A Biblical Christian Response to Culture

I have a confession to make...the topic of this post has been difficult to get from my brain onto my computer. You have no idea how many times I have started only to stop after a few sentences. It's not because I am afraid of what others might think, nor is it because I don't know what to say. The reason I have had difficultly in writing on the topic is that I have so MUCH to say. For some time now I have wanted to address the topic of a biblical Christian response to culture, mainly for the reason that there are so many diverse opinions floating around. What has finally driven me to put thoughts "on paper" is the recent news of the planned rally of a "Christian" organization to burn copies of the Q'ran.

To be honest, I have not read all the details of the planned rally, but quite simply the idea of burning books makes me shudder as I recall the days of Nazi Germany and its infamous book burning parties. First of all, while Americans have the freedom to do so, it is beyond imaginable that Americans would be willing to do such a thing as burn books. Second of all, CHRISTIANS should be the last ones to practice such horrible acts. If you are a Christian, how would you feel if a religious group chose to burn our sacred Scriptures? With that act perpetuated upon our Scriptures how many of us would in turn retaliate on that religious group with violence? While most Christians would not succumb to violence, I dare say that Christians living in a Muslim context will suffer for the actions of their American brothers and sisters.

So with these thoughts in mind, what is a biblical Christian response to culture? In the Christian Scriptures, the Bible, Jesus reminds us that the greatest commandment is to Love God with every fiber of our being. He continues by stating that the second commandment is like the first, to Love Your Neighbor as yourself. He concludes by stating that every other law in scripture, every other writing in scripture hangs upon these commandments. As Christians we are to be IN the world but not OF the world. How I have come to interpret these statements has impacted and shaped me greatly. As a Christ-follower, I am to love people like Jesus loves them while showing them who He is through the way I live my life.

As a Christian, I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation; for salvation is a gift of God, it is not something I have earned. As a student of Scripture, I also know that the lost world around me does not have a chance outside of Christ and God has given me and all of my Christian brothers and sisters the task of taking the gospel to the nations. That means I have to love people like Jesus loves them and live in such a way that it reflects Christ's work in me. It means that while I behave differently from the world, I in no way withdraw from society and culture so that my light cannot shine in a dark world.

Christians, more than anyone else, are called upon to be different while explaining why there is a difference. That means speaking the Truth in love, that means returning kindness when faced with persecution, that means praying for and blessing our enemies. That means, even if the cost is our life, we show the love of Christ and talk about His grace to those whose religion calls for our deaths. The Sunday after 9/11/2001 as I stood in the pulpit to deliver my sermon, I asked the people to consider one thing. As Americans we all were angered by the previous Tuesday's tragedy, we all wanted Bin Laden's death. But I wanted the people to consider one thing, as Christians, God calls for us not to desire his death, but his salvation.

My point here is simple-Christians are called to live a life of love, impacting the world as salt and light. We cannot accomplish this by either promoting violence on other religions or by retreating from a culture that has become so diverse that Christians no longer have the loudest voice. Be reminded of the Apostle Paul, who when confronted with the Athens' culture did not scream and threaten, nor throw his hands up and retreat. What Paul did was politely acknowledge their culture and then proceeded to speak the Truth in love. My prayer is that Christians follow his example and do all we can to bring a lost world back into a right relationship with its Creator.

A Different Christianity

Perhaps you have seen on a church sign somewhere these words, “Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words.” St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) is credited for that quote which many have misunderstood. The quote tends to be interpreted that one’s witness is carried out in deed and if one must then use words to share the gospel. The understanding is that the gospel is best proclaimed through one’s actions therefore speaking about the cross is unnecessary. Let me assure you that concept is far from the intention of the original author. The intended meaning of “Preaching the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words” is that our actions AND words should always point to Christ. It is not an “either/or” approach to the gospel but a “both/and” approach that will reach the nations, starting right outside our doors. As the church we are to boldly proclaim the gospel by ministering to people’s physical and spiritual needs. When we are committed to that goal, then will we see people come to Christ.

I must give credit to Daniel Akin, PhD, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary for the following information that comes from sermon he delivered in chapel in December '09. Today there are at least 16,348 ethnic groups that comprise the 6.7 billion people on the planet (Joshua Project: 11-28-09). Today there are at least 6,647 ethnic groups who are unreached. Some missiologists would say there is, at present, 1.6 billion with no access to the gospel at all. That means there are 3.4 billion who have not heard the name of Jesus or have very limited access to the gospel. Add to that the reality that there are 255 million lost people in North America, 3 out of every 4 persons (On Mission, Special Issue, 2009, p.8). Did you know that more than one in four American Protestants give nothing to the work of the church and that the median annual giving for a Christian is 2.6% of their annual income? Did you know that only 27 percent of Christians give away 10% or more of their income? What could happen if committed Christians gave 10% of income to the work of the Lord?

Let me share with you what would happen: 150,000 new indigenous missionaries and pastors in nations most closed to foreign religious workers; triple the resources being spent by all Christians on Bible translating, printing, and distribution to provide Bibles in the native languages of 2,737 remaining people groups currently without Bible translations; eradicate polio worldwide; 1million new clear water, well-drilling projects per year in the poorest nations (25% of the world’s population drinks unsafe water); prevent and treat malaria worldwide; provide food, clothing, & shelter to all 6.5 million current refugees in all Africa, Asia, & Middle East; sponsor 20 million needy children worldwide, providing them food, education, and healthcare.

Oswald J. Smith said, “We talk of the Second Coming when half the world has never heard of the first.” It is time we commit ourselves to the task of bringing hope to a world that desperately needs some good news. It must start outside our doors and we must carry it to the nations. We must be concerned about their life here on this planet and in the afterlife. We must have the same compassion for the nations that our Savior displayed in the gospels. Only when we begin to weep for the nations will we really see a change take place.

Penn Jillette of the entertainment duo "Penn and Teller" can be found on 'Youtube' sharing about how someone gave him a Bible. He stated, “I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward… how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? If I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you and you didn’t believe it and that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you, and this is more important than that. And I’ve always thought that.”

When will Christians wake up and begin to look beyond the church doors? When will Christians decide to engage a post-Christian culture with the Truth of Christ? When will we begin to show a different Christianity that is concerned about the whole person? I pray that it is soon.

Nashville needs our help

By now, as long as you haven't been living under a rock, you have heard of the record flooding in Nashville, Tennessee. Perhaps you have dismissed it along with the rest of the "news" that doesn't directly effect you. Perhaps you have been moved by the stories coming out of the area. Either way I would suggest that as Christians we should give heed to the call for help. I have posted a link whereby you can read an interview with Nashville area pastors on how you can help. I pray that God would move among his people that His glory may shine!

The link to the interview:The Exchange with Ed Stetzer

Youth Ministry: Entertainment vs. Discipleship

As I write this I am sitting in the airport soon to board a plane for Chicago. I am on my way to take part in Simply Youth Ministry/Group's National Youth Leaders Conference. It will be a busy time of workshops and other sessions where we hope to be trained and receive information on how to ministry to this culture's youth. This is has caused me to consider the state of youth ministry as a whole and the group I lead specifically.
One question I keep coming back to is "What is the purpose of a church's youth ministry?". With my seminary training and my own experiences as a teenager guiding me, I have always felt that youth ministry's purpose is discipleship; and yet, it seems that the idea among many church members is a purpose of entertainment. Let's face it, most churches see youth ministry as a baby sitter who will keep the kids entertained while the adults do church stuff. The attitude is that we have to keep them happy and excited about being there or else the parents will have to fight with their kids to go to church.
May I suggest that we actually read the Bible to see what was important to Jesus? He said bring the little children to him, acknowledging that we need their kind of faith. We then see him teaching and preparing the disciples for ministry. I dare say Jesus was not concerned with how many were there and if they were having a good time or not. He had a kingdom focus and he was too busy instilling that vision in his disciples.
Perhaps our youth would be better served by instilling a kingdom focus in them and preparing them for ministry; perhaps then we would not lose them when they graduate? Perhaps the reason churches have a hard time keeping 2o-somethings is that we have taught them to be takers instead of givers, consumers instead of servers? The youth of our day are looking to make a difference, are our youth ministries preparing them to do so? I am afraid that the answer is no.
It is time for our churches to take youth ministry seriously, to make it a priority that we prepare them to be a part of God's kingdom plan. It is time for parents to demand more than just a baby sitting club at their church. It is time for church leadership to hold its youth ministry leaders accountable for the souls of youth. It is time for youth ministry leaders to be fully committed to the serious business of disciplining the youth of our churches. It is time to do something different.
There are choices to be made about the nature of youth ministry; I hope that others will come along side me on this. I hope for the sake of the gospel that things change, or else God will raise up someone else.

Resolution against Nominal Christianity

A new year brings with it desires to make changes, to start fresh, to break old habits. Have you made your new year's resolution yet? I must admit that in years past I have thought about it and even attempted to make resolutions, but in the end like most of you I have broken them rather quickly. What kind of resolutions do you make; lose weight, save money, spend more time with your family? May I propose a different sort of resolution?

What about resolving to not accept the status quo? What do I mean by that? Simply this: Why should we continue to accept the status of Christianity in our society today? Before I confuse you let me explain myself. When I speak of the status of Christianity I do not mean how it is perceived by others, nor do I mean how it is accepted by others. What I am referring to is the danger of nominal Christianity. What is nominal Christianity you ask; it is a Christianity that is a religion instead of a relationship.

Many years ago, one of my favorite Christian music groups called dc Talk released a CD entitled "Jesus Freak." One of the tracks was a voice recording of the following quote: "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That, is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." That quote changed my life, for it was about the time of that CD's release that God was working in my life. God used that CD to help me understand Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship.

How many professing Christians does that quote describe; does it describe you? Has it crossed your mind that the reason our world, our nation, our society, our families, and even our churches are in the state they are in is because too many people acknowledge Jesus with their lips without it changing them? Has it crossed your mind that someone might have turned away from Jesus because of your lifestyle? Nominal Christianity cheapens grace, the grace God extends to all who would accept the offer of his son. Nominal Christianity says you can say a short prayer, perhaps walk an aisle, attempt to be better and everything will work out in the end. Nominal Christianity is a religion of self-betterment so that I can think well of myself. Nominal Christianity says that the bloody death of a cross really isn't all that important.

It is that type of Christianity that prevails in our churches, because we tend to want the cheap and easy way rather than the hard and difficult. As Americans we like things cheap and easy; we quiver at the idea of hard work; if not why do we spend so much money on things that make our life easier quicker? As Christians we love to proclaim that Jesus came to give us abundant life (without stopping to really mediate on what that means) but we want to ignore his call for us to pick up our cross and follow. From my study of the Christian Scriptures I find that true Christianity is a relationship lived out in the presence of Father God by means of the Son. True Christianity is being conformed to the image of the Son. True Christianity is following the example of the Son.

The danger of Nominal Christianity is that we believe we're okay as long as we do just enough. That perhaps is the greatest lie ever told by Satan, and unfortunately our churches are full of deceived people. And because of this untold numbers, inside and outside the church, will continue to walk away from a life-changing relationship with their Creator.

My question for you is simply, in this time of fresh starts will you commit to a relationship with your Creator brought to you by the Savior of humanity? Will you live in such a way that others run to God instead of away from? Will you resolve not to accept the status quo but rather attempt to bring change, the type of change that is eternal?