I reckon a great way to test if you have contextualised really well, is if visiting pastors from others churches don't like what you do. So New Yorkers think Driscoll is thuggish. Australians think Redeemer is rude. That's because they don't run their ministry to impress you but to reach their non-Christian neighbours!
Every time something bugs you about a thoughtful, missionary church, you should pay careful attention: this could be the most important thing to learn from them. This is where they are contextualising well.
So what's cool about Redeemer:
- It's church does 'the ballet' or 'the opera'. It's a cultured church for high culture people.
- For a lot of people, 'professional' means 'curt'. I can imagine many people who would find Redeemr impressively, welcomingly professional. If you often say things like 'the church shouldn't be professional it should be family' you are just showing that you're from a different context.
- You get a lot of personal space at Redeemer. Noone tries to be your friend and make you interact. You can just come and check things out at your own pace. I reckon a lot of visitors would find this very tasteful and, ironically, very hospitable. It's the opposite of teen stores where the sales staff follow you around calling you 'babe' or 'matey'.
- The music and service, although horrendously formal, were very good and very rousing. As someone who can read music, I thought it was nice having the sheet music to unfamiliar songs published in the service outline.
- Keller is extraordinary to listen to online. He's even more amazing live. Great message. Who else can get away crossing their arms while they preach?
- The vanilla coffee and mini muffins after the service were both delicious.
