Relevant

Relevant Magazine has great articles for people who are in to culture and faith. Many of the reviews are of secular artists, the spiritual content or message (or lack thereof) of the music they sing, films they make and books they write. They also review Christian artists, many who are on the fringe. This is a great magazine for those who are interested in these things. If you just want a 'youth-oriented' Christian magazine with Bible studies and how-to's you'll probably be disapointed.

Admittedly, I am slightly older than the "Relevant" demographic. But I'm not 40 yet! So there are a number of things here that do have some appeal to me. And I applaud the magazine for attempting to address culturally important issues.

Still, the magazine suffers from it's unrelenting fawning over the whole post-modern vibe and it's own sense of self-importance as a beacon for charismatic hipness. ("Hey, look out, world! We Jesus Freaks have iPods too!") Usually, the more something or someone sweats to proclaim their own relevance, the more danger there is that they can become irrelevant.

So, like it's spiritual cousin "Charisma," this magazine suffers from a somewhat shallow perspective on life and culture. It trumpets its ability to ask "the tough questions," even as it follows a relatively safe, politically correct post-mod/charismatic/hipster wannabe party line.

I mean, their idea of being cutting edge was to put Bono on the cover. If you want to be cutting edge, put the libertine Adam Clayton on the cover and ask him about Bono's faith. Now, I would read that article! (I am a major U2 and Bono fan. I'm not knocking him; just the lack of imagination at "Relevant".)

There's also way too much emulation of the world's perspective on generational heritage. "Hey, we're young, and we're smart, and we don't need to do anything the way our geezer parents did it." I guess having a little gray hair or wrinkles doesn't cut it in today's Paris Hilton culture, but I'd like to think that it might be a little different in a culture shaped by biblical values. Actually, "Relevant" seems to be a little afraid to say what "biblical values" are (beyond the obvious politically expedient ones); it all seems amorphous here.

I've never been a fan of the whole "what's hot/what's not" ethos. And, I'd like to give a little more respect to today's Christian young people to think they could handle something that didn't fall into that same faddish trap.

I am hopeful that they may get it right yet with "Relevant". At times, they seem tantilizingly close. But it takes more than a slick hairdo, male earrings, chin stubble, idolization of youth, culture icon quotations, and psycobabble "cool dude" theological lingo to make one relevant.

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I wish I could give this magazine 6 stars. Finally, an honest magazine for Christians. I am the target demographic, so I understand the style does not appeal to all, but the content can easily relate to anyone who is willing to get past their pre-concieved religious notions and desire Biblical truth. I sometimes get sick of the 'relevant' move because it frequently becomes used as an excuse for Christians to abuse their freedom as believers, but Relevant does a fantastic job of giving a balanced look at relevant faith. I don't always agree with every article, but I appreciate the open, honest, and sometimes opposing views. It is not a one-sided, or single minded publication. I wish I could afford to get a subscription for all the Christians I know.

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I see a lot of interesting reviews, so I'll add mine. When I was a teenager, I was afraid to embrace culture because of how it might look to the rest of the Christian community. Relevant Mag was symbolic of the world's culture (to me at that time). I avoided it like the plague.

Needless to say, I've come to realize that much of what we Christians have in our culture is unnecessary for the Gospel message. Seriously--in the 19th century, for example, the Church wasn't the only one singing "hymn music". Old drinking songs are in the same musical style and can be just as boring! It was simply the culture that chose to sing that way.

On the content...

RELEVANT IS DEFINITELY A LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE. If you don't identify with the lifestyle projected by Relevant, that's totally ok--but you probably won't like the magazine.

Let me be very clear about this. Relevant magazine caters to people ages 18 to 35, for starters.

The magazine assumes you are concerned with social justice, lean on the political left, have attended (or are attending) college, and have money to blow on cultural goodies. (In all honesty, it can be downright depressing to read whenever you're trying to save money. All that stuff about "simple living" isn't echoed in the advertising and reviews of products).

My big criticism of Relevant is this last characteristic. It feels "Relevant" now, but what happens if I lose my job? Relevant forgets that most of us have to think about paying the rent and buying groceries before we can spend $30 on a t-shirt to help save the rainforest.

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Is this an interesting magazine for Christians, as well as a good information source about movies and music?

Yes.

I was exceptionally excited to see a sample subscription arrive at my doorstep, I read it feverishly. The topics they cover are interesting and cool, and the photography and design is awesome. The bands they interview are the bands I listen to--and they do a heck of a job at it! I love reading their interviews, they're extremely informative and interesting.

Is this magazine relevant to the lives of the Christian youth, of whom I am one?

No.

As I read through the magazine after my initial hopping around through the various movie reviews and artist interviews, I decided to move onto the more theological stuff, the columnists. I could not have been more disappointed. What I read was wishy-washy Christianity. They take a stand for nothing, most of the articles either being about tolerance or some other "important" issue. Their theology is far from relevant in today's youth. Even an on suicide how we should remember that we're made in God's image in the January/February issue, came across as unconvincing, and was badly edited at best.

If the editors of this magazine want to claim Relevancy, then they need to push a message other than tolerancy and "understanding". And I'm not saying these aren't bad ideas. I'm simply saying that there are more important things to be thinking about in a world falling apart at the seems.

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