One of the main themes of Evangel’s early days was evangelicals’ complex relationship to culture.
I recently came across Evangel contributor Dr. Russell Moore’s astute analysis on the question from 2007 in the pages of Touchstone, the other ecumenical magazine of record.
Dr. Moore’s piece really needs to be read in its entirety, as he manages to thoughtfully engage the question without degenerating into overreaction or hyperbole. He is in favor of evangelical ‘engagement’ with culture, but cognizant of its limitations.
But what struck me was this bit near the end:
Often at the root of so much Christian “engagement” with pop culture lies an embarrassment about the oddity of the gospel. Even Christians feel that other people won’t resonate with this strange biblical world of talking snakes, parting seas, floating axe-heads, virgin conceptions, and emptied graves. It is easier to meet them “where they’re at,” by putting in a Gospel According to Andy Griffith DVD (for the less hip among us) or by growing a soul-patch and quoting Coldplay at the fair-trade coffeehouse (for the more hip among us).
Knowing Andy Griffith episodes or Coldplay lyrics might be important avenues for talking about kingdom matters, but let’s not kid ourselves. We connect with sinners in the same way Christians always have: by telling an awfully freakish-sounding story about a man who was dead, and isn’t anymore, but whom we’ll all meet face-to-face in judgment.
This is a crucial point, and similar to one I made while speaking to a group of homeschoolers. I argued that their unique experience as homeschoolers–a sometimes derided and disenfranchised population–would better prepare them for being comfortable in the discomfort that can come with believing and proclaiming the remarkable and surprising fact of the Gospel.
But for those of us who work in the church, Christian universities, or Christian non-profits, we tend to lose sight not only of the ‘freakishly bizarre’ nature of the Gospel, but also the weird nature of the lives that bear witness to it. I will never forget my first job as a mature believer in a secular environment, which was the first dominantly secular environment I had been in for a sustained amount of time since high school. There was simply no avoiding the reality: I felt, and was, odd. I didn’t live with my wife prior to marriage, I took religious holidays with the utmost seriousness, I was engaged in prayer and attempting to cultivate a meditative, thoughtful life….none of which fit well in my overwhelmingly unChristian environment. While not the Gospel per se, these behaviors are an outgrowth of it, and fit no better into most people’s framework than the reality that grounds them.
But attempting to build bridges also fell woefully short. Conversations about movies, music, and other cultural artifacts rarely proceed for most people beyond judgments of taste and emotional responses. They don’t lead to the sort of conversation that Paul had with a bunch of trained philosophers on Mars Hill.
But we are not without hope. The most meaningful tools we have to ‘build bridges’ are not the shared experiences of, music, or the news, but rather questions about family, frustrations, and the various dynamic that make up those aspects of our lives that extend beyond our entertainment choices. They are a listening ear, and a keen attention to discern the deeper dynamics of the heart that are always bubbling to the surface. We build bridges by cultivating a heart that listens to the movements of the Spirit in our own lives, and the lives of others.
And, as Dr. Moore points out, we build bridges most of all by talking honestly and candidly about the content of our faith, a faith which still has the power to command attention and inspire curiosity.
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February 5th, 2010 | 12:20 pm | #3
“The most meaningful tools we have to ‘build bridges’ are not the shared experiences of, music, or the news, but rather questions about family, frustrations, and the various dynamic that make up those aspects of our lives that extend beyond our entertainment choices. They are a listening ear, and a keen attention to discern the deeper dynamics of the heart that are always bubbling to the surface. We build bridges by cultivating a heart that listens to the movements of the Spirit in our own lives, and the lives of others.”
Beautifully stated. Heartily agree.
“He [Russell Moore] is in favor of evangelical ‘engagement’ with culture, but cognizant of its limitations.”
Listening to the movement of the Spirit in his life lead to favoring evangelical ‘engagement’ with the culture on issues such as the sanctity of life, biblical marriage, and religious liberty whilst remaining cognizant of its limitations.
Yes.
February 5th, 2010 | 5:45 pm | #4
TUAD,
Thanks for the kind words. Glad to know you enjoyed it.
Best,
matt
February 5th, 2010 | 7:17 pm | #5
I appreciate your honesty in this post. I work in a secular environment–a university environment–and I am very open about my faith. I celebrate Christmas and Pascha (and take several days off for Pascha). I do think some of my colleagues think I am “weird” for being so orthodox (small o) in my Christian beliefs. But I also am myself around them: I am an intelligent person who can be silly and fun with them–and I don’t think they see me as a stuffed shirt so I think this helps in my witness to them. I also share with them my honest frustrations in life in general, and I am open with them about how my faith helps me deal with things. So work has not posed a serious obstacle for me in showing to others my faith in Christ.
However, it is very hard to connect with my family. They are very involved with their secular concerns (money, golf, the country club, nice food, etc.), and certain members truly think I am weird even though these people are the ones with whom I should be able to be the most open. I know Christ warned this would be the case with family members, but it truly saddens me.
February 5th, 2010 | 11:09 pm | #6
Not long after becoming a believer I started working as a quasi-security guard at a local inner-city church youth group. My life before Christ mirrored the lives of many of the kids in the group. After a short time I began to be frustrated with the way the youth group was run. The leaders loved the kids but attempted to relate to them by playing lots of games, being like them in many ways (music, clothes, jargon, etc), and rarely discussing the Bible. I expressed my concerns to the pastor and he agreed. He asked me to lead a small group of guys during the middle of the week. I could do whatever I saw fit.
I wore a shirt and tie and never once mentioned that my background was very similar to theirs (drugs, sex, jail, etc). I led them slowly through the Westminster Short Catechism. After a few months I was asked to take over the entire junior/senior high group. the group went from about 12-15 kids to about 60-70 within about 5 or 6 months. I worked as the youth director of that very rough church for nearly 2 years and the kids never knew my background. But they did learn of Christ’s.
February 7th, 2010 | 11:00 am | #7
Alison,
MANY thanks for sharing that. I really appreciate it. I couldn’t agree more about both the difficulties with family, and with the importance of not coming across as a “stuffed shirt.” If there’s a value to being informed about pop-culture, that’s it, I think.
And David, thanks to you too for sharing. You sound like the sort of youth pastor I wish I had. But as someone who has taught highschool and taken a similar approach, I’m not all that surprised. I developed some of those thoughts in an old book review on The Case Against Adolescence. You might find it (the book, not the review) an interesting read: http://mereorthodoxy.com/?p=1087
Best,
matt
February 7th, 2010 | 9:59 pm | #8
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