I don’t know if you spend much time reading blogs (if you don’t know what that is – don’t worry about it) but I read a few. I blog is a web-based journal of sorts. People write their thoughts for the world to read and comment upon. Sometimes the most interesting part is to read the comments and witness the give and take going on in response to a written piece. Among Southern Baptist bloggers there is a great debate about the Southern Baptist Convention and its future. Does it have a future? Will it look anything like what it does now? Why are we connected in the first place? How connected ought we to be? A related discussion has to do with what it means to live out the Gospel in our cultural context. How should we respond to the culture? Where is the line that marks compromise with the world? All seem to agree we should be “missional.” That is we are to be on mission and bring a missionary mindset to the task of evangelism.
To be missional is to recognize that American culture has changed in recent years and it is no longer the “Christian-conditioned” culture of the past. A few years ago American culture was dominated by a Judeo-Christian worldview. That is no longer the case. We have become an increasingly secular culture driven by a secular agenda and shaped by a secular worldview. That means some things have to change if we are to reach the people of this new culture. The trick is we must do this without changing our message or compromising the truth. So while some things must change others must not change. I must admit at this juncture I have more questions than answers. I’m still wading through the issues but let me share some things I’m certain have not and must not change.
As we seek to reach our culture we must view all men as people for whom Christ died. We must be eager to take the Gospel to people of every economic level, every ethnic group and every lifestyle. We must not view any group as “outside” the love of God. Second, we must believe that God has a people in every nation on earth. People from every tribe, nation, kindred and tongue will gather with us before the Father’s throne. Then it is essential that we understand that our confidence in reaching the culture and transforming lives lies in the Gospel itself and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is not our intelligence, wisdom or powers of persuasion but rather the power of God.
It’s worth thinking about. I’ll see you Sunday.
Rod