture, and lose your message. That is relevance with out reverence.

Stripping the message of irrelevant religious, generational, cultural baggage so as to bring the gospel in its purest possibility within your target group, is essential.

We need to think like missionaries to win each successive cultural shift within our own context.

Many of the American traditional movements are trapped in a WASP, circle the wagons to protect our turf mentality, which is tribal rather than biblical. Serving up polemic to people who do not share your values is detrimental to the reality of the Gospel. Distracting cultural mores and adherence to the same leave the hearers offended, while the presenters seem confused, out of touch, and fearful.The American Church must learn to perceive its own cultural binders so as to present Jesus as he is, not as our cultural contrivances and comfort zones have redefined him.

The reverse, can have the same effect, creating a maze of confused identity, purpose and mission in those who make relevance the goal, rather than rightly seeing it as a tool.

The Spirit leads us a we submit, and energizes our creativity within our context. Creativity, relevance, and contextualization are servants of the message, the tools and means by which to obey his last command, go!

Ed,
What should you do if the missional style for your current congregation is different from the missional style for your community? Especially if the current congregation isn't especially mature to be able to adapt their preferences for the sake of reaching others.