Amen.

I just heard a Pastor from a large church in Winnipeg on television preaching that the best witness of Christ is to be a successful person, in business, in marriage and most of all in church. It struck me strange that he tacked on "church" at the end of that statement. This quote reminds me why it made me tilt my head. Called to be obedient - thanks for the reminder!

It's about time! I recently visited a church in which the pastor tried his best to be hip and cool. My 2nd grade nephew's response? He wanted to know why the pastor sounded like he was going to cry all the time. Ah, from the mouths of babes.

I wonder if this statement only plays into the assumption that desire to be "real" is really only about trying to be "hip and cool".

So sad and ironic.

In my experience, being "real" is about being truthful and bringing things to light.

But I fear that this out of context statement will only serve up sophistry that will deeply entrench the religious allergy to honesty in some.

And if it does, I'll understand.

(i.e. "Amen"? I mean, really.)

The contours and limits of some people's commitment to the Truth will be very revealing.

In other words: if my church is empty, if no one is listening to the gospel, if what the church has to say is ignored, it's not our fault, it's THEM.

Sounds like the sort of stuff I hear from artists and writers who can't sell their stuff: "My work is too "advanced" for the hoi polloi. The fact that no one wants it is proof of how great an artist I am !"

If being found objectionable is a sign of obedience, Fred Phelps must have a lot to teach the rest of us.

I think it comes down to our defintion of success. Do our numbers reflect success? Does our style of worship or preaching determine success?

The way I read my Bible, success comes as a result of being obedient and accepting to the Lord. I feel that too many of our churches in the USA have made a subtle - well-intended - switch to where we are striving to please and be accepted by the world and not the Lord. I think He said somewhere if we will life Him up He will draw the people...

Being real is about being the person God has called you to be. Reality separated from God is not reality - it is the ultimate break from reality.

Right Jeff, and we are right back were this started. No one is arguing that we shouldn't "hold Jesus up" but how! How are we to hold Him up truthfully, faithfully, scripturally, and yet in a way that removes obstacles to those who might find Him attractive? In a way that the only stumbling block or rock of offensive remains--Christ himself.

Too often in this topic we run to opposite ends of the spectrum...Only preach truth! Only engage the culture. My friends the "only" is somewhere in the middle where the more difficult task is to do both. Be truthful, creative, shrewd, authentic, experimental, biblical, etc. It is hard! All the better because then we need to depend on Him!

You nailed it, Mike...especially in the second paragraph of your response. When I stop and survey the landscape of Christianity it seems to be the story of two extremes. I personally feel the real deal is somewhere in the middle.

A great verse to remember as we try to connect with the lost world - be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

That seems to give us some pretty clear boundaries with some pretty good freedom for being "real."

I am offended by Mr. Gilmore's comments... oh, then they must be true ;-)

Some of you have missed the point. It is not the Christian's mission to offend and that is not what Mr. Gilmore is saying. The point is that the Gospel offends. The Bible says so and Christ, himself was attacked more than once for His message.

For us to attempt to make the Gospel less offensive is to deliver something other than the Gospel.

Well said, Richard Dennis Miller.

This quote is a refreshing respite from the liberal emerging stuff that's getting so much press these days.

The Philadelphian church in Revelation 3 is a great model. It was a church of little power, yet God set before them an open door that no one could close (I believe this open door was further opportunity to preach the gospel).

When we water down the gospel in order to appeal to the masses so that we can fill our pews, we are essentially attempting to forge our own key to the door. Either that or break it down with our sophisticated methods.

We need to be faithful to plant and water, and trust God for the increase.

It seems to me that the gospel was offensive mostly to religious people who couldn't stand the thought of grace - a gift that can't be earned. I don't see the prostitutes and tax collectors and sinners that Jesus hangs out with ever being offended by the gospel.

Great comments and I do appreciate how the last comment by Jeremy throws a "oh, yea..." into the mix.

But what about this as a thought? How about we work our butts off trying to remove every obstacle to the gospel that we can...like, being ready to give a well reasoned, thoughtful, compassionate, presentation, in settings as free from noise and distractions as possible. (whether that's on-on-one or in a starbucks or in a sanctuary) That when we do that we listen with great care to questions and objections to hear both their heart but also their mind. We try to understand even though we don't agree and like Paul we try to persuade and even beg when necessary.

Then we leave to God what He is responsible for...unblinding eyes, unstopping ears, changing hearts.

We are responsible for much--I don't think we can get away from that. Even if we "just preach truth" Even then we choose a style and a context to do that in. Even then we are responsible to fully represent God in excellence.

God us ultimately responsible for a heart that repents.

What I'm having difficulty with is the unspoken attitude of pride of some when someone is offended by the gospel. As if something good just happened. If someone is offended our response should always be one of sadness on our part. Not that God is somehow insulted (he can handle it) but that the person with whom we just shared with is rejecting hope itself!

Christ did not hang out with "prostitutes and tax collectors and sinners" exclusively. He was approached by a centurion and a royal official among others. Those who came to Christ did not share a demographic. The common denominator was their own comprehension of their brokenness and helplessness and the recognition of who Jesus is.

Mike. You are jumping to conclusions. Judge not...

I think this quote makes a mistake in assuming to be "Real" = to be "Hip and cool". This is a shallow and misguided assumption.

To be real - genuine - authentic... this is a positive and needed thing in all out lives and as some have mentioned above, it is part of expressing the truth.

I think to be "Real", if it means being honest & genuine & deep is not the #1 goal of the church - but it is a good goal as part of our life together

The problem with being "real" or "authentic" is that these terms are like "beauty", which exists in the eye of the beholder. Expository preaching, on the other hand, is not subjective but rather objective. I guess you could say that the only thing is is really 'real' or 'authentic' is the Bible.

Being "real" ought to mean being authentic, but I often see it used as something else. It may be an excuse for unholiness, as in: "Well, that's just who I really am." Sometimes it DOES substitute for a gritty street-smart savvy, brought to you by a hip-talking dude in jeans and work shirt on Sunday morning. If that's the true context of our lives and listeners' lives, all well and good. But keep in mind the old actors' creed: "Sincerity--if you can fake that, you can fake anything."

Add to my previous comment: The real offense of the Gospel wasn't the idea of grace, inherent in the Jewish sacrificial system: a lamb for a life. The real offense was Jesus proclaiming Himself as eternal Son of God with the power to forgive sins Himself, given that power from His Father. The question that nailed Him to the cross was, in the end: "Are you the Son of God?"

Actually...the goal is not being REAL for its own sake.

It's being real because honesty is the starting place for healing.

For cryin' out loud, AA gets this. Why can't the church?

"God has chosen the foolishness of preaching..." How foolish is our preaching?

"...to the Jew, a stumbling block and to the Greek, foolishness..." Does the gospel we preach cause stubbed toes to the religious and foolishness to the intellectual?

"...a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word." Ditto.

"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

It seems to me that there IS a tension between authentically expressing ourselves, and being called to be what we are intended to be. If we do nothing but the former, we risk a shoe-gazing narcissism that takes ourselves too seriously and loses sight of the hope of redemption and the call to holiness. But if we only focus on where we're supposed to be and not where we're at, we'll never feel welcomed, and we'll never understand our own brokenness and immaturity. Nathan is exactly right: authenticity is where healing can begin. The Gospel is about grace and transformation, after all. So we welcome each other as we are, and call each other to be what God intends. There's no reason, except out of a distasteful reaction against certain trends in the contemporary church--to pick one over the other.

Several have pointed out the puzzling identification of 'real' with 'hip and cool', which is nearsighted and offensive, and betrays a serious misunderstanding of 'authenticity.'

RE: Several have pointed out the puzzling identification of 'real' with 'hip and cool', which is nearsighted and offensive, and betrays a serious misunderstanding of 'authenticity.'

It also supports the critique that the move toward "authenticity" is inspired by--namely, the religious allergy to honesty and openness.

But I get it.
Calling people to be open about where they are at and who they are, as they are, means leaving off the easier route. That of holding forth cookie cutter "absolute standards" and judging everyone around you and feeling good about your self, instead of humbly coming together around the person and work of Jesus Christ in our lives.

Nathan,
I understand what you mean. But I have also seen supposed authenticity used simply to manipulate the audience; remember Jimmy Swaggart's frequent tears? God forgive me, I've done it myself (though not by tears). This is the danger I see: Some "realness" isn't real. It's only for effect. I have no problem with true openness; I wish believers practiced it more, first with God and then with one another. That would be the kind of openness that lets people see that we struggle but really want to overcome; that we are willing to be held to account when we sin; that we need the help of other believers as much as they need ours, because grace is given through the community of the Spirit as well as by the Spirit Himself. I think this is what the church was always meant to be; it may be our greatest failure that we are not this.

Okay, so maybe the dude didn't use the right words to express his meaning: most of us, when we use the word 'real,' mean genuine. But this guy--James?--seems to be viewing the use of 'real' in its jargony sense. And, come one, how many times have we all heard 'real' used in exactly that sense--as slang for anything that's cool or 'in' in our culture.

He's just saying that the church shouldn't rely on gimmicks to get people in the pews, and he's right. People really want and need Jesus Christ, and JC doesn't need our concept of 'cool' to make Him more appealing. Yeah, we want our churches to grow, but all the tricks and gimmicks in the world won't do anything for a church that doesn't make the truth of Jesus Christ central to its ministry...at least not in the end, when it really matters.

And that's being...dare I say it?...real.