The modern idea of church, or ecclesiology, it seems, is that the church exists as a venue to attract the lost through dynamic programs, performances, and events—the more dynamic the better. A pastor friend of mine referred to this as “theo-tainment.” The problem with this approach exclusively is that a disproportionate amount of the church’s time and resources go into these programs at the expense of making disciples and training the body.
Revival is a seemingly old-fashioned word that conjures up numerous definitions, some of which have little to do with authentic revival, or “times of refreshing” sent from the Lord as described in Scripture. To aid in defining what I mean when I reference true, biblical revival I want to draw from one of the most important modern documents written on the topic, An Urgent Appeal—To Christian Leaders in America for Consensus and Collaboration on the Biblical Nature and Hope of Corporate Revival.
Do you sometimes struggle to engage with unbelievers? Do you feel ill-equipped to dialogue with those who reject faith in Jesus Christ? There is an important book that offers an excellent example of one such engagement, entitled Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant? (InterVarsity Press, 2006). Coauthored by Preston Jones, assistant professor of history at John Brown University and a Christian, and Greg Graffin, an atheist punk rocker (Graffin also has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology), the book chronicles the discussions between these two disparate personalities as they wrestle with life’s most challenging questions from two opposing worldviews.
A rather obscure but large and important study conducted by the Swiss government revealed some astonishing facts with regard to the generational transmission of faith and religious values. In short, the study reveals that “It is the religious practice of the father of the family that, above all, determines the future attendance at or absence from church of the children.”
There is a great deal of consternation and, I might add, confusion over the nature and impact of postmodernism. Many Christians immediately assume that all things postmodern are the source of pernicious moral relativism and that postmodernism is sure to destroy all truth. However, might postmodernism serve as an ally to Christian faith?
A friend of mine was recently summoned to the human resources department at his place of employment and informed that he was being laid off due to budgetary constraints. This was both unexpected and in no way reflective of his three years of service. He had been, by all accounts, a good employee. Shocked and disappointed, he returned to his office, where a security guard was waiting to retrieve his keys, ID card, and so forth. His office phone was blocked, e-mail shut off, and he was immediately escorted from the premises. Sounds like standard operating procedure among large companies, right? Except my friend wasn’t working for a large company—he was working for a church! In fact, he worked in the facilities department of a very large church.
His account of how this process was handled deeply troubled me. For one, what kind of church has a human resources department?
Each year, high school baseball players across the country who are homeschooled compete for a few coveted spots in the Homeschool World Series. Our son’s team made it all the way to the national championship game last year—his senior year—in Pensacola, Florida. It was a special end to a wonderful season in our life as a family. With the incredible growth of homeschooling, commensurate athletic programs have followed, providing homeschooled students an even richer educational experience. This is no “powder puff” program. The Homeschool World Series, which began in 2000, boasts an impressive alumni. Many former players have gone on to play at the collegiate level and some have even gone on to play in the Majors. However, there is one young man in particular, who stands above them all: Ryan Adam Miller from Pearland, Texas, a suburb of Houston.
May 21, 2010
by GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Carolyn McCulley
It's the oldest dialogue known to families: "But, Mom, everybody's doing it! Why can't I?" To which parents routinely reply with a variation of the common-sense retort: "Well, we're not everybody. And if everybody were jumping off a bridge, do you think I'd let you do it just because they were?!" Lemming behavior patterns call for wise guidance. A recent study of the social and sexual behavior of college students called this thinking "pluralistic ignorance."
In my last commentary I stirred controversy by suggesting that we were losing our sense of duty and that this was reflected in a growing disdain for or indifference to self-sacrificial service, especially related to military service. Well, I want to continue to stir this pot, not because it gives me pleasure but because we’re beginning to scratch the surface of a significant problem that is adversely affecting our culture and, by extension, the church.
Today, we live in a culture in which men (in particular) are no longer encouraged to “do their duty,” to serve something greater than themselves and certainly never at risk to themselves. So many today are so self-indulgent that to serve one’s country through military service is thought to be foolish—a task due only to the poor and uneducated among us, those poor souls who either can’t afford or lack the academic merits to go to college. This kind of elitism is alive and well in this country, especially among the more liberal who are all too happy to have someone else’s son or daughter defend their freedom. My wife and I have encountered it frequently, however I was shocked to encounter it from other Christians!
In the late 1990s, while working as the president and CEO of a large company in Dallas, the Lord began to redirect the focus of my life into what would become this ministry that today consumes my being. I distinctly recall being so burdened by the state of the church and its growing irrelevance in American life and culture that I would find myself awakened in the middle of the night weeping! I must admit that I was perplexed, pleading, “Lord, what is happening to me?”
In my last commentary I wrote about the tragic death of Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old Massachusetts girl who hanged herself after months of relentless and cruel bullying. In that article, I addressed the mass indifference to Phoebe’s persecution, in which no one appeared willing to come to her defense or stand in opposition to her tormentors. I referred to this as the “cowardice of noncompassion.” Recently, I have encountered another kind of cowardice of noncompassion within the church, which hinders the church’s mission and undermines our witness in the world.
God judged Israel on how they treated the poor and defenseless. Dick Keyes, the director of L’Abri Fellowship International and author of True Heroism, goes even farther by saying the way a nation treats the defenseless “is God’s barometer of the moral quality of a society." There are two issues at stake in the rise of bullying that reveal the “moral quality” of the forthcoming society: the brutality of those doing the bullying and the “cowardice of noncompassion” by those who stood by and did nothing to help the victim.
Last week I wrote how Israel’s neglect of the poor was a central offense against God that led to their Babylonian exile and that we, too, have neglected those in need in our own times. This neglect, I argued, has led to increased government intervention. However, we need to go further by asking, “Who are the poor among us?” While the Israelites were guilty of neglecting the materially poor—and we no doubt have done this as well—Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett make an important contribution that serves to expand our conceptions of poverty in their book When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself.
With the passage of health care reform, we have initiated the largest expansion of government in the history of this nation. While the full implications of this law are not yet fully realized, we can be certain that America has crossed a critical boundary that promises to fundamentally change this nation forever—and not necessarily in a good way. At the moment, it may be easy to blame this condition entirely on the current political administration. However, as Christians we are compelled to examine ourselves individually and corporately. Asking, “Have we done anything (either by commission or omission) that might have contributed to the preconditions that led to such radical social and political change?”
To understand the role of business in advancing the kingdom, we need to think about the biblical definition and purpose of work. Some may see work in only negative terms—as part of the curse, with no redeeming value. This is completely unbiblical. Many Christians, however, view work as only an instrumental good. Practically, this means that work—while not necessarily being bad—is seen as serving as an instrument or means to other goods, such as providing for your family, contributing to missions and the church, or charities, and so on. As an instrumental good, the work itself is viewed as merely a means to an end and not an end in and of itself. However, the Bible teaches that work is a fundamental good—a part of our fundamental purpose on earth.
When the church, according to Jesus, is living in visible relationship with each other, it is then that the world will know that God the Father has sent the Son. Is this not the desire of every faithful, gospel-centered Christian? This why I recommend an important new book, Your Church is Too Small by Dr. John H. Armstrong. In doing so, I join with Dr. Packer in saying, “I hope this book will not be ignored but will have the influence it deserves. Aspects of North America’s future—aspects, indeed, of the honor and glory of Christ in this century—may well depend on whether or not it does.” Click on the link above to learn more...
My family and I recently saw The Blind Side, the surprise blockbuster movie that tells the remarkable story of Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher. Michael’s story is a true-life tale of nearly hopeless beginnings, the generous love of neighbor, and redemption; it is a powerful representation of the gospel of the kingdom.
Mark Penn, author of Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes (Hachette Book, 2007), is widely regarded as one of the most perceptive pollsters in American politics. It was Penn who identified “soccer moms” as a crucial constituency in President Clinton’s 1996 reelection campaign. The unique feature of Penn’s approach is that he looks for and has been able to identify, with some success, small patterns of behavior that wield great influence in our culture. According to Penn, “Microtrends is based on the idea that the most powerful forces in our society are the emerging, counterintuitive trends that are shaping tomorrow right before us … In fact, the whole idea that there are a few huge trends that determine how America and the world work is breaking down.” The power of individual choice is increasingly influencing politics, religion, entertainment, and even war.” In summary, Penn writes, “In today’s mass societies, it only takes one percent of the people making a dedicated choice—contrary to the mainstream’s choice—to create a movement that can change the world.”
Today, being a Christian businessman is almost always reduced to nothing more than personal piety and evangelism in the workplace: “Be good and try to convert your coworkers.” Others may feel that giving a portion of their profits to missions fulfills their business’s missional purpose. While these activities are indeed good, this worldview of business remains inadequate in advancing the all-encompassing redemptive mission of Christ, that is, the kingdom.
After more than eight years of writing, teaching, and speaking on the subject of Christian worldview from an academic level, I now feel it is time to roll up my sleeves and personally begin to help others apply these principles so they can both experience personal transformation and become transforming agents themselves. Thus I am launching a new initiative called KINGDOM PROJECT™, a discipleship/training program to help Christian business/institutional leaders discover how their vocational gifts and their enterprises can tangibly advance the kingdom of God.
A poll by the Pew Research Center reveals that “eighty-one
percent of 18- to 25-year-olds…said getting rich is their generation’s most
important life goal.” The second most important, according to the survey: being
famous.” Described as the “millennial” generation, 51 percent listed being
famous as the second most important life goal! A Gallup Panel survey of 18- to 29-year-olds found that 55
percent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “You dream about getting
rich.” Anecdotally, one only has
to watch the latest season of the hit series American Idol, which began last week, to realize that many in this
generation are obsessed with fame and fortune to the point of radical
self-delusion. I’m not criticizing the
show; I actually like it. I delight in seeing those who actually do have talent
realize their dreams. However...
The holidays have ended and it is time to once again leave behind the fun and fellowship so unique to this wonderful time of year. I confess that for me this is hard, especially this year when our oldest is away from home serving in the Marine Corps. However, as much as I may want to remain within this psychological and spiritual refuge I cannot nor can any of us. While the temptation may be to remain in permanent retreat or seclude ourselves from the world, we simply cannot if we love Christ. It is into this fallen world with its warring forces that we must return as soldiers in the Lord’s army.
The Christmas season is once again upon us and with it, overwhelming encouragement from Madison Avenue to spend what we have not earned to buy what we cannot afford. The day after Thanksgiving, known as “Black Friday,” indicating the period in which retailers are in the black (or at least hope to be) signaled the start of the “holiday shopping season.” That phrase in and of itself reveals the commercialized emphasis that has unfortunately come to define Christmas for many Americans.
In Corpus Christi, Texas, where my parents live and worship, the Christian community was rocked two years ago by the shocking conviction of Hannah Overton. In an outrageous series of events, this gentle thirty-year-old Christ-follower, wife, and homeschooling mother of five was sentenced to life without parole in the death of Andrew Burd, the four-year-old child that she and her husband were adopting from the foster-care system. By every account, the justice system not only failed but also may have actually crossed the line into willful misconduct, resulting in an unimaginable nightmare for the Overtons.
As we, once again, approach this national day of “thanksgiving” I thought it necessary to reflect upon our nation’s long history of acknowledging and giving thanks to Almighty God. On October 3, 1789 George Washington issued the nation’s first presidential proclamation in which he called the nation to set aside a day for giving thanks to that “great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be….”
There are many factors that contribute to the demise of marriages within the church, but there is one in particular whose virulence and force is made worse by our isolation and indifference to community: pornography! This sin grows in its influence and effect through secrecy and there is perhaps no greater secret sin in the church than the habitual consumption of pornography.
It is not enough to respond to the marriage crisis within the church by saying, “My marriage is fine!” If we abide together in Christ, then we together must prepare and care for marriage generally, and intervene specifically when any marriage is endangered.
It has become all too easy for Christians to fall into a state of pessimism—even despair—over the state of our culture today. This is understandable in light of the last fifty years. So, is there reason to hope that anything will change? Can the tide of immorality, paganism, and general debauchery that threatens to swamp us even be arrested, much less reversed? I believe history offers numerous examples where God, in his providence, has done so, in particular...
Despite the ample and never-ending evidence that fame, fortune, and beauty fail to bring lasting peace and satisfaction—in fact, often quite the contrary—Americans are more celebrity-obsessed than ever. We should be deeply concerned for a society that has elevated mere celebrity to hero status and for a church that has been flaccid in both asserting the true virtues of heroism and often embracing the same superficial valuation.
In my last commentary, I argued that the prevailing lack of distinction between Christian and non-Christian marriage serves as a barometer indicating a serious lack of spiritual depth and theological understanding within the American church. Reaction to this article overwhelmingly confirmed this suspicion.
The issue of marriage within the church—namely the noticeable lack of distinction between Christian and non-Christian marriage, given our equal propensity to divorce—is not about the preservation of a tradition or institution. The reality of marriage and our apparent lack of respect for that which “God has joined together” ultimately reveals a gaping chasm between biblical Christianity and cultural Christianity that must be closed if the church wants to be faithful to its mission.
Years ago, a family therapist was asked, “What are the top three causes of divorce?” to which he replied, “Selfishness, selfishness, selfishness!” Of course this is an oversimplification of the varied and many contributing factors to divorce but there is an element of truth in this statement that permeates each.
There is much consternation over the state of marriage today. The institution itself has suffered serious social diminution—so much so that same-sex marriage appears inevitable. But the blame for this lies less with the culture at large than with the church in America. How so, you ask?
This past week, I awoke one evening and in almost Wilberforce fashion, the Lord seemed to set before me this “one great object”: the abolition of no-fault divorce. Weird! The fact is, this legal practice has wrought untold human suffering and injustice since its establishment in 1969. It is an evil that exists in active opposition to the principles of God’s kingdom.
In conclusion of my series, Reevangelizing the Church, I now turn to the third and final aspect: proclamation of the gospel. How and what do we tell others about Jesus and this kingdom that has come into the world? The modern approach to this question seems to have gravitated, almost exclusively, toward highly simplistic and formulaic expressions of the gospel story. What I mean is that we have tried to condense the gospel to the most basic “facts” about Jesus, formulate simplistic mediums or tools for the conveyance of these facts, and then send folks out among strangers in an organized and frequently impersonal fashion.
In response to my article regarding my son's departure for the Marine Corps, I heard from service members who were grateful for my article because they had long struggled with whether or not their military service was compatible with serving the kingdom of Christ. In response, I feel cannot let this pass without trying to assuage those concerns and encourage those men and women who serve in our armed forces as well police officers, firefighters and all first responders who confront and sometimes must employ violence in the service of humanity.
The day I have long dreaded has finally arrived. My oldest and only son, Tyler, left for the Marine Corps this morning. For the next thirteen weeks, he will be going through basic training (boot camp) in San Diego. We will not be able to communicate with or see him until his graduation in November and then only for a few days until he ships out again. This will be a challenge for his mother, two sisters, and me, as he has always been an enormous personality and presence in our home.
Now I want to address the second way in which the church bears witness to the gospel: service to the world and loving those outside the church. No longer being our own, the church surrenders itself as a redemptive instrument in the hands of God to bring forth the fruits of the kingdom—justice, righteousness, and peace.
In an effort to answer the demand for practical steps by which the church can demonstrate its essential witness-bearing love for one another, there is perhaps no greater opportunity emerging than that of caring for the aging saints.
I now want to take up Paul’s charge that “love believes all things.” Once again, Paul is speaking about our relationships within the body of Christ. Paul is not calling for a foolish gullibility. However, being guarded against the possibility of being taken advantage of is not correct either. If love believes all things and love is our motivation, then suspicion has no place. If one has a need and we are able to meet that need, we do so without any expectation (see Matthew 5:41). You may be taken advantage of; you may suffer a loss. You may even look foolish to the world for doing so. So what? We serve one another without qualification in obedience to Christ.
This is the title of a compelling book by Rick McKinley—but it also describes the church quite well. It is here that we see the “beautiful mess,” albeit more mess than beauty today. The beauty emerges as a people once teetering on the edge of destruction are brought by grace into a new life together in Christ. As we have established, this life together—in essence our love for one another—is essential to the witness of the church and the proclamation of the gospel. Practically speaking, though, what does this love look like?
Apparently some might have perceived that I was suggesting Christians abandon personal evangelism in last week’s article. Certainly not! Let me also say I am not offering absolutes here. I am, like Christians have throughout the ages, seeking to understand and best express the mission of the church in light of our changing cultural and social reality.
Sadly, over the course of the last century, we have reduced the gospel to simplistic formulas and programmatic appeals—appeals that are designed to produce “decisions,” whereas the gospel of the kingdom is conveyed in various and more demonstrative ways, reflecting the different gifts and diversity of the body. We do not all have the same function or ministry in the kingdom...
Now that we are standing at the “crossroads” (having returned to the point of our departure from the truth), we can now look to the ancient paths: the Scriptures. In doing so, we can find the right path and recover the broader meaning of the “good news” or gospel.
If, in fact, we have departed from the truth, then going back to the point of departure is the only reasonable course. As C. S. Lewis so aptly said, “If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road” (Mere Christianity). This is, in my mind, a twofold process: 1) determine where we departed from the “right road” and 2) once there, search the Scriptures (the ancient paths) for guidance in locating the right road forward.
The apocalyptic George Orwell once wrote, “Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious.” While not presuming myself to be one of those intelligent men, I do think there is a need to restate the obvious when it comes to renewing the church. And nothing is more obvious than the fact that we no longer understand the gospel!
The goal of learning, wrote the great Christian poet Milton, “is to repair the ruins of our first parents.” I challenge you to make this your goal as you pursue higher education. Use this time to gain wisdom, to better understand the culture in which you live, and form a consciously Christian understanding of life and reality so that you may serve God’s redemptive purposes in the world.
In our ongoing analysis of The Coming Evangelical Collapse we must inevitably examine what I call the “new ecclesiology” or doctrine of the church. I say new because there has been a shift in how we understand and define the church, so much so that the institution itself is being redesigned and much of its life reoriented.
Over the last century the church in America has suffered serious generational drift and decay. In every subsequent generation over the last century, the faith has become more fragmented, watered-down, superficial, and irrelevant. We have drifted from a vibrant faith rooted in the historic confessions, coherent theological convictions, and intelligent cultural engagement to a privatized faith that is indifferent to the past, theologically ignorant, and culturally irrelevant.
This was the title of a recent article by popular blogger Michael Spencer (aka Internet Monk) published in the Christian Science Monitor. The article received widespread media coverage, resulting in a potential book deal and hundreds of speaking invitations for the author. Within hours of its online posting, I received dozens of e-mails generally asking, “Have you seen this?” In the weeks following, there were countless references to this article on radio and in print. I have rarely seen such a swift and sweeping reaction, which begs the question, What was it about this fatalistic statement that generated so much reaction?
In John 1:35–50 Jesus interacts with Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathaniel in calling each of them to follow him. This passage is full of importance for the modern apologist/evangelist. Each of these four men is at a very different place. The approach Jesus uses with each man, as he calls him to come into a community where they will begin following and trusting him as the Messiah, is quite unique in each case.
I have argued that the cultural context in which we do apologetics and evangelism has radically changed and will likely continue to change even more with each passing year. The regnant position of modernism has been eclipsed by a new social and cultural reality, a reality that we call postmodernism or hyper-modernism. Along with this cultural change the role of the church within the culture is changing every year. The goal is to always be the same: to make obedient disciples of Christ who are true worshipers. The evidence for the change I am writing about is overwhelming. But many are still unaware, blissfully or otherwise.
When it comes to the study and practice of apologetics the same tension exists, as we can see with liturgy (as I explained in last week's article). People have the tendency to believe that the way their questions were answered, before or after they came to Christian faith, is precisely the way others should have their questions answered. But the times and the questions change.
Without an unchanging Christ you will not have a biblical, confessional faithful and robust Christianity. The gospel of Jesus Christ is one, full-orbed, unchanging message of grace. But people's questions are always changing, from age-to-age. They even change from generation-to-generation. This is a basic fact that the apostle Paul captured in a well-known description of how he used his freedom in Christ in service of the mission of God.
This postmodern turn has not directly affected large numbers of Americans, at least not yet. One has to wonder if it ever will, at least in the most radical sense. But what has impacted large numbers of Americans, and very few realize it, is this idea of perspectives and viewpoints. You have your perspective and I have mine. I suggest that millions of Americans, and they are not all under 35 years of age, think this way already. Everything is understood as a perspective about thinking and making decisions.
Modernity gave rise to incredible confidence, following the rise of the scientific method as it did. If we think hard enough, study deeply enough, and apply all that we know to solutions we can grasp the nature of things more clearly. Our entire way of living and teaching was based on this modern social ideal-we can draw accurate conclusions if we are given the right facts.
Christianity seems to be at a major crossroads, at least in the West, where the church is experiencing a major decline. The church no longer has a prominent role in the culture. More importantly it seems to have no grip on most of the people in the pew either. (A recent poll showed that only 9% of those in the pew had a Christian "worldview.") We are, if the truth be known, confused by almost everything that is remotely related to Christian faith and practice in the modern world.
John Stackhouse (Humble Apologetics) has convinced me that "we are to
become better versions of ourselves, not to resemble some ideal type of
'apologist'" (xvii). This is liberating and it is also truly missional.
David Kinnaman, in the widely cited book UnChristian (Grand Rapids:
Baker, 2007), discovered by means of significant research that
non-Christians increasingly see us as hypocrites, judgmental,
anti-homosexual, sheltered, overly political, and too focused on
getting people "born again." Simply put, his research reveals what I
have discovered time and time again by talking to non-Christians,
especially non-Christians under the age of 35. The attitude most
unbelievers have toward us is very, very negative.
The Postmodern Context and Apologetics: Christians have engaged in various types of apologetics down through the ages. The reason for this is rather simple-the questions that each age poses to the faith have required us to provide "a reason for the hope that we have within us." Doing apologetics is actually as basic as being obedient to Christ. If we love God with all our "heart, mind, soul and strength" we can never afford the luxury of avoiding the questions and issues of our own time. The church must engage in mission and mission requires us to know and understand our own age.
As I argue in Uncompromised Faith, the study of historic Christian apologetics is essential for any person who professes to be a follower of Christ. Without venturing into the debate over classical, presuppositional, and evidential apologetics, let me just say that I believe that elements of each are helpful and not necessarily mutually exclusive. However, in light of our postmodern condition, I want to emphasize the need for a new kind of apologetic: a "cultural" apologetic.
In the wake of our current financial crisis, the most popular scapegoat is quickly becoming the wealthy in America, inspiring class warfare reminiscent of Marxist socialism. The neo-Marxist philosophy that is emerging in the wake of our present economic crisis threatens to displace the best economic system for human flourishing—free market capitalism.
As you have probably heard, the Grapevine Faith football story continues to gain national attention and Kris Hogan, head coach of the Faith Lions, even received an invite to the Super Bowl from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. More importantly, the actions of the Grapevine Faith fans and players continue to reap kingdom rewards far beyond what anyone could have ever imagined. This is the transforming power of the gospel, properly expressed! This story challenges everything we—modern Christians—have come to accept about evangelism and the mission of the church in the world.
I can hardly believe it—Uncompromised Faith is finally and officially published! In a process that began more than two years ago, it is frankly overwhelming to finally hold this book in my hand. I know that authors are supposed act like this is no big deal; after all, it’s what authors do: we write. But for me it is a big deal because this is my first book and more importantly it serves as a powerful reminder of God’s abundant grace and mercy—that He might condescend to use me. It is humbling…
Today, when we speak of recovering the missional purpose and nature of the church, we naturally draw upon the Bible’s account of the first-century church. However, recovering the church’s missiological purpose should not be understood as an attempt to replicate first-century Christianity in our time. Our times are dramatically different, especially given Christianity’s unrivaled influence over the last two thousand years. Thus our cultural context in no way compares to that of the Roman Empire. Our challenge, then, is to appropriate the mission of the church (which never changes) to our current cultural context. This is not an adaptation of the gospel message in order to be relevant but rather an adaptation of how we express the gospel relevant to the culture we are trying to reach.
I can think of no more radical example of this than that which took place this past fall on a Friday night in Texas...
The fundamental distinction of the missional church is one that begins with a particular Christian community that is focused on and lives for God’s purpose in the world. On this point, some may say, “Of course, aren’t all churches focused on God’s purpose in the world?” Not necessarily.
Recently, a reporter from a Christian journal—writing on the topic of
the missional church—asked me “What
is your definition of the word missional?”
This seems to me a very important question, especially if, as some scholars
suggest, a proper recovery of this concept may hold the solution to the crisis
within the North American church. It’s so important that its answer may provide
the foundation for the reformation of the church in America—namely who we are
and the purpose for which we exist.
More than two millennia ago, the prophet Jeremiah warned the
Israelites that the prophets and priests were falsely proclaiming that “all is
well” saying, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). We, very much like the Israelites have also been
lulled into believing that all is well within the church.
I
received many responses to last week’s article, Marriage
Survives! Can it Endure?Some
revealed the very problem I was addressing: the next generation, including many
Christians, are either confused or
compromised on the issue of homosexuality and, by implication, biblical
authority.
The following dialogue with a young Christian reveals a great deal about what this generation knows about Scripture and the diminishing authority of Scripture in their lives. This dialogue, I hope, models an effective way of engaging younger Evangelicals on this and other "hot-button" issues.
In a momentous turn of events, Proposition 8 (California's Marriage Amendment) passed! Similar measures passed overwhelmingly in Florida and Arizona, bringing to 30 the total number of states that have amended their constitutions in order to protect marriage from special interest revisions. However, these political victories will be temporary if we do not strengthen the cultural understanding of and commitment to marriage. There is a distinct difference between politics and culture, .... Politics always follows and reflects culture—it does not create culture. So how do we create a culture that exalts marriage?
John Adams warned more than two hundred years ago, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with
human passions unbridled by morality and religion. … Our constitution was made
only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” (Emphasis mine.) In
other words, it is moral knowledge informed by religion that best serves to
restrain destructive human passions and enlighten the electorate, thus
rendering them better equipped for governing themselves. Given the recent
decline of this moral knowledge, the
question must be asked: Have we grown
unfit for democracy?
As I discussed last week, the first step toward freedom from consumer debt and financial profligacy is a transfer of trust in financial security (a fallacy) to trust in the Sovereign God. Once freed from dependence upon temporal things, we together—the Body of Christ—can seek first the kingdom (Matt. 6:33) rather than remain isolated in the illusory construction of our own individual enterprises that can crumble in an instant. Might the looming financial downturn (to be optimistic) or economic meltdown (to be extreme), offer the church a unique opportunity to bear witness to a watching world?
It is an ironic fact
that this phrase appears on our currency when so often it is money (or
financial security) and not God that
we trust in first. In these uncertain economic times, the tendency of our frail
flesh is to be fearful. However, if the church is to be a faithful witness in
such times this, fear must be replaced by confident faith in the sovereign God
who causes all things to work together for good. It was only by God’s merciful grace and
providence that I was delivered from this very same fear and dependence upon
the things of this world and it is this story that I wish to share.
In the wake of an unprecedented $700 billion bailout plan
passed by Congress, many are asking, “How did this happen?” While there is
plenty of blame to go around—much of which rests with reckless politicians and
avaricious profiteers—many of us still don’t fully comprehend exactly what has happened. All most of us know
is that the stock markets are all over the place and there is real potential
for a widening financial crisis. I
don’t claim to be a financial expert or economist; however, economics are not
so much the source of this debacle as
is a fundamental shift in values, namely, away from the historic Christian
virtue of thrift.
Last week I demonstrated how secular humanism as a worldview
fails because it doesn’t deal with reality. This manifested failure has ushered
in the postmodern era, in which Westerners, having lost confidence in the
secular story of the world, are floundering. Cynicism and relativism have
followed (and often hopelessness), resulting in a careless approach to life’s
great questions. Unfortunately,
in the wake of this void comes Islam, which secularism can neither persuade nor
resist. The predominant representation of the (reductionist) gospel we now see
in the West is, I would argue, similarly ineffective. Through neglect, cultural
accommodation, and historical indifference, the Christian faith in the West has
been largely reduced to a few doctrines of self-interest.
In last week’s article, I
pointed out how Great Britain, through incremental concessions to Muslim
demands, is sowing the seeds of its own subjugation. As to the cause of this
civilizational suicide, Europe rendered itself impotent long ago when it traded
its Christian philosophical foundations for that of secularism.
While Britons may think of
America as its juvenile and impetuous offspring, Great Britain has surely
become our senile grandmother. Through repeated acts of self-condemnation and
political correctness, the British are systematically capitulating to all
things Islamic. In essence, our British forbearers are committing cultural
suicide. In
what may appear to be deferential considerations to their growing Muslim
population, British authorities are slowly conforming to the demands of an
increasingly outspoken and violent minority.
Another school year has begun and an estimated 15
million young men and women will be pursuing studies at the college and
university levels. However, this may not be as beneficial as we have
historically believed higher education to be.
Rarely do I feature a guest commentary, however John Jalsevac’s review of the extraordinary documentary film, Miss HIV is so important that I thought I would be doing my readers a great service in sharing his insights. I have tried to edit Mr. Jalsevac’s piece for brevity’s sake without reducing its substance.
Michael Kimmel, a sociologist at the State University of New York at
Stony Brook, recently released the results of his groundbreaking study in a
book entitled Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men. Kimmel interviewed nearly
400 young men between 16 and 26 years of age, and over the course of 352 pages, he reveals a
disturbing trend among the future of American manhood. Guyland seeks to answer the contemporary questions, “Why do so many guys
seem stuck between adolescence and adulthood? Why do so many of them fail to
launch? Just what is going on with America’s young men?”
Responding to the conclusion of my series In Defense of Marriage, there were some
who expressed concern that I was advocating capitulation or withdrawal from the
culture, which, of course, I am not. I appreciated the thoughtfulness with
which many of you responded and the gracious manner in which you expressed your
disagreements. This is healthy and—let’s be honest—we’re not dealing with
essential doctrines of the Christian faith, so there should be room for
disagreement, debate, and discussion. That is precisely what I hope to
encourage. Otherwise, we can remain blindly entrenched in old patterns of
thinking and conduct that render the church and its message irrelevant as the
culture around us changes. The faithful Christian will always wrestle with the
execution of his calling in a changing cultural context (see 1 Cor. 9:22).
When I began this series, I said the battle to define marriage is not over—and I’m still
convinced that is true. However, the issue in America has clearly passed the
eleventh hour and I fear the clock has already begun to toll. The outcome of California’s
Proposition 8 this November, which seeks to amend the state constitution
in order to establish that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or
recognized in California”—thus reversing the state Supreme Court’s recognition of same-sex
marriage in May—will figure prominently in the future of marriage in America.
If the measure is defeated (and barring any intervention by God), I predict it
will be nearly impossible to halt the homosexual movement and with it the
radical redefinition of sexual morality.
This
raises the important question of “What then?”
Unable to rely on the democratic process to advance their agenda, gay-rights advocates have instead employed activist judges, propaganda campaigns, indoctrination of youth, and intimidation tactics to impose their moral vision. It is Christianity (and religion, in general) that stands in the way of this social transformation. Therefore, it is only natural that as SSM gains traction, there will follow a suppression of religion and persecution of the religious.
All right, you say, so cohabitation is a poor
substitute for marriage and may even undermine those marriages preceded by
cohabitation. But how does allowing persons of the same sex to marry harm the
institution of marriage? As advocates of same-sex marriage (SSM) are quick to
point out, “the sky hasn’t fallen” since SSM became legal in Massachusetts in
2004, apparently convinced that four short years is adequate to produce the
predictable and deleterious public consequence of redefining marriage. Remember,
however, that Unwin’s research demonstrated that the effects of such
modification would occur over generations and not be immediate. Nonetheless, there
is some empirical evidence already emerging that indicates the acceptance SSM
will, in fact, harm the institution of marriage and, subsequently, society.
Any deviation from this proper relationship for sex (i.e., marriage), as well as its proper biological design (i.e., homosexual), is a perversion of human sexuality; history demonstrates that such deviations will inevitably undo those societal goods associated with marriage and the natural family. So what are these “goods” that derive from marriage?
In this part of our series we will examine
the historical findings relative to those cultures that once held to a strong
sexual ethic—in which monogamy is strictly reinforced through marriage—but
later compromised that ethic, as we are now doing. According to Unwin’s
thorough survey of history, any and every culture that embraces a philosophy of
sexual freedom for a period of at least three generations will inevitably
experience cultural decline. There is not one single example in all of human
history where this cultural pattern appears and there does not follow cultural
demise consistent with Unwin’s conclusions.
As discussed in Part I, where marriage is strictly defined and reinforced, monogamy rules. This assertion led many proponents of same-sex
marriage to argue that since monogamy is—according to the research—central to
the health and prosperity of a given society, we should offer “marriage” to
same-sex couples for the purpose of promoting monogamy among gays. So it seems
I must address this charge before continuing in our defense of marriage.
In the wake of the
California Supreme Court’s audacious decision to legitimize marriage between
people of the same sex, media outlets have been dominated by discussions on the
topic. Frustrated by the lack of any cogent arguments defending the
Judeo-Christian conception of marriage, a friend challenged me to pen a more
thorough apologetic so that the church might be better equipped to offer an
articulate and rational defense of this essential institution. Over the course of the next four to six weeks,
that is precisely what I will attempt to do. The battle to define marriage is
not over; the church must be able to speak in more convincing terms than simply
“because the Bible says …”
I am amazed at the level of pessimism among so
many Christians that I encounter. I think this may also be a product of too
much reliance on politics. This is, after all, the pressing concern of the
population whose frustrations center mostly on the failed expectations of their
political leaders and government: the economy, the war, fuel prices, and so on.
Add to that concerns over the moral direction of the nation, and the church
often appears indifferent or defeated.
There is a cure for this pessimism...
In this heightened political season, there are many, including some
Christians, who believe the fate of the nation rises and falls on the outcome
of November’s presidential election. That is not to say that politics and
elections are inconsequential—the nation prospers from good leaders and suffers
from the inept—but are government and political leaders really the hope or ruin
of a nation?
It was into the sexually immoral environment of the first century Roman world that Christians would
bring forth a radically different sexual ethic.
The concern for the Christian today is that unlike our early brothers and sisters, the church all too often appears similar to the
surrounding culture. This is especially true among the forthcoming generation.
Knowing this, what hope does the church have of restoring the dignity of
marriage?
We must reclaim the subject of sex by giving our young people a
comprehensive theology of sex...
The famous historian, Arnold J. Toynbee observed that civilizations arose in response to some set of
challenges of extreme difficulty prompting “creative minorities” to devise
solutions that would reorient the entire society. When a civilization responds
to challenges, it grows. Conversely civilizations declined when their leaders
stopped responding creatively or with wisdom. Toynbee points out that in the wake of an inadequate response, the civilizations
in question then sank owing to either nationalism, militarism or the tyranny of
a despotic minority.
It seems we, as a nation, have sunk to the level in which a “despotic
minority” is in the process of reorienting our entire society, that minority being
those who advocate a natural and now constitutional right to homosexual
behavior. Recent decisions in California and New York demonstrate that the line
in defense of traditional marriage continues to erode.
Adolf Hitler once said, “It is the luck of
rulers when men do not think.” The writer of Proverbs underscores this truth by
saying, “Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words
are perverse.” (2:12) This begs the question; what role does the intellect and
scholarship have in our faith? What role does a consciously Christian education
play in seeking first, the kingdom?
The thing which most offended critics and
reviewers of Ben Stein’s film, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, was his attempt to link Darwinism to the Holocaust. It is here, in the area of moral philosophy,
that the Darwinian paradox is revealed. On the one
hand, modern Darwinians posit that the universe is the result of impersonal,
amoral, natural forces while on the other denying this undermines objective
moral standards. However, the Nazi’s understood what modern Darwinians do
not; if you reject the Creator you cannot hope to live within the safety of the
Creator’s rules. It is either God’s loving law or the law of the jungle.
Two years ago I wrote that we may be seeing the
first signs of what could be a new cultural renaissance in Italy.
Recent events in Italy seem to indicate that this "renaissance," if you will, has not only continued but may be gathering momentum. Could this indicate the revival of Christian influence in Europe?
I think many in the American church know God in the same way they know
the President—they know some facts about him, where he lives, what he does,
etc.—but they do not have a relationship with him. This could be described as a
cultural theology but a biblical theology is more akin to the relationship
between a child and a good parent. The child in this sense has a much more
intimate knowledge that, through time and maturation, reveals the loving nature
of the parent. Experience only confirms this knowledge and this produces trust,
which in turn fosters obedience. Failure to develop a coherent and systematic theology affects our
ability to live as faithful followers of Christ.
For more than five decades, self-proclaimed experts and so-called sexual
reformers have worked to advance the belief that
there are no public consequences to private sexual behavior. And Americans, for
the most part, have bought into this notion, proving what Lenin said, “A lie
told often enough becomes the truth!”
However, first-ever research reveals the fallacy of this notion and quantifies the high cost of immorality in America to be more than $112 billion each year!
If Christians living within a distinct community is an
essential witness to the mission of God, and because so many of us seem
unwilling to surrender the independent self, and since our present
understanding and expression of this community falls painfully short; what can
we do to remedy this situation? What hinders this community is NOT a weakness of the institutional
church and its leadership but rather the radical individualism of its members.
This is not simply a matter of concern over sporadic church attendance or mediocre
participation in the church potluck dinner; this is a central underlying
principle, which nullifies the witness of God’s people and opposes the
redemptive mission of God!
So,
I am asking you: What practical steps can churches and individuals take to
foster and promote a healthy, distinctively biblical, and witness-bearing
community? Contribute your ideas at the end of this article.
As
Americans, we enter the church with nearly overpowering individualistic
inclinations.
As a result, we
are failing to fulfill an essential part of God’s mission because we fail to
demonstrate the reign of God within the authenticating community of faith that is distinct from the world. If we don’t
get this right, our service will remain
indistinguishable from any other and our proclamation
of the risen Christ will appear shallow and without basis.
As I wrote in the first part of this series, the church of Jesus Christ is not the purpose or goal
of the gospel, but rather its instrument and witness.” This brings us to
our second question: What exactly is
the church’s mission?In order to answer this adequately, we must first accurately
define the gospel or “good news.” I say “accurately” because I think many
Christians, particularly in our highly individualized culture, have come to view
the gospel as simply the personal plan of salvation. The modern emphasis tends
toward “fixing the sin problem” in terms that are entirely personal. However, the
Scriptures speak in a more comprehensive way that goes beyond the private
version of the gospel that we know in the West.
In the age of Christendom, the church occupied a central and influential
place in society and the Western world considered itself both formally and
officially Christian. So when we speak of post-Christendom, we are making the
point that the church no longer occupies this central place of social and
cultural hegemony and Western civilization no longer considers itself to be formally
or officially Christian.
This clearly represents an historic change in the cultural context into
which the Western, and specifically American, church is now attempting to carry
out its mission. This raises two fundamental questions: What does this new cultural
context mean for the church and its mission? And, what exactly is the church’s mission?
There is much talk today about the “culture of death” and certainly
there are powerful forces emanating from competing worldviews that predictably
foster such conditions. These worldviews have driven us as a culture to
legitimize abortion, consider euthanasia, and proceed to cross a whole host of
bio-ethical issues as technology advances. However, these worldviews, in which
the value of life and human dignity are diminished, inevitably encounter a most
formidable obstacle: natural revelation.
As orthodox Christianity continues to ebb in the Western
world there follows a spiritual vacuum and as it has been observed, nature
abhors a vacuum. At present this spiritual void appears to have found its
latest alternative to Jesus Christ in the convoluted and ambiguous world of New
Age religion.While
this may conjure up images of incense, crystals, and
Shirley MacLaine—or associations with flower haired hippies—this “new”
spiritual movement, which is anything but new, has acquired a most powerful and
influential advocate: Oprah Winfrey.
Do
good works and loving our neighbor necessarily have to include a direct gospel
proclamation to be worthy, or is it enough to love our neighbor as ourselves
and trust the Lord to assign our part in His redemptive work?
By not getting this right, we may inadvertently be creating obstacles to the missio dei.
This appears to be a growing sentiment among many younger Christians in
America today. They love Jesus but they want little to do with His Church. It’s
not that they don’t like the their local church or even other Christians—it’s
that they don’t like how Christianity in America is frequently represented by many
professing Evangelicals, which in their minds is often unloving, judgmental,
arrogant, and hypocritical.
What concerns me most is that this reaction among young evangelicals is
fraught with peril as are all reactive movements.
I have come to face this possibility along with its implications, most
recently while reading the new book by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons entitled unChristian: What a New Generation Really
Thinks About Christianity … and Why it Matters. In the book, Jud Wilhite, a
pastor in Las Vegas says just that, “In Las Vegas, where I live, the culture
war is over. We lost. Let me repeat: WE LOST. Now our calling is to love and
accept people one-on-one, caring for them where they are. Our role is
subversive as we carry the light and love of Jesus into the casinos, clubs, and
streets of our city.”
This Muslim response to last week's commentary, Christianity & Islam: Two Worldviews and Why They Matter reveals a number of increasingly popular myths that have
resulted from a deliberate process by modern Muslims to “Islamize knowledge” in
order to enlarge and elevate the place of Islam in history.
Examples of this include claims that Muslims led the fields of science
and medicine during the Middle Ages; Muslims founded the first hospitals;
Muslim explorers reached America before Columbus, the Crusades were an
unprovoked European assault on the peace-loving Muslims of the Holy Land, etc.
So what are the facts?
The
Islamic worldview fails to correspond with reality at every point, producing
less than adequate results in every standard by which we measure personal,
social, and economic well-being.
So,
why does this matter? And, what is the Christian response?
The last four decades have seen a significant shift in the
philosophy behind sex education in America’s public schools. Prior to the
sexual revolution, human biology and reproduction, hygiene, and marriage were
the focus of sex education. In essence, this approach was grounded in
particular moral virtues, namely biblical. The new emphasis seeks to eliminate these traditional
moral distinctions. Instead the student’s “choice” is given the supreme moral authority
and the goal of these curriculums is to merely aid in the “safest” expression
of the child’s choice. However, more and more, modern sex education
programs are becoming nothing more than publicly funded platforms for
legitimizing homosexuality and other deviant and unsafe behaviors—pro-homosexual
propaganda presented under the guise of “tolerance” and “diversity.”
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the official diagnostic manual used by mental-health
professionals, defines depression as “two continuous weeks of such symptoms as
despondency, diminished pleasure in life, and difficulties in sleeping and
eating.” In the manual, it
doesn’t matter why a person is
despondent. If you’ve lost your job, or your romantic partner dumped you, or
you’ve been given a diagnosis of cancer, you’re still deemed ‘clinically
depressed’ if you’re "sad" for two weeks or more. This might account for the recent 300 percent increase in Americans diagnosed
with depression.
It is the role of the Church to preach the gospel. What the Arts provide
is a medium for cultural formation that can promote the plausibility of the
gospel story. Literature and film, in particular, shape the stories of our
culture and our stories help shape our conceptions of reality. If our literary
traditions are dominated by nihilistic hopelessness then society becomes less
hopeful. If however, our literature includes themes of redemption and messianic
saviors then the story of the true Messiah rings true.
The Christmas season is once again upon us and with it, overwhelming
encouragement from Madison Avenue to spend what we have not earned to buy what
we cannot afford. The day after Thanksgiving, known as “Black Friday,”
indicating the period in which retailers are in the black (or at least hope to
be), signals the start of the “holiday shopping season.” That phrase in and of
itself reveals the commercialized emphasis that has unfortunately come to
define Christmas for many Americans.
Recently, Willow Creek published the results of their 2004
congregational survey entitled, Reveal:
Where are You? The surprising results required the study’s authors,
including executive pastor Greg Hawkins, to tell senior pastor Bill Hybels that
“the church isn’t as effective as we’d thought.”
As we, once again, approach this national day of
“thanksgiving” I thought it necessary to reflect upon our nation’s long history
of acknowledging and giving thanks to Almighty God.
I
have written many articles over the years often addressing controversial
issues, some of which have provoked strong reactions. However, no other subject
so provokes as the suggestion that Darwin’s theory of evolution is false.
In
my recent article,
James Watson is Not a Racist; He’s a
Darwinist! I commented on the recent statements of noted scientist and
evolutionist, James Watson. You may recall that Watson suggested that black
people were inherently less intelligent due to their stunted evolutionary development.
As I pointed out, Watson was simply speaking in a way that revealed the ethical
dilemma of Darwinism in which morality as we understand it has no place. True
to form, the evolutionists were outraged.
In a recent interview with ’s
The Sunday Times, noted scientist,
James Watson set off an international firestorm when he was quoted as saying that
he is “inherently gloomy about the prospects of ”
because " all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours…”
Watson then added that he would like for everyone to be equal, but “people who
have to deal with black employees find this is not true.” Watson is not being bigoted in the sense that he is
expressing a personal prejudice against black people. In fact, he is being
quite “reasonable” given his evolutionary beliefs about the nature of man and
reality.
What does it mean when we call Christians to
engage the culture? Is cultural engagement even necessary to the Christian
life?
And, if so, just exactly how do we engage culture?
Could it be that our own actions are causing the
religiously-inclined but nonetheless lost to doubt the existence of God? Is it
possible that the Church is pushing people toward unbelief by virtue of its
approach to culture and the world? Has Christianity become so politically defined
that true faith and the person of Jesus Christ is obscured in the minds of
many? Is it possible that Christians are conducting themselves in such a way
that the spiritually seeking are looking anywhere but to Christ? I don’t know
for sure but I certainly think it is possible and that is enough to make me
examine my self in light of these questions. It should cause us all to examine
ourselves.
According to Mark J. Penn, author of Microtrends , "the most powerful forces in
our society are the emerging, counterintuitive trends that are shaping tomorrow
right before us… In fact, the whole idea that there are a few huge trends that
determine how
and the world work is breaking down.”
The latter half of the 20th century
has seen the emergence of two extremes in the
and its relationship to the culture – liberal revisionism on the one side and
conservative fundamentalism on the other. Both, I contend, have hindered the
work and ministry of the Church. One renders the Christian faith meaningless
while the other makes it irrelevant.
There is a subtle and sinister shift underway in our culture that is redefining the basis of humanity dignity and what it means to be human. The Judeo-Christian basis for human dignity rests on the belief that since all men are created by and equidistant from God they are therefore of equal worth before God. However, this aforementioned “shift” in thinking seeks to establish a new basis for human dignity that is cut off from this theological and religious foundation. Secular society still seeks to uphold human dignity however set adrift from its religious moorings there follows a serious crisis in the structure of society’s beliefs and its ability to uphold an equitable and true basis for human dignity.
Despite ample evidence that fame, fortune, and beauty fail to bring lasting peace and satisfaction—in fact, often quite the contrary—Americans are more celebrity-obsessed than ever. Whereas we once prized honor, integrity, virtue, courage and the like; we now prize fame, fortune, and beauty and thus the celebrity serves as the ideal modern “hero.” Our values have changed, which in turn changed our “heroes” and how we define heroism. Subsequently our stories have changed as well. Instead of inspiring a generation to aspire to human excellence in the moral virtues, we are indoctrinating children in secular humanist propaganda over and against biblical truth. Perhaps telling schoolchildren the story of the Good Samaritan would better serve the needs of society than the story of Heather has Two Mommies.
There has been a profound loss of community in American life, including within the Church. A study by sociologists at Duke University and the University of Arizona found that in 1985, every American had an average of nearly three close friends. Today, every American only has an average of two close friends they can confide in. Approximately a fourth of the people who were surveyed responded “they had no close friends at all” and the number of people who say they have no one to talk to about important matters has more than doubled. Americans, in general, are increasingly isolated and lonely.
Herein lies a real and tangible opportunity for the Church to bear witness to the truth of Jesus Christ.
There has been a rash of scandals, moral failures, human errors and the like coming out of NASA in the past year. Do these failures within our most ambitious human project ever conceived reveal something about our culture? I think they do. Is it possible that we as a society are losing our ambitious energy that has heretofore driven us as a nation to explore the great unknown and that this is the source of NASA’s recent failures and the public’s apathy for space exploration?
This past week, in cities around the world, groups gathered to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings--Aug. 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. Included in the commemoration events were numerous groups and cities throughout the United States. This strikes me as rather strange. We would not, for example, commemorate the bombing of Berlin during World War II in sympathy to the Germans killed, as this was the home of a vicious enemy that had brought war upon itself and was unrelenting in its aggression. However, in an act of self-incrimination, Americans are beginning to revise history in such a way that we are the “bad guys.”
In the wake of Madonna, Paris Hilton, and countless other “role models” encouraging young women to “express their sexuality” and drink deeply from the pool of promiscuity there comes a rare and refreshing voice of reason. Despite the fact that porn is mainstream, and despite the fact that those who to choose to delay sex are labeled “prudes,” Wendy Shalit argues in her latest book, Girls Gone Mild that “a youth-led rebellion is challenging the status quo.”
Secularism has certainly done its worst over the
last five decades to the point that most churches in Europe are either empty or
aged. However, there are signs of new life within the European Church as well as indicators that Europeans are increasingly open to religion.
Theories as to the cause of the European Church's near death and possible resurgence reveal potential warnings for the American Church.
Radicalized individualism, which hinders the
fellowship of believers, might be one reason for the lackluster witness of the Church
in which so many seem to never experience real spiritual transformation.
Earlier this year, the Washington
Post conducted an unusual social experiment that reveals something
disturbing about our culture—something that should concern any person
interested in the wellbeing and future of our society and the preservation of
the true, the good, and the beautiful.
One quickly discovers that upon closer
examination, there is a large and growing body of evidence demonstrating that
“global warming” is simply a natural phenomenon, completely unrelated to human
causation. I could literally spend the next several months recounting the data
but I must bring this series to a conclusion and connect it to its theological
considerations—why does it matter to the Church and why should Christians be
equipped to respond to “green politics?”
According to the proponents of “man-made” global
warming, carbon dioxide emissions are the culprit in climate change. So what is
the role of carbon dioxide if any and are there other, more plausible
explanations for the half-degree centigrade temperature increase that is
believed to have occurred over the last century?
The conflict between those who view humanity as an enemy of nature and those who view man as nature's steward culminates in the dispute over global warming. At odds in this debate is not the question of whether or not we are experiencing a period of warmer temperatures, we are. Rather, it is the competing theories relative to the causes of the present temperature increase and the implications thereof.
However, let's first understand what is meant by "warming."
As we have previously examined, the idea that human population growth and presence is an affront to the earth and nature is grossly overstated and frankly, a myth. In a sad bit of irony, this myth and its resulting environmental extremism have their roots in the writings of an 18th century Anglican preacher named, Thomas Malthus. Malthus was the first to suggest that environmental catastrophe would be brought on by the unchecked growth of the human population.
The global population is the highest in recorded history. However, does this necessarily mean that the earth is “over-populated” in the sense that the human population exceeds the resource capacity of the earth? This is certainly the implication of those who speak in terms of a “population explosion” or “population bomb.” Does the human population exceed the capacity of the earth and therefore place us in danger of destroying the planet?
One of the core commitments of this ministry has always been to demonstrate the truth and relevance of Christianity to all of life and culture. Toward that end I feel compelled to wade into the debate currently raging over the environment and environmentalism. On the one side we have those who would subordinate mankind to nature and on the other—well, let me be honest—Christians haven’t had a lot to say in the environmental debate. What we tend to do is withdraw from the issue altogether because we don’t like those who seem to be dominating the topic or we act indifferent to the issue as if we don’t care about the environment. And a few evangelical organizations have opted for a third alternative: capitulation to green politics.
In this series I hope to offer a helpful response to this complex
and important issue, again, all for the sake of demonstrating the truth and relevance
of Christ and His kingdom to all of His creation.
It is an amazing fact when you consider that the most powerful military force in the history of the world is comprised entirely of volunteers! If we as a nation continue to neglect the cultivation of true virtue among young people and instead immerse them in a culture which only encourages their most sensate and base desires, we will, in time, see such noble men and women disappear.
A California pediatrician reportedly refused to treat a baby girl because her mother had tattoos. The doctor said, says “his Christian faith has inspired him to enforce certain standards in his medical practice, and that means no tattoos, no body piercings, and no gum chewing."...After taking one look at Tasha Childress, who has both tattoos and piercings, [the doctor] asked her and her daughter to leave. What concerns me most is what kind of culture has developed within the American Church to produce such legalistic thinking that it borders on the inhumane.
