'Cultural Mandate'?

'I (Apostle Paul) am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called by by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - which is really no gospel at all. Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.' (Galatians 1:6-7,10)

Are Christians given ‘cultural mandate ‘by God to reach out to the non-believers by striving to stay ‘relevant’ to the society? Going to church should be fun with great music and songs, like going to a concert, right? Is it true that God wants His children to manifest success in life, happiness, wealth, creativity etc so that the world will envy and seek after Him? 

I think even a non-believer knows the correct answers to these questions but sadly not some Christians. As a result, secular models of entertainment-based worship are promoted. The sermons become less threatening & offensive (‘sugar-coated’), absence of hell & fire; more on motivational, uplifting, whip up emotions. To them, to stay ‘relevant’ means the church has to be ‘user-friendly’ and embraces prevailing social and cultural setting, inadvertently some of the values as well. Financial blessings are the will of God and more donations to the church will result in increase one’s material prosperity. The church leaders are given celebrity status, incapable of any wrongdoings. The church-goers idolized them, hoping one day they too become like their leaders, successful in life, lived in luxury houses and receiving good pay checks.

In reality, the values of the Kingdom of God and the World never converge. To convert a person is a supernatural work and not a result of pure human effort. Using pop music to outreach non-Christians has never shown to work. People become Christians when they come into contact with God’s Word. In the name of ‘creativity’, some of these pop songs and videos went too far that even non-Christians find them offensive. To me, staying relevant means having sermons that touch on our real life issues that we faced daily. Genuine creativity is like people like David Garibaldi whose 'Jesus Painting' is just awesome.( http://vimeo.com/23864881 )                                                  

Christianity’s call for repentance and submission to God’s reign in one’s life goes against human’s self-centeredness. The desire to resist God’s rule and reign is deeply ingrained within each one of us. So how can Man be genuinely attracted to such faith? May be by watering-down some of the biblical teachings, make the seekers more at ‘ease’. Christ warns the cost of following Him. He says, wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:13-14). His prayer is not that God takes the believers out of the world but that He will protect them from the evil one(John 17:15). If the believers belonged to the world, the world would love them as its own. As it is, they do not belong to the world, that is why the world hates them. (John 15:19). Christians are reminded not to love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for God is not in them. (I John 2:15)

A mega church functions just like a spiritual shopping mail than a Bible-believing congregation. It is as though one steps into a ‘McChurch’, where you can choose what you like and leave the rest. The ego-centered experience of attending such church is very appealing indeed, that explains the popularity of such church.