February 6, 2015

“People don’t want good teaching anymore, they just want what’s popular!”

That statement was made on a Facebook page for ministers recently. The conversation was about using the King James bible in church. Looking for a fight? That’ll get you one.

The pastor was insisting that the decline in the use of the KJV was a sign that the church has grown weak and shallow.

As soon as I read that line, my gut reaction (which I did not write in the comments) was “But the KJV was the most popular bible on earth for centuries! What does its popularity have to do with its value?”

Things become popular because people like them. Things used to be popular because people used to like them.

Sometimes when we complain about the way church is done today, we’re just longing for things that were popular when we were young. But, instead of admitting that, we try to convince ourselves and others that we’re sticking with the old ways because they’re better. And if the old ways were better, the new ways must be wrong.

So we blame “the church these days” for following the latest trends and putting popularity ahead of truth.

Certainly there are churches that bend their theology to suit the latest fad. But more often than not, churches are just adapting their methods to speak the Gospel in today’s language.

So what’s worse? Being a slave to what’s popular? Or being a slave to what used to be popular?

I say we stop doing both. And do what works.