To boldly go …

When I was a kid I watched “Star Trek.”

I don’t think I can really be identified as a “trekkie.” You won’t find me at any conventions, I don’t own any costumes or action figures. But I liked science fiction and so I liked the show.

But this video clip below has to be the worst fight scene ever filmed. Watch it …

Perhaps as a kid that might have been a little more exciting. But TV shows and movies have come a long … long … way since then! Today, a person might watch this for the sake of nostalgia, but with the likes of the newly released “Star Trek” movie, something of the calibur of the clip above just isn’t entertaining anymore.

I wonder sometimes if that’s what non-Christians think when they step into some of our churches … if they don’t feel as if they’re stepping back in time when something like what they’re seeing and experiencing used to be acceptable a long time ago, but just isn’t as relevant today.

The truth of God’s Word never changes, but the way it’s delivered must. Relevancy is the latest rage among church leaders today, and there’s a reason for that. The church has been ineffective for too long because it has presented itself as irrelevant in today’s world. And some local churches have made themselves irrelevant … they have stubbornly held onto old ways so long, they cannot relate to the community around them. Thus, they cannot reach that community — and many churches haven’t tried to in a long time, turning inward to meet the needs of members while everyone else goes their own way.

Like I said, I used to watch the original TV show “Star Trek” as a kid. Because that’s what I knew, I was skeptical when the new “Star Trek: The Next Generation” came out. How could anyone be better than James T. Kirk flying through space at warp speed to save the universe? I gave it a try and you know, I liked it! The new series was better quality filming, more realistic, much better acting …

… I became a fan.

Why?

Because I could relate to it better.

It’s still the same story line. Still good guys boldly going where no one else had gone before, carrying out the Prime Directive in an entertaining fashion. But with a freshness that I could relate to.

Do you believe the church in the 21st century, like the early church, can still change the world?

I do.

But to do so we’ve got to get the church into the 21st century and engaged with the people of this world in a way they can understand and relate to.

The message remains the same. The crew is just recast, and the action is much better!

Scotty