It was true of pre-modern cultures and modern cultures; why should we expect postmoderns to be any different?
Our societies are lost and must be reached. There is benefit to in-depth analysis that helps us understand the culture we are trying to impact. But what do we do with the resulting information and statistics? If we jump to a discussion of how the church must conform to the reality of this age, we will become a culture-driven church more than a Bible-driven church. The old adage in business, ‘The customer is always right,’ does not apply to ministry. We are on a slippery and deadly slope if our church becomes like a business, where the consumer (the audience) becomes sovereign instead of Christ and His Word. Should God’s people ask the world for instructions on how to run His church (cf. Isa. 8:19-20)?
When Christians engage the world, we are called to examine and expose all that opposes God and His Word (Eph. 5:11; Col. 2:8), rejecting what is evil and clinging to what is good (Rom. 12:9). Notice the crucial difference: one approach lets the latest statistics shape an entire ministry according to felt needs; the other approach let’s the statistics only deepen our compassion and sharpen our skill in illustrating and applying the authoritative Word of God.
We must not naively think that every time we don’t get the numbers we want, we must change our methods. Tell that to Noah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel. They saw little or no results, yet God called them to persevere and be faithful. True, some methods are needless obstacles to reaching unbelievers and must be discarded (1 Cor. 9). But a more careful look at Scripture will show that some methods are non-negotiable. Too often we underestimate how sufficiently and how specifically Scripture speaks to the so-called ‘neutral’ issues that seem negotiable, such as the way we do music, preaching, counselling, evangelism, and church growth (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
When a church starts conforming to the world, it is a subtle, gradual descent. It is rarely intentional; no conclusions are offered at first; only questions are raised, sometimes with a false appearance of humility. It’s a time-honoured tactic: “Did God really say? (Gen. 3:1).” “Can we be sure about what is right and wrong just based upon the Bible? How could we ever possess absolute truth, or a pure gospel, or a reliable hermeneutic for analysing the text of Scripture? Is there really a biblical view of issues such as church leadership structures or preaching methods; shouldn’t these be changing to fit with the times?”
If a church continues down a road of conforming to the culture, it will eventually drift far from Christ and His Word and fall into spiritual harlotry with the world. And ironically, a compromised church becomes an irrelevant church.
Beware: “He who marries the spirit of the age soon becomes a widower.”