Twenty-five years ago, a life crisis brought me, a prodigal son, to the foot of the cross, and I was reconciled to my heavenly Father. Shortly after that, I heard Jesus say, "You have seen me on the cross, giving all of myself that you may be forgiven, now take up your cross and follow me."(1) I spent the next seven years in evangelical churches growing in my faith, trying to live an intentional Christian life. This journey eventually led me to join the conservative Mennonites, but adopting this practice of faith and assimilating into the culture has not been easy. The lifestyle and values are quite different from typical American culture, including American church culture. The choice to join such an unusual group and the changes accompanying it have caused painful conflicts and misunderstandings in family relationships. Yet despite the challenges, I have come to love what I have found—the doctrine, the way of life, the community. I have found a group of people who are trying to apply the teachings of Jesus to every area of life; to establish the Kingdom of God on earth and walk as pilgrims and strangers in this world(2). Some may dismiss it as an old-fashioned, unnecessary way of life—just a legalistic religion that has stubbornly refused to change with the times. But I believe traditional Anabaptists(3). are trying to live the way of the cross and have a prophetic message and Biblical answers to the needs we see all around us today.

    But if this is the case, why are there not more people joining our churches? The world is throwing away conventional morals and values, and as a result, we are surrounded by hurting people—what difference is our church making in our community? The lack of visible effect may tempt us to believe the idea we are sometimes accused of—that the Anabaptist church has become so different from the culture around them that they are irrelevant. I would suggest that the Anabaptist vision of the cross and cross-bearing is more relevant than ever and is a message the world needs to hear.

Relevance Lost 
    Let's first consider what it means to be relevant. Relevance is the quality of being directly related, connected, or pertinent to a topic.(4) For example, a wrench is a tool that is relevant to a plumber, but it is of little use to a chef baking a cake. A mixer, however, is relevant to a chef, but it is useless to the plumber trying to fix a faucet. This concept is important to modern society in a variety of ways. The politician must address issues important to his constituents if he expects their votes. Companies can sell more products if they can advertise to the customers who want or need them. Google has become the top internet search engine by creating algorithms that give us information pertinent to our searches. These are all examples of how relevance plays into everyday life. 

    A quick internet search reveals that relevance has also become a common buzzword among church growth experts. There is no shortage of people offering advice and guidance on how to make your church more "relevant" to your community. Yet despite this, author Os Guinness asserts, “Never have Christians pursued relevance more strenuously; never have Christians been more irrelevant”.(5) The concept of relevance is not wrong, but if the church loses sight of what it is that makes the gospel relevant or pursues relevance in the wrong way, it can end up making the message of the cross ineffectual. 

    One of the most common mistakes a church can make in the pursuit of relevance is accepting a marketing definition of success and using the same means to achieve it. Bigger is better, so increasing the number of people attending churches represents success. We can attract more people by finding out about preferences and perceived needs and offering them something to meet those needs. Our culture is infatuated with innovative and progressive things, so we should try to make our church as modern as possible.(6) And finally, we recognize that changes in communication technology have changed people's thinking and attention span, so we yield to the "internet search mentality"—give people what they are searching for quickly, concisely, and efficiently, with little effort expected from them. 

    The second error we can make about relevance is to assume that it can be measured by our level of influence in shaping culture. Many in the evangelical church have argued that the church has a Cultural Commission(7)—an obligation to change society through politics, education, arts, entertainment, business, etc. This has resulted in what has commonly been called the "culture war." Victories in this war may lead to temporal, superficial changes, but we forfeit the message of the cross in the process. The Christian is no longer a person with a life-changing message, but just another special interest group in a power struggle to push forward their values the same way everyone else in the world is. This method of advancing Christianity is equally foreign to the New Testament.

    Accepting these ideas in the pursuit of relevance, truths, and traditions that do not fit are quickly abandoned, and pragmatism(8) replaces the unchanging principles of scripture. The values that we held a decade ago are viewed as old-fashioned and considered impossible to live out today. As we uncritically adopt the new and put off the old, we become assimilated into the world.(9) Ironically, having set out to change the world, we have become like the world and lost the message of the cross with its power to heal and change lives. We may have made the church more palatable, but we have not made it more relevant. 

    Numerous churches have traveled down this road to worldly assimilation and loss of message. But for conservative Mennonites who are resisting these changes, there is another way we can become irrelevant—By remaining silent. Our silence is primarily driven by fear or apathy. We have observed how the pursuit of relevance has led other congregations to lose biblical teaching. In our desire to be faithful to the teachings of our Lord, we are tempted to avoid the world around us, fearing they will influence us more than we influence them. 

    I already mentioned that many people look at our church as an old-fashioned, quaint culture that one does not choose but rather is born into. We are often stereotyped as good workers and nice neighbors who sing well and certainly know how to cook but pretty much keep to ourselves. The easy thing to do is to remain quiet and allow our neighbors to continue to believe this, rather than speaking about what Christ has done for us and what He can do for them. We can become apathetic about the great commission, valuing our traditions and neat, orderly lives more than we value the dying souls around us. 

    It is true that there is a message in our lifestyle, but we must know why we do what we do and have the courage to tell others about it with the conviction that it is for them too. We choose this lifestyle because of what Christ has done for us, and in obedience to His call, we take up our cross and follow Him. The cross provides not only the way of being reconciled to God but also is the way of personal transformation into the image of Christ.(10)

Relevance Found
In I Corinthians 1:17-2:8, it would seem the apostle Paul faced pressure to change his message to suit his audience. He was preaching to two cultures, the gentile Greeks and the Jews. We see in this passage that the Greeks valued the wisdom of men—education and learning. They thought the idea of a Savior who died on a cross and rose from the dead was foolishness. But Paul remained determined not to stray from the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He knew that if he tried to pander to their desire for eloquence and philosophy, the cross of Christ would be made ineffective because God had ordained that men would be saved by the foolishness of preaching the message of the cross(11).

    The Jews, however, were looking for a sign—a sign of Spiritual Authority. They thought they needed strength--political power that could deliver them from the Roman Empire. A Savior who died on a cross at the hands of their enemies was the epitome of weakness and the exact opposite of what they were looking for. But Paul stuck to the message of the cross, knowing that God had chosen the “weak” things of the world to confound the mighty and that in this weakness, men would find redemption(12). Had Paul changed the message to meet the expectations of the Jews, it would have had no power to save.

    We too, must be careful to avoid any evangelistic method that would change or dilute the message of the cross. The gospel of the cross of Christ is relevant not because it gives us what we want; it is relevant because it gives us what we need. The first need is personal redemption from our sin, which can only be found at the foot of the cross through repentance. Through the cross, Jesus became the sacrifice by which we find forgiveness of sin and peace with God. (13)

    Our second need is to be transformed into the likeness of Christ—a new creation with new values and behaviors. The cross is the instrument of sanctification, whereby we crucify the flesh and destroy our idols. 14 Jesus told us that we must decide daily to take up our cross and follow Him. As we obey Him, we will be changed by the Holy Spirit, set free from the bondage of sin, and find healing for the sickness of our souls. (15) 

    On this journey with Christ, we will find ourselves walking alongside others who have chosen the same path, and in this way, we find the cross meets our third need—the need for community. We are not only forgiven and made a new creation; we have also been adopted into a new family and become citizens of a new Kingdom where Jesus is our Lord and King. Together we help each other to put off sin and put on Christ; together, we learn to love, as we sacrificially serve each other; together, we learn to live life by the values of the Kingdom of God. (16) 

    The last need that is met by the cross of Christ is the need for purpose. As disciples of Jesus, He calls us to become ministers of the gospel. We take this message of the cross to others that they too may be saved out of the Kingdom of the World to become part of the Kingdom of God. We invite others to walk with us that they too may find the same freedom, healing, community, and purpose found in Jesus Christ. (17)

Relevance Applied
    What does this message of the cross look like in everyday life, and how is it relevant to the culture in which we live? The pain, hurt, and dysfunction we see in the culture around us has one cause—man’s sin. The message of the cross calls people to see their sin, to seek forgiveness, and to turn from it. It calls them to a new life and to live out the principles and values of the New Testament in community with others. Christ died on the cross and rose again to redeem people, not culture. But when people are set free from the bondage of sin, and a new culture will be created.

    Because the values of our King are contradictory to those of the world, the culture of the Kingdom of God will look completely different. Actually, it should be jarringly different. Let’s compare some of the values of the Kingdom of the World (18) with the values of the Kingdom of God (in no particular order):
 

The values of the Kingdom of God touch every area of our lives: possessions, finances, speech, attitudes, dress, relationships, businesses, etc. Faithful commitment to these values will result in a radically different life. Why then is there so little difference between much of the church in America and the world around them? I can only conclude it is a lack of understanding and willingness to give up the values of this world for those of our Savior and King. 

    The conservative Anabaptist church is uniquely positioned to proclaim the gospel of the cross of Jesus to the world. It is a message that people need to hear, and more importantly, they need to see it lived out. It is not enough to just say we believe the Scripture; we must put it into practice. As the disciples of Christ, if we wish to meet the needs around us, we must be faithful in both the proclamation and the practice of the gospel. A church that is faithful in this will bring glory to God and be relevant to the community in which they live.

The Cost of Relevance
    If the traditional Anabaptist Church is faithful in proclaiming and living out the way of the cross, why this nagging sense of failure when we consider the impact we are having on our communities? Part of the answer lies in the truth that there is always room for growth. We must continue to communicate the gospel often and clearly to our neighbors and live a lifestyle consistent with that message. Another part of the answer is found in the nature of our calling and in the paradox of the cross. 

    Before we were saved, we belonged to the world and were alienated from God. But now, as Christians, we have been reconciled to God, and we are alienated from the world (19). Deliverance from our sin and the power of darkness includes transferring our citizenship from the kingdom of the world to the Kingdom of God (20), and there is no dual citizenship. We are crucified with Him, made alive to Christ and His Kingdom, but dead to the world 21. We will either feel at home in the world or in the Kingdom of God; we cannot feel at home in both. This is the nature of our salvation and the price of faithfulness.

    As a result, the disciple of Christ will be in the world, but not of the world, and with this comes a sense of maladjustment (22). To the world, we are outsiders now—we do not fit in. They will pressure us to conform to the values we once held with them, and if we stand faithfully with Jesus, they will reject us. Rejection is painful and lonely. The cross may cost us friends and family, but we have gained a new eternal family. It will cost us popularity, but we have gained God’s approval. And it is from this outsider’s perspective that we will see clearly what we have been delivered from and what we are living for. Romans 12:2 promises that when we reject conformity to the world and allow our minds to be transformed by Christ, then we will be able to see and know the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. 

    As friends of God, we want to see His purpose and plan worked out on earth, but when we see all around us a world lost in wickedness, we can feel unsettled. It is easy to become impatient and fearful (23). The Lord seems silent, and we ask with the Psalmist, How long shall the wicked triumph? Christians should expect this because God warned us in His Word that the world’s morals would deteriorate. But He is sovereignly moving things to His designed end. The Lord’s forbearance results in more souls being saved. Our duty is to be faithful to the King, learning patience as we trust and wait on His timing (24). 

    The last price of faithfulness is a sense of failure. The cross will cost us success, as the world defines success. How much Money, Power, Prestige, and Popularity we can acquire compared to our fellow citizens of the world will determine if we are “winning” the contest of life. Those who live by the values of the Kingdom of God—Simplicity, Humility, Service, Charity, and Nonresistance will be branded as “losers.” But we are subjects of our King Jesus, and it is His approval that we seek. We live by God’s definition of success, not our own. Our “failures” may be His victory. Our “setbacks” may prove His turning points. Our “disasters” may turn out to be His triumphs. Yet through it all, we remain loyal to our Lord and His Kingdom, realizing that the battle is already won and waiting for the final “well done, good and faithful servant”(25).

Conclusion
    The Anabaptist’s vision of the cross of Christ and personal cross-bearing is the Good News that God wants us to proclaim to the communities around us. Those whispers of accusation you hear from time to time— “you are a failure; you aren’t having an impact; you are too different; you are a fanatic;” They come from Satan or our flesh. The idea that to reach the world, we must become like the world or that we must shape the world by infiltrating the institutions of the world are lies designed to rob us of the true, life-changing message God has given us.

    Our calling is not to change the kingdoms of the world but to create outposts of the Kingdom of God on earth. A Kingdom where Jesus is exalted and obeyed. A Kingdom filled with citizens who have been redeemed from sin, who are being transformed into the image of Christ, and are living in close community. This community then becomes a city set on a hill, a shining example of God’s goodness and provision of salvation. We call others to receive God’s offer of salvation, to be delivered from the world and welcomed into the Kingdom of God. We go out into the world, not to change culture but to establish new outposts of the Kingdom of God.

    I believe this vision is Scriptural and faithful to God’s redemptive plan. It may be hard and costly, but it gives us a consistent and biblical way to walk with Christ in this world. This is why I became excited when I discovered the traditional Anabaptist church. Brothers and sisters, let’s never allow this world to discourage us or tempt us away from Jesus. Let’s strive to continue and grow in faithfulness to our King, for His glory, and for the world around us. 

Bernville, PA
 

Bibliography
1.    If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24
2.    Dearly Beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; I Peter 2:11
3.    Anabaptists literally means “rebaptizer" and was the label given to those Christians during the reformation who took the radical step of rejecting their infant baptism and were baptized again as adults. By traditional anabaptists, I am referring to the spiritual descendants of this group who still consider the New Testament simple, straightforward, and to be obeyed. They believe the new birth is a voluntary choice made as an adult, resulting in a noticeable transformation of life that strives to live out the values of Jesus and the New Testament teachings. In their congregations, they are seeking to establish the first fruits of the Kingdom of God on earth and prepare themselves for the return of Christ. 
4.    Wikipedia Contributors. “Relevance.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 21 Sep. 2019. Web 23 Sept 2019.
5.    Guinness, Os. Prophetic Untimeliness. Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2003. Print. P. 12-13
6.    Guinness, p. 57
7.    Colson, Charles; Pearcey, Nancy. How Now Shall We Live? Wheaton, Illinois; Tyndale House Publishers, 1999. P. 295. While this source may be a bit dated, Cultural Commission is still a concept strongly promoted within the Evangelical Churches. It is also expressed as the “7 Mountain Mandate” promoted by YWAM and others.
8.    Pragmatism: The idea that the truth or value of something is determined by how well it works, rather than on fixed rules or ideals.
9.    Guinness, pp. 58-61
10.    In whom [Jesus] we have redemptions through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins; Having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself. Col. 1:14,20; 
11.    I Cor 1:17; I Cor 1:21; I Cor 1:27a
12.    I Cor 1:25b; 27b; 1 Cor:2:2
13.    Col 1:14; 20
14.    An Idol, in this sense, is anything you love or trust more than God. Anything other than God that you may turn to find your sense of worth, purpose, and happiness.
15.    2Co 5:17; Gal 5:24; Luke 9:23
16.    John 1:12; Matt 12:48-50; Col 1:13
17.    2Co 5:18-20; Matt 28:19-20
18.    The World here refers to all men and women outside the Kingdom of God who are alienated from God by sin. It includes their way of life, attitudes, and values that stand in opposition to Jesus Christ and His followers.
19.    John 15:19
20.    Colossians 1:13
21.    Galatians 2:20; 6:14
22.    Guinness, Os. Prophetic Untimeliness. Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2003. Print. P. 86-89
23.    Guinness, pg 89-91
24.    2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13-14; 2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-15
25.    Guinness, Pg 91-94; John 3:16; Romans 8:37-39