When Relevance Becomes Dangerous

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Saturday, August 08, 2009

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." - John 14:6

I have been preaching for a fairly long time now and have seen a number of generations come and go: the Boomers, the Busters, and Generations X, Y, and Z. And one thing that has not changed over the years is my emphasis on the teaching of the Bible and the preaching of the gospel. That can never change, and it never will. It must never change, because I know the gospel is "the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16), and I have experienced the impact of it in my own life.

But the gospel is under attack like never before. While the church has always had its disagreements, this is a life-and-death debate. It is a debate among a growing number of people who call themselves evangelicals as to whether or not Jesus Christ really is the only way to salvation and whether all Scripture is indeed inspired by God.

There is a movement afoot known as The Emergent Church that is gaining momentum today. It is especially popular among people who have been raised in the evangelical church and who want to be real, who want something that is authentic, just as my generation did. But being real is not the most important thing; being right with God is the most important thing. And sometimes in the quest of being "real and authentic," some of these people are buying into dangerous ideas.

Let's get our priorities straight, and let's get back to the message again. Otherwise, we will lose what little influence we have as the church today. I am all for being contemporary. I am all for being relevant. But at the same time, we must be truthful, we must be accurate, and most importantly, we must be biblical.