Culture. It’s all around us. In music. In movies. In technology. Unlike say, 25 years ago, access to that culture is right at our fingertips. Computers are no longer just used for for running programs. They have become full fledged entertainment devices.
People have access to such a wide variety of movies, television shows, music, computer programs, mobile applications, etc.
The question for the Christian community is: Where do we fit into this?
One of the joys I get writing for ChurchMag is that aside from format guidelines, I am provided the opportunity to write about a whole host of subjects even it is controversial. My post on Christians and movie making spurred a great deal of debate. After writing that post I started to think more about the broader culture and where Christians fit in.
It doesn’t take too much work to see that we break out into three different and distinct groups. Some of what I thought about was spurred also by Gabe Lyons book, ‘The Next Christians’ which tackles the issue in a much different context.
The “Run Away” Culture
A missionary speaking at our Church once remarked Christians are often like a football team that likes to huddle. We love to huddle, but we keep on huddling. Nobody ever wants to yell, “Break!” and move beyond the huddle.
There is this contingent within the Church. Those are the Christians who choose to run from the culture. They choose to live “safely.” They’re not to be confused with legalistic Christians. However, they still strive to be safe with regard to the culture over all.
What do they look like?
- They listen only to Christian music.
- They don’t watch rated R movies (except for ‘The Passion of The Christ’).
- They avoid interacting with people outside of their Christian friends.
- They avoid many forms of social media and many other areas of the Internet.
Before I start getting hate mail, please know that I freely admit I am stereotyping. But stereotypes are often confused with prejudice. These people don’t fit neatly into a little box, but their overall nature is to shelter themselves from the outside world.
It’s what gives birth to the famous “Christian alternative” to whatever is popular at any given time. Several years ago it was the alternative to MySpace. Then there was the alternative to Facebook. If you do a search, you’ll see Faithfreaks.com, MyPraize.com, yourchristianspace.com, xianz.com and more. Then there is GodTube.com and christiantube.tv as the alternatives to YouTube. There is even a Christian alternative to Twitter called Christian Chirp. Since online dating has seen an explosion in growth, the alternatives to match.com and eharmony.com are out there as well. There have even been attempts at Christian video games. There is of course, plenty of Christian based television programming and Christian radio.
There is definitely a place for some of this and I don’t begrudge anybody being involved in it. However, when the body of the Church does it in order to insulate themselves from the outside world, what does that say about Jesus commanded his followers do:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. — Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
They often don’t want to get their hands dirty. “I’ll be praying for ______” is a common refrain in the run away culture. Praying for the homeless and hungry is one thing. Going and being part of a soup kitchen to feed the homeless is another. The run away culture gets real fidgety when the book of James is opened up. It’s more than prayer. It’s also more than opening our checkbooks. It’s about getting out there and showing people we love them and spending time with them. Just like Jesus did.
The Immersion Culture
On the other end of the spectrum is the immersion culture. These are the Christ followers who will jump in with both feet into (almost) anything. It’s easy to make a list about them as well. So what do they look like?
- They listen to all types of music and will often join the chorus of people who criticize Christian music (It’s chic in Christian circles these days to throw snark Chris Tomlin’s way).
- They’ll watch any type of movie (except porn).
- They tend to make it clear that most of their friends are not Christians.
- Social media is their tool of choice for bashing the Church.
- Acting out the gospel is all that matters. Telling people about Jesus is not important.
The tendency of the immersion culture is to separate themselves as much as possible from the “run away” culture, but in doing so they often tend to go to extremes. In addition, many immerse themselves in the culture through organizations, charities and other causes that allow them to be a part of something.
Unfortunately, this often comes at the expense of telling people about the gospel and at times, is a way for people to make themselves feel good about themselves, rather than doing it for God’s glory.
For example, I saw a blogger writing about his experience in Africa with Christian based child sponsorship program. Throughout his series of blog posts, he encouraged people to be like him and sponsor a child through this organization which is of course, a worthy cause. But in all of the blog posts, amongst all the pleas to sponsor a child and of the stories he told, there was one crucial piece of information missing:
WHY?
There has to be a broader reason for sponsoring a child in Africa or South America. Sure, it’s going to help lift them out of poverty. But we’re doing it to show them just a tiny little portion of what it means for them to experience God’s love and the love of His Son, Jesus Christ. Whether we’re sponsoring children or building wells for clean water, it’s not about us. It is all about Him. Matthew 5:14-16 tells us:
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
The immersive culture is also fond of bashing the church, whether it is Christian music, cinema (and criticism of poorly made movies is different from bashing and openly mocking them), or the very Church itself. I can find 75, “The Church sucks at______” or “Why I don’t go to Church” articles and blog posts in about 30 seconds of searching.
Bashing of Christian leaders is plentiful. You’ll find more Mark Driscoll bashing on this one Christian blog and in the comments than you can find on any atheist web site. The problem for the immersive culture is that despite the heavy criticism, what’s lacking is any kind of real solution to what are real problems for the Church.
Part of the solution, lies somewhere in the middle.
The Engaged Culture
So how do we operate as an engaged culture? I’m going to create a list and I invite you to add your own:
- Be part of a small group at church. Make sure you spend time with your Christian friends. But don’t alienate your non-Christian friends. Spend time with them. Let them see for themselves the difference Christ has made in your life. Even if you don’t get to lead them to Christ, the seed has been planted.
- Listen to popular music, but don’t be nervous about telling people how much “How He Loves” knocks you on your butt.
- Instead of openly mocking somebody like Mark Driscoll, work your tail off to see if you can communicate with him personally with an issue you have.
- Watching rated R movies is ok and telling people about it is ok as well. One of my favorite movies of all time is ‘Pulp Fiction.’ It has bad language and violence, but it also has a great story and it presents a moral message about the choices we make and the consequences of those choices. By the same token, telling people you avoid movies or television programs with gratuitous nudity or sex is ok as well. I stopped watching ‘Boardwalk Empire’ for that very reason.
- Go ahead and write that blog post about some of the things the Church does wrong. But you know? Finish it off with some ideas about positive changes Churches can make.
- Pray for those who are hurting whether they are poor, hungry, or just struggling. But get out there. Show them you care through your actions. On the flip side, if you’re a person of action, do what you do best, but also be sure to tell people the love your’e showing them is merely the love of God working through you.
- The Internet is not the big scary place people say it is. If you want trouble, you have to go looking for it. You have an inspirational video? Post that sucker on YouTube. Let the people of the world see it. Get on Facebook and Twitter. Connect with others. There are wonderful people out there.
Please add to the list and feel free to discuss what I have written. True? False? Too broad? Let’s discuss.
Katlin Sims says
Wow that is awesome and very convicting. It is so difficult to find the middle ground in being “in the world but not of the world.” Thank you for sharing!
I think also not being afraid to tackle the difficult issues – like child sex trafficking – is something that Christians as a whole need to be more engaged in. Jesus wasn’t afraid to get His hands dirty for the sake of helping people, why should His followers be afraid of getting their hands dirty for the same reasons?
Jay Caruso says
Sex trafficking is thankfully, something the church is getting more actively involved in. It used to be the sex trade was written off as just a bunch of immoral women selling their bodies for money not realizing how trapped they are.
Check out the A21 Campaign for a good organization dealing with this.
http://www.thea21campaign.org/
Thanks for the comment!