Category: Engaging Our Culture

Part 1-When We Explain Our Faith What Is Our Central Theme? The Union of Love.

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When we think or talk about our faith do we focus on our union of love with God or do we focus on lesser matters? Do our hearers understand that God is the author of ultimate relationship or do they feel like we are trying to prove the faith? How do we speak to ourselves about what our faith is about? I believe our union of love with God in Christ is the grand unifying theme of biblical theology and spirituality. Every element of the gospel is best understood in the context of His desire to be in a strong and loving relationship with us and His desire for us to live in community with fellow believers. He wants to be our Father, our teacher, our lover, and our friend. Jesus summed this up in Matthew 22:37 by saying that the greatest commandment was to love God with all your Continue Reading →

Think Like A Missionary – Appeal to Their Desires

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If your culture seems resistant to Jesus remember to think about what they desire that Jesus fulfills. This is what some missionaries do. So you can ask people: “What if there was a religion that:” 1. Didn’t require any particular organization 2. The writings were in everyday language the average person can understand 3. Isn’t based on people trying to figure out the truth, but on God’s revelation in historical events 4. Is centered on fairness and love 5. Is centered on healthy relationships 6. You don’t have to earn salvation with great works 7. Teaches us to treat all people with respect and courtesy 8. Is not elitist and doesn’t require leaving society to be spiritually advanced. The last shall be first and the first shall be last. 9. God will restore loving community one day and keep out destructive people. By asking these questions you let people decide Continue Reading →

Churches as Compassionate Relationship Centers

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In many circles today Buddhism has a reputation for being a compassionate religion. Christianity is not viewed that way. This is ironic since the chief goal of Buddhism on earth is to eliminate desire and avoid suffering which includes intimate relationships that could cause suffering. Jesus embraced suffering , especially sacrificial suffering for others. Buddha believed in compassion but did not value sacrificial love and suffering nearly as much as Jesus . There is no God in Buddhism – it is agnostic. In Christianity we discover a loving personal God. So why does Buddhism have a better reputation for compassion for many people? Is it possible that too many Christians present themselves as adversarial inside and outside the church, that many are focused on defending Christian doctrine and morality with people who aren’t even Christian? Is this okay? Should anyone who has experienced both religions have any doubt which is Continue Reading →

Why Ferguson Riots Might Make Sense – by a white person.

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In the mid 20th century wealthier whites moved out of the inner city then carved off the parts of the city with more tax revenues. They added those areas to their suburban cities which left lower income blacks with poor cities. This causes great frustration to see neighboring towns with better schools and better opportunity. Blacks were born into this and grew up with this. Children don’t know why others are better off, they just know they are black and the others are white. This type of inequality has led to unrest for hundreds of years . So when a policeman kills a black person it can trigger the release of the pent up frustration. Even when the officer is justified to use deadly force, residents may react by transferring their anger about their circumstances to the officer and the police. This is unfair to the officer but the blacks Continue Reading →

Houston Mayor Part Two – Exploring Wise Cultural Engagement

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What should we expect of unbelievers? In this case it is fair to fight for freedoms guaranteed in our constitution. When the Phillipian officials sent a messenger telling Paul he could leave Paul said ” you’ve beaten and jailed us and we are Roman citizens, we aren’t just going to leave, the officials need to come and release us themselves” Acts 16:37 paraphrase. The officials were afraid because of Paul’s citizenship and rights and they came to apologize. But my idea is that in this particular case , and in every incident, it might be helpful to consider: what is the best way to achieve our goals? Our highest goal (after honoring God ) is changing the hearts of Americans to support religious freedom, if that doesn’t happen our freedom will fade no matter what we do. So in this case when an opponent has overreached like the mayor then Continue Reading →