Resisting relevance

At times in my ministry I've been under pressure to do less expository preaching and put more attention on addressing "relevant topics." Apparently, this pressure is not limited to the pulpit. Here's Kim at The Upward Call:

It’s difficult in an age where publishers of Sunday school material are more concerned with making things “fun.” Silly activities that have nothing to do with the lesson, shallow lessons; I’ve seen a lot of it. Publishing houses of Sunday school material are rife with topical studies that examine issues such as self-esteem, peer pressure and friendship. Now, those topics are all fine, but personally, I’ve discovered that if one simply teaches in an expository manner, she’ll end up touching on those subjects.

Amen. There is a place for topical preaching and teaching. But the problem arises when we turn to topical instruction as a shortcut to learning information as opposed to really internalizing the full truth of God's Word. As someone has said, the point of preaching is not to take the Bible into our world and make it relevant to our lives; it's to take ourselves into the Bible and let our lives be shaped by the truth of the Word.