The Changing World
2009
May
18
I absolutely love this video because it does a great job of presenting how quickly our world is changing. And we’re not just changing in one or two ways, we’re changing in almost every way. This one will make you think.
(Short Video Embedded for you RSS readers)
[Vimeo=http://vimeo.com/3030439]
Generally, there are two ways that people think the church should respond to changes in our society and culture.
- Some would say that the church needs to change as quick or quicker than culture: We need to be leading the charge in creativity in order to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus.
- Others would say that people need a safe haven from this quickly changing world and that place needs to be the church: The church needs to clearly separate itself from the ways of the world.
(HT: Rick Smith)
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Tyler Braun.
I have been thinking for a while now, that the church must learn to engage culture in a much more complex paradoxical model than we usually revert to. The two responses that you laid out Tyler are the primary responses and there are dangers for us as a church if we disregard either answer as incorrect.
My personal view is that we must engage culture in a three fold manner: there are things we accept, others we reject and other things that we redeem.
I’ll stop there, because I could write about this for a long time.
I’m in both camps. I am a firm believer that any congregation needs to provide “anchors” against a tsunami of change that threatens those who cannot cope with the massive change. At the same time, God’s people need to be people who embrace, with discernment, various changes and what it offers us.
We [church I serve] aren’t bleeding edge but we’re at least past PowerPoint. IMHO a congregation would have an ACTIVE presence on Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin and other social sites. Worship would be streamed live and youtubed for others and various study groups would use real-time groups to discuss, learn together.
And ALL of that is “old school”.
Peace
Alan
I have truly struggled with this question also. I think that the Church needs to be counter-culture, but not for the sake of being counter-culture.
Jesus used the culture to point people towards the Father. Not in a harsh, right vs. wrong way, but rather to say, “There is an alternative way to live.”
And I don’t see Jesus, or his disciples for that matter, trying to create any particular culture. I think they were more concerned with teaching people to behold God and be transformed, than go do a certain thing a certain way.
I’m not saying that the results of that don’t create a Christian culture, because they do. But you can’t place the cart before the horse. As you behold God, you become more like Him, and then you do the things that reflect Him to the world. To do anything else, you reflect to the world what you think God is and not who He is.
Just thinking out loud. I don’t have any answers.
Great question Tyler.
why wouldn’t we change our techniques in order to reach an ever changing world? my goal is to keep reaching people and loving them where they are at. if there is a new technology to reach more people, i’m all for it.
love the blog. good stuff.
Lead the culture to a type of “safe haven” that bypasses all the distracting things that occupy our minds. I strongly see that using art is being the best way to do that. Not stop innovation just steer it.
I try to filter all of this kind of thing through Ephesians 1:23, with the world being peripheral to the church, not the other way around.
And therefore I kinda agree with all the comments here – not a hard & fast rule about which one is right, but what will point us to God in the midst of the noise – adopting, or rejecting, or somewhere in the middle?
That is a cool video…but so last year man. You are supposed to be relevant.