 |
 |
Helpful Resources
See what the Center offers: Michael's weekly column, articles, recommended books, available courses, speaking topics, and audio. |
|
|
Equipping the Church to engage the culture with the redemptive mission of Christ
As American culture continues to descend into moral anarchy, secular humanistic schemes, and spiritual ignorance, the only hope for our nation lies in a renewed church that both appropriates and applies biblical truth to the real and pressing problems of our day.
The Center for Christ & Culture, under the leadership of its founder and president, S. Michael Craven exists to support this purpose: Equip Christians with a thoroughly biblical interpretation of reality, rooted in the missional purposes of God in order to press the supremacy of Christ in all things.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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 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.
|
|
|
|
| more... |
|
|
|
|
