12 Aug /cul•tured :: the art of engaging
The world around us is ever-changing and, at times, can feel as if it’s spinning out of control. As believers in Jesus, we must discipline ourselves to set our hope in eternity and to rest in the sovereignty of God.
However, we must also learn to be “in the world but not of the world.” How do we engage the culture around us? How do we think well about relevant, current issues in order that we can speak truth?
This monthly blog post is designed to help us think well, to root ourselves in truth, and to “be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have.”
Terrorism : Tragedy
How Pastors Can Address the Shootings This Sunday
-Russell Moore, www.russellmoore.com
“The past week reeks of blood. We saw the cellphone videos of black men killed by police officers in Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights. We saw a terrorist ambush on police in Dallas, killing at least five officers and injuring seven. The country reels beneath all this violence. So how should a pastor speak to this on Sunday? Here are a few suggestions.”
Social Issues : Cultural Challenges
Is Black Lives Matter the New Civil Rights Movement
-Mika Edmondson, www.thegospelcoalition.org
“Refusal to address racialized sin has undermined our capacity to fulfill our Romans 12:15 calling to “mourn with those who mourn.” The unique calling of the church (as opposed to the institutions of the world) is not simply to tolerate one another, or even simply to understand one another, but to mourn with one another and bear one another’s burdens. To deliberately devote ourselves to listen to one another for understanding, and then to empathize with one another to the point of shedding tears with one another. That’s certainly not what so many of the talking heads on cable TV and talk radio are advocating. They’re not talking about mourning with those who mourn.”
An Apology to LGBTQ Brothers and Sisters From a Theological Conservative
-Sammy Rhodes, sammyrhodes.co
“In the wake of the Orlando shooting (which doesn’t feel like a strong enough word), amidst the shock and grief of how broken the world can be, one thought particularly convicted me. Honestly it was a tweet from author and lesbian Támara Lunardo: ‘Straight friends, especially you Christians, please know: We hear your silence so loud.’ ”
Straight, Conservative Preacher’s Wife Drops A Transgender Truth Bomb Nobody Saw Coming
-Jaci Lambert, www.faithit.com
“And I just really think that if He were here, if Jesus were walking the Earth today, He would be standing outside that Target bathroom … not to freak your children out … but to tell that transgender teen who is so confused and alone that He loves him, that He died for him, that He has more to offer him than anything he will find here on Earth. I think He would much rather be inside Target with people who are broken and messy than outside of Target signing petitions to make the outcast feel a little more shunned. Also, with all the Christians gone, it seems like Target might just be the best mission field in all of Suburbia.”
Economics : Politics
Election 2016: Why Should Evangelicals Even Care Anymore?
-Bruce Ashford, www.thegospelcoalition.org
“Evangelicals, this is the era of American history into which we were born. This is when the Lord determined would be best for us to serve him. Will we waste it by walking away in despair? Will we squander it by engaging out of fear and anger? Or will we embrace the opportunity—remembering whom we serve and where our hope resides?”
Media : Arts
-J.a. Medders, www.desiringgod.org
“What comes to mind when you think about yourself is one of the most important things about you. In particular, what comes to your mind when you think about who you are in Christ is of greater importance. — As a pastor, I’ve found that most problems are traceable to uncertainty about our identity. We have forgotten who we are in Christ (2 Peter 1:9). When we forget our identity, like Jason Bourne, we should be relentless until we know it again.”