Churches Struggling with Christ and Culture

The other evening I was a little bored and found myself watching a move with Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan. It wasn’t a movie I typically watch or ever thought I would be interested in, it was just on as I did some other things.

This move, called First Sunday, was about a couple guys who have execute a half-baked plan to rob a church. As the story unfolded it became clear that this church was very typically in the middle of a controversy about involvement in its community. Some wanted to move into a safer community where they could be protected from the corrupting culture around them. Others wanted to stay in the neighborhood and reach out to it.

Gathje, A Contested Classic

This article offers a critique of Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture paradigm, stating that his liberal, pluralistic theology naturally lead him to disingenuously conclude that Christ Transforms Culture is the correct perspective despite his claims to remain neutral and not commit to any one perspective.

Blog Action Day: Christ and the Environment

Lately in the Christian world there has been an increasing debate over environmentalism. Some would like to include environmentalism among the other political issues Christians feel are important. Others reject environmentalism as an unnecessary distraction- for various and sundry reasons.

As with most opinions on controversial topics the complexity of reasons can only be surpassed by the diversity of opinions. In order to better understand the reasons behind various Christian perspectives towards the environment I would like to filter the opinions through the eyes of H. Richard Niebuhr.

Niebuhr was an American theologian who is perhaps best known for his typology describing the various ways Christians engage their culture. In his seminal book on this subject, Christ and Culture, Niebuhr divides Christianity into five different perspectives based upon how they might approach their culture.

Back to the topic of the day: how would a proponent of one of Niebuhr’s particular categories approach then environment as an issue?

Thy Kingdom Come

I’ve been preaching a series on the Lord’s Prayer lately (with the help of the Simpsons) and was wondering how people from different perspectives on Christ and Culture would mean “thy kingdom come” when they pray this in the Lord’s Prayer.

The Puritans Transforming Culture: The Mayflower Compact

The other day I caught a new show called, Drive Thru History. I don’t watch the Trinity network much (which is an example of Christ Above Culture by the way), but every once in a while they come up with something worth watching. This show is like something you might find on the History network but from a Christian perspective (another example of Christ Above Culture). Although this Christian influence negates any neutrality (as if the History channel is ever neutral) and this limits the scope of the show (for instance, they skipped the entire Protestant Reformation) I enjoy watching it.
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Anyway… the episode I watched talked about the Pilgrims coming to America. Most people know that these people were Puritans- resisting the corruption, in their minds, of the Church of England. In the context of a discussion of Christ and Culture, the Puritans are often quoted as an example of Christ Transforming Culture. The Mayflower Compact is a great example of this.

Who is on the Lord’s side?

Sometimes when people describe the interaction between Christ and Culture they use phrases like, “culture wars.” This invokes images of Christians valiantly fighting off the influence of the world or reminds people of Fundamentalists who have belligerently forced their beliefs on other people- depending on which side of the war you find yourself on.

N.T. Wright on Politics

I’m not a big N.T. Wright fan- because of how his theology has tried and is used to attack justification by faith- but in a Newsweek interview with him about something else, he gave a good definition of what it means to promote Christ Transforming Culture.

Danielle Steel Transforming Culture

I was surprised to read in last week’s Newsweek about Danielle Steel‘s faith and how it made her want to help the homeless. When I think of Steel I think of smutty, unrealistic romance novels (and the Beatles song, Paperback Writer)- I had no idea she was a believer.

According to the Newsweek article, she is not only a believer, but her faith has legs that are working to help the homeless.

Rick Warren, Billy Graham, Christ and Culture

Newsweek had an article last week about Rick Warren, who will be giving the the Invocation at Barack Obama’s Inauguration. The article compares Rick Warren and Billy Graham. Although both men are influential Christian leaders their mission and goal are both very different.

For one, Billy Graham has always been an evangelist primarily- hoping to spread the Gospel to the world. Although he has been an “advisor” for many Presidents, his advice has been spiritual than about policy. This makes Graham an example of Christ and Culture in Paradox.

Christ Transforming Hooters

The Associated Press tells the story about the connection between a church and a local Hooters restaurant. It is a really wonderful story. It’s an example of how when people encounter the Gospel they want to make the world a better place- Christ Transforming Culture.

I found this article on Church Marketing Sucks.