Rules for Cultural Engagement

Joe Thorn gives us six rules for cultural engagement. Here is an excerpt from his preface:

Redeeming what is broken/lost is the direct application of the gospel to the culture in which we live. It answers the questions, “What does the gospel say to our broken marriages and homes; our selfishness and materialism, our prejudice and racism? What does the gospel say to the emptiness of personal religion and the bland spirituality held by the masses?” When we begin to answer this question, not in theory, but directly as it relates to our communities, we are seeing God in Christ redeem what is broken and lost.

Things That EVERY Man Should Know.

Popular Mechanics recently published a list of twenty-five things that every man should know. Here are a few of my favorites:

3. Rescue a boater who has capsized
4. Frame a wall
5. Retouch digital photos
9. Navigate with a map and compass
13. Fillet a fish
18. Mix concrete
19. Clean a bolt-action rifle
23. Paddle a canoe
25. Extend your wireless network


Unless you spent your weekend filleting a fish on the shore of a nearby lake while cleaning your bolt-action rifle just before you jumped in to save a capsized boater, who (lucky for him) needed his wireless network extended -- your manhood, and mine, are in serious jeopardy! Which got me to thinking...

There is little argument that the "feminizing" of our culture has caused the pendulum to swing in the extreme direction when it comes to defining what a man really is. Men have embodied both apathy and brutality, while at the same time losing their sense of responsibility and chivalry. Our posterboys for masculinity include the guys from "Jackass", mixed-martial-arts fighters, and fantastic heroes that can only be found on big screens and in video games. After all, what male wouldn't want to Die Hard like John McClane? In the end, however, our definition of manhood, though it might embrace some element of true masculinity, ultimately becomes skewed and imbalanced. I fear this cultural imperitive has carried over into our churches.

We have become a "Wild At Heart" men's culture in the church. Our men's conferences, retreats and literature are increasingly calling men to embrace the chest-thumping, vine-swinging, princess-saving, risk-taking man that God created them to be. We eat tons of meat, play war-games and violent sports, and relentlessly bathe one another in sarcasm while calling it constructive encouragement. One may ask, "What's wrong with that form of masculinity?" My answer -- NOTHING! As long as such a definition does not become the only definition of masculinity, for then the pendulum will have swung too far to one extreme when a Biblical balance should be our goal. We have been made in the image of God, who is both kind and severe; full of holy wrath and holy love. We see Jesus Christ, the God-Man turn over tables and gently take children unto Himself; both angry and grief -stricken over the hypocricy of the Pharisees. Jesus was bold and humble; rebellious (toward the religious establishment) and submissive (to the will of the Father); outspoken and silent; joyful and tearful. Moreover, Jesus came to serve. This was the mode of the mission of the perfect Man (Mark 10:45; John 12:5, 13:34). We would be wise to matriculate in His school of masculinity.

Fasting from Technology, Part 2

Joe Carter wrote a great article encouraging us to consider a "Techno Sabbath". Here is an excerpt:

"Why not take an info-techno Sabbath this weekend? No doubt your synapses will scream from the perceived dehydration. After drinking from the firehose of information a day without info tech will seem like a year long drought. But by unplugging the god of Technology you might just find something new in the pause a still small voice sharing the information that truly matters."

Read the rest of the Joe Carter's article.

Fasting from Technology, Part 1

Mark Driscoll has brought to light a major issue that so many of us take for granted: the control of technology in our lives. He writes:

I know in years past I too have been guilty of these same digital sins against God, my family, and my own well-being. Now that I see it as a sin that destroys silence, solitude, fellowship, prayerful listening, and meaningfully and attentive friendship, I am deeply convicted that there is a new spiritual discipline of fasting from technology to be mastered. In this way, we can enjoy the life and people that God puts in front of us rather than ignoring them while we peck away with our thumbs and chat about nothing, which in the end is rarely as important as the people we are ignoring all around us. [Read his full article here]

I find it ironic (and somewhat convicting) that I am creating this post on my computer, with the television blaring on one side of me, and my son sleeping on the other. I appreciate Mark's honesty in addressing what has become an epidemic in our culture. For fifty years or more, technology has replaced the dinner table as our primary means of entertainment and community in the home. Christian men and women alike, often to the neglect of their God-given responsibilities to family, have become addicted to these "sleeping pills" (as John Piper calls them), and are pulled into a fantasy world of crime dramas, reality television, and sports. As the pressures of high-paced American life push down on our shoulders, we run to find an escape in television and internet. All day, people require and request things from us. Always taking...and then taking more -- until we have nothing left to give. The friendly confines of HDTV and high speed internet offer a place where we can "check out", so that nothing more is required of us. Not from our bosses...our employees...our church...or our family. We are left alone, with endless options to feed our insatiable appetites for solace and spectacle, while numbing us to the mission for which God has redeemed us.

I understand this feeling well. I am a recovering techno-holic. Rarely was there a time when my television or radio was not on. I often would not be watching or listening to anything in particular. They served as background noise, because the thought of sitting in silence is unbearable. All day long, our ears and minds are polluted by noises and voices. Maybe we become dependent on them because it relieves us from our fear of loneliness. There is comfort in background noise, since it assures us that we are not alone. Perhaps there is truth in the old cliche, "silence is deafening". If we were to fast from our technology, we would be left alone with the one thing that requires the most of us: our conscience. It will indict us and force us to deal with reality. They tell us of our shortcomings, faults and sins, and consequently our need for God. And God will require something of us.

The last thing we need in our hectic life is more requirements.

Ed Stetzer

Ed Stetzer now has his own blog!

Some More "Emerging" Inspiration...

The posters created by Team Pyro (set 1, set 2, set 3, set 4) are broad, sweeping generalizations of the emerging movement that have been taken from a small sampling of quotes by "emergents" (you can click the posters on their blog to view the quotes that inspired them). Some of the posters, therefore, are short-sided representations. However, most hit 'em square between the eyes.

A couple more good ones...





(HT: Pyromaniacs)

Stott on Incarnational Evangelism

John Stott, in his last public address, spoke the following:

"Incarnational evangelism or entering into other people’s worlds with Christ-likeness is essential to the church’s walk in the 21st century. However, our evangelistic efforts often lead to failure simply because we fail to look like the Christ we are proclaiming."

Motivational Posters for Emerging Christians

Phil Johnson, of Pyromaniacs, blogs on Scot McNight's article on the Emerging Church in Christianity Today, and announces the release of "Emergent-See: Motivational Posters for Emerging Christians". Here's a little taste test:

[HT: Pyromaniacs]

Missional Living in a Border Town

Yesterday, some classmates and I had the opportunity to sit down with Victor Alvarez (in the yellow shirt), a larger-than-life, unapologetic fundamental Baptist pastor (an independent baptist) in northeast Brownsville, Texas. His church, Iglesia Bautista Fundamental, is set right in the center of the poorest county in the nation. He has a PhD in Theology, but you won't find his name or credentials anywhere on the church walls or on a sign out front. Brother Alvarez' story was mesmerizing and the wisdom gleaned from 30+ years of ministry kept us all salivating for more after nearly three and a half hours of interviewing him.

After heeding God's call to this community amidst naysayers and detractors who told him that he would not succeed, his church now runs over 350 per week with a running membership roll of 150 or so (he made sure to tell us that he keeps no dead rolls at his church - "if you're not coming, your off the roll. Period."). He could easily be running numbers much greater every week, but stands firm on the conviction that "church health is much more important that church size." His building has never taken on a dime of debt, but has been built by the hands of his people. Here are a few more pearls from Victor:

"Jonah preached a message of eight words and a wrong spirit, and God used it to convert a city. Noah preached faithfully for a hundred years and couldn't even convince his own kids. Yet we find Noah in Hebrews 11 and not Jonah. Ask yourselves a question, 'Do you want to be found faithful in the end, or successful?'"

"I use everything around me (social activism, secular organizations, city counsels, boards, etc.) as a tool to get done what I've got to get done [i.e. accomplish the work of the gospel]. God can use ALL things to accomplish his purposes."

"If you call yourself a pastor, then where is your flock? A pastor has sheep who follow him. If nobody is following you, you ain't a pastor...you're a preacher."

"The church building should reflect the values and personality of the neighborhood it serves. If everyone lives in a grass hut, why would you build a church out of stone? If everyone lives in stone houses, why would you build a church out of grass? People need to be able to identify with the church."

"The foundation of my church is good doctrine. As long as the doctrine is strong, my people can clap all they want."

"The key to life and ministry is balance. If you always operate on the extremes, you won't be as effective."

This is only a small sampling of the wisdom that was dispensed to us. Such wisdom can rarely be found in the classroom. It flows from the hearts of those who have drunk deeply the faithfulness of God upon giving their lives to the radical implications of the gospel.

Why Another Blog?

A week ago, when I began thinking about creating a blog, there had been nearly 1.3 million blogs registered through WordPress alone -- that doesn't include Blogger and others. With countless millions of blogs out there, does this particular blog bring anything new to the online discussion? Probably not. So why another blog? I have four reasons:

1. To sharpen my own thinking in the areas theology, philosophy and culture.
   
2. To attempt a more holistic understanding of the mission of God.
3. To save and share information and articles found all over the web for current or future use.
   
4. To edify and build up the Body of Christ.

Time will tell if this experiment proves profitable. In the meantime, I pray that God is glorified by what occurs on this blog.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Jeff