When Church and Culture Collide

I’m sitting here tonight multi-tasking. I’m listening to a message by Ed Stetzer on Missiology while I’m finishing up my message for church, and while I’m catching up reading the blogs I’m subscribed to using Google Reader. I’m getting ready for the Decemberadio concert at our church tomorrow night and I have really been wrestling with how can our church better engage the culture that we are part of. Tonight has been one of those light bulb moments. I really think God is stretching and growing me and stepping on my toes. I’ll share more in the weeks and months to come.

Here are two great messages by Ed Stetzer on how church and culture intersect. The more I listen to Ed, the more I agree with him. His passion and vision really connect with the way God is leading me. I think these two messages should be required listening for all pastors. Please check them out!
Breaking the Missional Code and Understanding Culture

While I was listening to these messages, I read a quote from a blog post from Tony Morgan about the activities of our churches. It is another good post to get you thinking about why you do what you do. I agree that we must motivate and compel people to leave the 4 walls and do ministry, not just stay busy learning what they should be doing.

But I face one big challenge. Every time Christians step inside a church, it can remove them from the place where they have the greatest impact for God’s Kingdom—the world. It’s sad, but I wonder if we’ve inadvertently designed our ministries to isolate Christians from the places where God really wants us to be. Are we truly engaged in his Great Commission if every extra moment of our lives is spent at church?

I hear the way Christians talk. They want more opportunities to gather for worship. They want more programs to meet other Christ-followers. They want more Bible studies to help them go deeper in God’s Word. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these desires—but what’s often missing is a desire to see people outside the church commit their lives to following Jesus. As Christians, we can become so focused on our own faith journey that we forget God’s command to go tell others the Good News.

Mike

I am a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. I'm passionate about following Jesus and I love technology. I've been married to Jennifer for 28 years, and we have three adult children.

You may also like...

1 Response

  1. Missional Jerry says:

    Great quote from Tony.

    Thanks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *