We are living in a time when the relevancy of the church is being questioned by the society in which we live. Evidence of this truth is supported by a nationwide survey, called "The Barna Report." A representative cross section of America was asked if the Christian churches in their area were relevant to the way they lived. In response to that question, only 28 percent responded that they strongly agreed that the church was relevant. What does this say? It says that there are more than a few people out there who are dissatisfied and disillusioned with the human churches they see and know. It says that many Americans do not view the church as being important or vital to their walk with God. It says that the church is being discarded.

What should we do? I know what some are wanting to do. They are wanting to restructure the church to meet the interests of society. All one needs to do is look around, and he will see that nearly every form of entertainment and amusement has been baptized in order to attract the "unchurched." However, I must question whether restructuring the church to accommodate a secular society is an acceptable or adequate answer to demonstrate the relevancy of the church. Allowing the world to dictate to the church what it should be may very well catch their attention, but will the church be recognizable when all is said and done?

Christianity is not a product to be sold to consumers, but a participation in service and praise to God. Christianity is not a performance that is to be critiqued by our fellow man. There is a sacredness to Christianity that must not be sacrificed on the altars of pseudo-spirituality or fads of the day in order to make the church appear relevant to a secular society.

What then is the answer to the challenge of making the church relevant to a society that has largely discarded it? One answer is to impress upon men the fact that the church is a product of the mind of God. The church is relevant because it is a part of God's eternal plan to save man from his sins. Prior to the creation of this world, and according to God's eternal purpose, He chose the church to be the vehicle through which His great wisdom would be made known to the world (Ephesians 3:10-11). People need to be informed of this noteworthy truth.

The church is not the product of man's ingenuity, nor is it an after-thought of God as some men think. It is part of God's eternal plan. It is a manifestation of God's wisdom. It is that for which Christ, before the foundation of the world, determined to shed His life's blood Revelation 13:8). Does that not give meaning, value, and relevancy to the church? To think that the church of Christ, of which we are a part, is the very agency God chose to demonstrate His incomprehensible wisdom to the world ought to make us aware of the extraordinary value of the church. That is what we must make the world aware of concerning the church. This is compelling evidence concerning its relevancy.

Before and throughout the ages, God has, in an anticipatory fashion, pre-figured and promised the arrival of His church. In the days of Noah, God told him to build an ark. Surely, we should not view this as an arbitrary command. Had God simply desired to rid the world of the wicked, He could have accomplished that in a moment just by speaking the word. Therefore, there must have been significance to the mode of salvation. To make a year-long ordeal out of what could have taken but a moment is not to be overlooked lightly.

The significance of this event is seen in that the salvation of the ark pre-figured the salvation in the church (1 Peter 3:20-21). For instance, salvation was only to be found in the ark (Genesis 7:23), and salvation is only to be found in the church (Ephesians 5:23). There was only one door of entrance into the ark (Genesis 6:16), and there is only one door of entrance into the church (John 10:9). Those in the ark were saved from the wickedness of the world by the waters of the flood (1 Peter 3:20), and those in the church are saved from wickedness by the waters of baptism (1 Peter 3:21). The similarities are not coincidental, but intentional. God was laying the groundwork for the church.

Furthermore, the Old Testament is replete with prophecies concerning the establishment of the church. the time was predicted (Joel 2:28), the nature (Isaiah 11:6-9), the duration (Daniel 2:44), the place (Isaiah 2:1-3), the spread (Daniel 2:44), and the mission (Isaiah 2:3) were all predicted. Why would God give so much attention to something that was lacking in relevancy? He would not, and the prophets as well as the angels knew as much. With all the attention God gave the church, the heavenly hosts and the Old Testament prophets, while not understanding fully that of which they were speaking, recognized the preeminent position the church possessed in God's scheme of redemption, thus they desired to know more about it (1 Pet. 1:10-12). I do not think that we ought to become overly concerned about the results of the survey mentioned in the beginning of this article. I do not believe that the results are simply a reflection of our secular society as contrasted with others. This survey would not reflect much of a difference if it were taken in any century, or in any culture since the establishment of the church. So long as one remains enamored by the world and the temporal things it has to offer, he will never see the relevancy of the church. Could it be that the church of today is just as relevant as it has ever been; and the irrelevancy resides, not in the church of today, but in the goals and purposes of the people of today?

The Lord's church is relevant, regardless of what the world might think. It may never make the world's "Top Ten List," and frankly, I think we would have reason to be concerned if it did. Having said all of this, do not think that we should be unconcerned and calloused about how the world views the church. Certainly, that should concern us. But I do not believe that the secularization of the church provides an adequate answer to the apparent problem of the church's relevancy. Surely we would all agree that we should not be so wedded to cultural traditions that we hinder the progress and growth of the church. I am sure that there are some new traditions that would help the world to see the relevancy of the church, but careful distinction must be made between what is merely cultural and what are eternal truths.

Although the church may be viewed as an irrelevancy by the world, it is in reality relevant to the purpose for which it was created: to make known the wisdom of God in Christ to a lost world. As long as the church conforms to this eternal mission, it will remain relevant. The imperative thing in which all Christians ought to be engaged is making known to the world the grandeur of the church as seen in its place in God's great scheme of redemption. If we can bring the world to the realization that the church is a divine entity whose origins are rooted in the mind of God, they too will come to appreciate the relevancy of the church.

More articles by Steve Higginbotham .