eugene peterson's recent interview in chistianity today seems to have sparked some controversy about what he is trying to say. peterson has typically been a proponent of being culturally relative, i mean, check out The Message, a translation and/or paraphrase of the Bible. it was written so that the language of the bible could be culturally relevant to the times. some of the comments he makes in the interview.....

When you start tailoring the gospel to the culture, whether it's a youth culture, a generation culture or any other kind of culture, you have taken the guts out of the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not the kingdom of this world. It's a different kingdom.

I think relevance is a crock. I don't think people care a whole lot about what kind of music you have or how you shape the service.

Some people would argue that it's important to have a worship service in which people feel comfortable so they can hear the gospel.
I think they're wrong....

.....certainly sound as if he has become the leopard who changed his spots. I had a friend of mine share with me that an elder in his church is using this article as a way of saying that they should forget about being culturally relevant and stick to what they have always done (or something like that).

i do not believe for a minute that mr. peterson would all of a sudden change his spots here. i think he is not advocating an abandonment of being culturally relevant to the world we live in. what i sense that he is saying is that our churches, our faith, our christianity should not become like a marketing firm trying to sell something. i hear him saying that we shouldn't adopt a style so as to attract people or manipulate them into faith. i hear him saying that we shouldnt be cultural just to attract people. i hear him saying that we dont need to be people pleasers in an effort to win them over for Christ.

what i do hear him saying is that we need to be cultural in order for the message (excuse the pun here) of Gods love to be heard. it is not about pleasing people, but it is about speaking the same language. listen as peterson describes cultural relevancy here....

My son Eric organized a new church six years ago. The Presbyterians have kind of a boot camp for new church pastors where you learn what you're supposed to do. So Eric went. One of the teachers there said he shouldn't put on a robe and a stole: "You get out there and you meet this generation where they are." So Eric, being a good student and wanting to please his peers, didn't wear a robe. His church started meeting in a high-school auditorium. He started out by wearing a business suit every Sunday. But when the first Sunday of Advent rolled around, and they were going to have Communion, he told me, "Dad, I just couldn't do it. So I put my robe on." Their neighbors, Joel and his wife, attended his church. Joel was the stereotype of the person the new church development was designed for—suburban, middle management, never been to church, totally secular. Eric figured he was coming because they were neighbors, or because he liked him. After that Advent service, he asked Joel what he thought of his wearing a robe. He said, "It made an impression. My wife and I talked about it. I think what we're really looking for is sacred space. We both think we found it."

So, how do you help all these people? The needs are huge. Well, you do it the way Jesus did it. You do it one at a time. You can't do gospel work, kingdom work in an impersonal way. We live in the Trinity. Everything we do has to be in the context of the Trinity, which means personally, relationally.

.....i think that these quotes say be cultural, be able to speak in a langauge that is the same as those you meet and come in contact with. be authentic, be personal, be relational. culturally relevancy in the context of our faith is not about pleasing people, but it is about being able to speak the same language so there is understanding.