It wasn't what I expected- otherwise, I woulda liked it

I'm not gonna beat around the church bush.

I've often wondered what would happen if we could somehow bring Peter, or John or Paul into the 21st century and have him sit in during the preaching at one of today's "modern," "contemporary," "casual" churches.

Since "contemporary churches" draw so much ire from folks who'd like nothing better than keeping Salvation all to themselves, I wonder what one of the Gospel writers would have to say about "relevant" preaching, and how he'd react to the sermon.

I'm pretty sure he'd clasp his hands over his ears and run screaming from the auditorium, shaking his head violently with fear.

By the time we caught up to him in the lobby, I'm sure the first thing he'd wanna know is, "What makes that man's voice so big?"

We could try explaining microphones, speakers, electricity and sound reenforcement systems ... but never mind that; what we really want to know is, "What did you think of the message?" 

I'm 100% convinced any one of the three would throw up his hands and announce, "I don't know where those words come from, but it's certainly not what Jesus said and not anything like what we wrote in the Gospels."

Uh oh, this isn't going at all like we expected.  

So we turn to the Aramaic language coach we wisely thought to include in our experiment, and ask him to translate our question into the language our guest speaks and understands.

At which point his eyes would light up, he'd clasp us on the back and explain, "I'm willing to give this new church and its preacher another shot ... but first, is English really a language?  I've never heard of it, and the words sound like gibberish and bird squawks to me."

Having a translator sure comes in handy when it comes to communicating in a language that the listener understands, you see.

Someone guided by God who can present and share the Gospel clearly and plainly to anyone willing to hear it ... without nineteen hundred years of self-serving stipulations, religious word plays, archaic code words, and most of all, without the man-made themes that make Christ seem so inapplicable and distant in our times.

--   ---  --

PS.  When's the last time you heard this taught in church?

 בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃

No?  I'm surprised.  It's Genesis 1:1, from the Westminster Leningrad Codex.

(Having a translator sure comes in handy when it comes to communicating.)