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.

This is in contrast to Jerry Falwell who is an example of Christ Above Culture for his confession that he is using politics to promote the Gospel.

Rick Warren is a little more difficult to characterize as a follower of Christ relating to culture. He clearly uses culture to promote Christ, but in a different way than Falwell. Some might even say he is a product of Culture in many ways- with his megachurch and the laid-back Southern Californian way he approaches church. This would characterize Warren as an example of Christ of Culture. At the same time Warren believes the Gospel should move us to social concern and is active in helping fight AIDS in Africa- which is an example of Christ Transforming Culture.

It is often hard to sum up one person in any one category. You could find many examples of Graham speaking about cultural issues, for example. That’s why it is best to approach Christ and Culture in terms of how people act at different times rather than confine them to one particular perspective.