The Gospel Coalition

Read an interesting perspective from Kim Riddlebarger over at the Riddleblog.

(Here is the latest excerpt from my forthcoming (April 2009) book Unfashionable:How To Live Against The World For The World. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I welcome feedback.) 

We have been redeemed so that we might become instruments of redemption. This means that God’s ultimate purpose for Christians is not bringing them out of this world and into heaven, but using them to bring heaven into this world. Again, the Christian’s ultimate destination is not an ethereal heaven, but a new physical world, and God is ushering in this new world through his people. As we hallow God’s name and do God’s will in how we think, feel, and live, the power of Christ’s resurrection flows through us — and as a result, we bring heaven’s culture to earth. In this manner we continue the work that Christ began and will one day complete.

Michael Wittmer beautifully pictures this process:

Just as sin began with individuals and rippled out to contaminate the entire world, so grace begins with individuals and ripples out to redeem the rest of creation. We humans are the bulls-eye of God’s grace, the target of his redemption. But though salvation begins with us, the God who redeems us does not want us to keep redemption to ourselves.

God wants us to join him in redeeming peoples, places, and things. He wants Christians to transform their cultures to the honor and glory of God. We’re to fill the earth — every aspect of it — with the knowledge of God, our Creator and Redeemer.

This means that while evangelism remains a priority, the salvation of people is not the church’s only mission, as Steve Childers points out:

Churches are designed by God to be agents of Kingdom renewal in the world, not only renewing individual hearts but also renewing forms and structures in society, helping to make all that is crooked in our world straight.

Our mission involves both evangelism and cultural renewal. It is spiritual and physical, individual and communal. God wants us to involve ourselves in the rehabilitation of hearts and houses, souls and society. We’re to care about the renewal of both people and the environment. This requires both word and deed, both proclamation and demonstration. He is renewing human hearts and recreating all things through his church. This is our mission to the world.

To be sure, a transformational approach to culture does not assume an unrealistic optimism about what’s possible in our fallen world. Because the world will remain sinful until Christ returns, we know we can never achieve utopia here and now. “Heaven on earth” will become a universal reality only when Christ comes back. We are, however, to be faithful in executing God’s mission by seeking cultural transformation, not knowing (because the Bible doesn’t tell us) if things will get markedly worse before Christ returns, or if things will go on about the same, or if things will get markedly better. That’s not our business, but God’s. We are told to plant and water. But God alone gives the increase. Our task as faithful disciples is proclaimed by the Welsh poet, Ethelwyn Wetherald:

My orders are to fight;
Then if I bleed, or fail,
Or strongly win, what matters it?
God only doth prevail.
The servant craveth naught
Except to serve with might.
I was not told to win or lose —
My orders are to fight.

What we do know is that many Christians throughout the ages have sought cultural transformation and in doing so have had a huge impact on this world.  Real change for the better can and has happened. No Christian has ever “turned earth into heaven, or the world into the church. And sometimes they have made tragic mistakes. But they have also done a great deal of good.”

The good news is that Christ not only began the process but will also complete it. And by his Spirit, he now empowers us to carry on his work. Led by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we thus have all that we need for our present task, which is the renewal of all things. In saving us, God has fully equipped us to carry out the cultural mandate he originally entrusted to us.

All of this provides the framework for why unfashionable living carries so much promise and power. The difference God has equipped us to make is neither small nor insignificant. Since God is on a mission to transform this present world into the world to come, and he is currently using his transformed people to do this, then our commitment to living “unfashionably” has cosmic implications. There’s no question that the call to live “against the world for the world” — the responsibility to live “unfashionably” — carries the power to effect real, lasting change to peoples, places, and things both now and forever. Unfashionable living can change the world, literally.

Have you ever wanted to spend yourself in something deeply meaningful? Have you ever wanted to play a vital role in something great and lasting, something big and with guaranteed success? If your answer is “yes,” than ask a further question: Will you faithfully refuse to “fit in”? Are you willing to be “out of style” by living in this world with the next world in view? Will you make a difference in the world by being different from the world? That’s where we all must begin.

Tim Challies answers this question clearly, thoroughly, and accurately. You can read his answer here.

As you know, I am a devoted Dallas Cowboys fan and have been my entire life. This was their year, so I thought, so I hoped! Needless to say, last night was devastating…absolutely devastating. I’m reminded this morning of C.S. Lewis’ words in The Four Loves: “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal.”

Many, many years ago as a little boy I gave my heart to the Cowboys…this morning my heart is wrung. It’s a black Monday in the Tchividjian home.

“When TIME magazine compiled a list of the one hundred most significant people in twentieth-century art, there were only five who had shown any public signs of Christian faith.”

- Steve Turner, journalist, poet, Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts

I had a conversation recently about the benefits and dangers of leading people in praying “the sinners prayer.” It reminded me of a section in my book Do I Know God? This is what I wrote:

As a pastor, I feel the need to caution my peers who might unwittingly lead people into thinking they have a relationship with God just because they repeated a prayer or raised their hands at an invitation.

Not long ago I listened to someone preach a powerful message about the good news that God saves all who confess their sins and turn to Jesus Christ. When he concluded, he implored those who did not have a relationship with God to respond by repeating a prayer after him. After leading his listeners in a simple and straightforward prayer, he confidently declared that everyone who had just repeated his prayer was now a child of God.

I winced. But not because I thought God hadn’t saved anyone who prayed that prayer. On the contrary, I believe with all my heart that those who honestly confessed their need for God that day began a relationship with him that will last forever. Rather, I winced because the preacher based his promise that God had saved them on an external ritual rather than an internal reality.

That preacher couldn’t possibly know that all those who repeated his prayer had genuinely surrendered their lives to God. So there was no way he should have guaranteed that everyone who prayed his prayer became a child of God that day.

My granddad, Billy Graham, has preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to more people than anyone in history. His message is simple: God came into this world in the person of Jesus Christ to rescue sinners from their slavery to sin and to make them new creatures. His preaching has always been clear and passionate.

At the conclusion of every sermon, he invites people to enter into relationship with God through Christ and calls them to get out of their seats and make their way to the front of the auditorium or stadium. Then he leads them in a prayer. His typical prayer goes something like this: “O God, I’m a sinner. I’m sorry for my sin. I’m willing to turn from my sin and turn to Christ. I confess Jesus as Savior and Lord. I want to follow him and serve him for the rest of my life. In Jesus’s name, amen.”

My granddad would be the first to tell you that not everyone who goes forward and prays that prayer becomes a child of God. No one but God knows who truly surrenders his or her life to him. So instead of saying, “If you just prayed that prayer, you are now a child of God,” my granddad says, “If you just prayed that prayer, we have counselors on hand who would like to talk with you, and we also have some literature we would like to give you.” He chooses his words carefully, because he does not want people to think they are assured of their salvation simply because they came forward and prayed the prayer. He knows there is nothing magical about raising hands, walking forward, or repeating prayers. He knows that becoming a child of God is a spiritual transaction between God and the individual, a transaction initially invisible to the human eye.

Preachers and spiritual counselors potentially deceive people when they assure them that they’re saved based on an external act. In this way, even with the best intentions, they contribute to the problem of many people who believe they are right with God when they aren’t. It reminds me of Jeremiah 6:14, where God strongly warns those who proclaim “Peace, peace” when there is no peace.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that preachers and spiritual counselors should quit pleading with people to respond to the good news that God saves sinners. Paul himself said, “We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). God clearly expects Christians to deliver his saving message to the world. “How are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?… ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (Romans 10:14–15).

But God alone saves sinners. God alone softens hard hearts and opens blind eyes. So we dare not assure people they are adopted into God’s family based on a physical, external act. There is no prayer we can lead or response we can plead for that can guarantee someone’s relationship with God.

A few days ago I posted an excellent interview that my friend Jimmy Davis conducted with T.M. Moore, author of the book Redeeming Pop-Culture. Toward the end of the interview T.M. says this:

Pop culture is a gift of God (Ps. 68:18), but much of it is currently in the hands of the enemy.  We need to “liberate” pop culture so that it can join us in the service of the King and His Kingdom.  We need to pray about pop culture and those who create it.  We should become more intelligently and spiritually involved with pop culture.  We should encourage those Christians who are trying to create pop culture forms of real beauty, goodness, and truth.  And we should enjoy pop culture in a way that helps us realize more of the fullness of Kingdom life as we journey together to our everlasting home.

In the comment section, the question came up regarding the connection between Psalm 68:18 and the redemption of pop-culture. A good discussion took place regarding the meaning of Psalm 68:18 and whether or not it was an interpretative stretch to apply the truth of that verse to the point T.M. was making. Bryce raised a good point. He said:

Moore said “Pop culture is a gift of (presumably “from”) God.” Psalm 68 is talking about the victorious Messiah “receiving” the accolades of the nations. Those are two different things. At the very least I think that the connection is loose enough that a simple proof-text is insufficient. I completely agree that there are redeemable elements in all cultures, I just don’t think that’s the point of Psalm 68:18.

Jimmy Davis tracked T.M. down to get his thoughts and this is what he said:

You have to understand this text the way Paul does in Eph. 4.8, where he translates the Hebrew verb “receive” as “to give”, following the Septuagint, not the Hebrew text. Yes, in His common grace God gives good gifts to men, gifts of all sorts, not just those that redound to building the Church, and His intent in so doing is that He might be glorified. Cf. Acts 14.17 (and all that is implied in the work of agriculture) and Acts 17.27, 28, and even Acts 12.20-23.

I think it’s a good answer. What do you think?

It should be no surprise to readers of this blog that I love books. Here are three that I’m really looking forward to.

1. Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Brett and Alex Harris. Brett and Alex are the younger twin brothers of my friend Josh and they really are quite amazing. They’re both young (19, I think) and extraordinarily gifted. They sent me a copy to review and endorse and I simply can’t wait for the youth at New City and their parents to get their hands on it. Watch these young men! God has great things in store for them. You can read more about who they are and what they do here.
2. Young, Restless, and Reformed: A Journalists Journey With The New Calvinists by Collin Hansen. I’ve had a chance to see parts of this book as well. Collin is not only a friend of mine but also another up and comer like the Harris brothers. He too is young (25, I think) and unbelievably smart. A Christianity Today editor, Collin documents the growing interest in Calvinism among 20 somethings.  It is well written and well storied. Any serious reader will want to pick this one up.
3. Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns. Even though I’ve never met Chris face to face, we have interacted via e-mail and I’ve been very impressed by his thoughtfulness, humility, and desire to serve the Body of Christ. He kindly sent me an early copy and asked for my thoughts and endorsement. After reading it this is what I sent him:

My grandmother used to say that every healthy relationship is made up of two good forgivers. Chris Brauns has written a book that compliments my grandmothers saying by showing us the indispensibility of understanding and practicing forgiveness. Biblically sound, theologically rich, sensitively illustrated, and profoundly practical, Chris’ book shows that forgiveness is at the heart of the Gospel. And because of it’s Gospel-centeredness, Unpacking Forgiveness provides the perspective needed to liberate you from past relational pains, present relational tensions, and future relational fears. This is a book that needs to be read. This is a book that needs to be lived. I heartily recommend it!

You can find out more about Chris by visiting his blog.

Be on the lookout for all three of these books. They will all be out in the Spring. Thanks guys for writing. Press on!

A few years back, T.M. Moore wrote a book entitled Redeeming Pop-Culture. The title took some Christians by surprise because it had long been assumed that many Christians deem pop-culture un-redeemable. So my friend Jimmy Davis interviewed T.M. soon after his book came out (T.M., Jimmy, and I all worked together at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church in Knoxville a few years back) to find out not only what T.M. means but how Christians can go about redeeming pop-culture. Here is that interview:

Kudzu, Culture, and the Kingdom

Jimmy:  T.M., you begin your book by comparing pop culture to kudzu.  First, for our non-southern readers, tell us what kudzu is.  Then tell us why you think it makes a great metaphor for pop culture.

T.M.:  Well, kudzu, as you know, Jimmy, is a rather tenacious vine which was imported to the south in the hope that, since it grows so quickly, it might prove useful as cattle food.  It did not, however, although it is used for erosion control and even some landscaping.  Unchecked, however, it grows over everything – trees, whole copses, telephone poles and wires, even homes – so that the shape of those things is recognizable still, but all you can see is kudzu.

Jimmy: Let’s ask the obvious question right up front, so we’re all on the same page:  What is Pop Culture?

TM:  Pop culture is a form of American and world culture which cuts across all other types of culture and features a variety of forms, all of which are designed to deliver an entertainment of one kind or another.  Pop culture forms include TV, film, music, various types of literature (romance novels, magazines, and so forth), and even sports.  Its principle characteristics are its ubiquity, diversity, short-term longevity, dedication to entertainment, and concern for a healthy bottom line.

Jimmy:  Why do so many people seem to be concerned about pop culture?

TM:  Probably because they perceive pop culture as subversive of traditional values and a serious outlook on life.  While I wouldn’t agree with that assessment – at least not entirely – I think there is some truth to it.  However, since as Christians we can’t avoid pop culture, we need to be able to deal with it in a manner consistent with our Biblical worldview.

Jimmy:  Should a Christian approach to popular culture differ from the way other people approach it?

TM:  Yes, very much so.  I would say that our approach to pop culture should be similar to our approach to everything else in life: a Kingdom approach that is consistent with our Kingdom calling as followers of Christ.

Jimmy:  Before we talk about that, explain what you mean by our “kingdom calling”.

TM:  Instead of thinking about our discipleship in purely individualistic terms – what the Gospel does for me, for instance – Christians need to realize we are called to the experience and advancement of the Kingdom of God.  That Kingdom is a unique sphere of existence, with a destiny, character, and daily outworking that are determined by God’s glorious plan for His creatures.

Jimmy:  How should this kingdom calling inform our approach to pop culture as youth workers and parents?

TM:  Well, if, as the Scriptures teach, the Kingdom of God is unfolding around us, exerting violence, as Jesus put it (Mt. 11.12) against the existing domains, whatever they may be, then we should expect that Kingdom to have transforming effects on everything in its path.  We are the citizens of that Kingdom, and we bear it violently against the powers and principalities – spiritual and human – that we encounter around us.  We should therefore expect that our Kingdom experience will transform all we touch according to the glorious plan and purposes of God.  But unless we lean to think like Kingdom people, live like Kingdom people, and pursue the Kingdom as our first priority in every area of our lives – including our involvement with pop culture – then we will never realize the full and abundant life Christ has promised us, nor will we turn the world upside-down for Him.

Jimmy:  Part of our approach to pop culture, it seems to me, would be to exercise some critical judgment on the various forms we might choose to enjoy.  First, is it OK for Christians to enjoy pop culture?

TM:  It is always OK for Christians to take joy, delight, and pleasure in anything God does.

Jimmy:  But not all pop culture does that.

TM:  Certainly not.

Jimmy:  So we need to make judgments.  In making those judgments, what standards should we use, and teach parents and students to use?

TM:  Scripture speaks in terms of such ideas as beauty, goodness, and truth.  The idea of beauty relates to the aesthetic value of something, the ability an artist demonstrates in combining forms, using the various elements of genre, and so forth in ways that reflect the beauty of God and His creation.  The idea of goodness relates to the end for which something is created.  Can we discern in a pop culture form any kind of end that might, for example, be pleasing to God and beneficial to people?  Finally, the notion of truth gets at consistency with the teaching of God’s Word.  If we can teach people to discern beauty, identify goodness, and ferret out truth, we’ll be helping to equip them to deal with pop culture effectively.

Jimmy:  Can you give us an example?

TM:  Let’s take the “Matrix” series of films.  These are beautifully made movies, albeit somewhat dark (reminiscent of the film noir productions).  I prefer the first move to the others, but that’s usually the case with sequels.  They make a good use of characters, dialog (at least in places), plot, and imaginative shooting and settings.  Their purpose seems to be to cast doubt on the idea that this material world in which we live is the last word in reality.  There must be something more, something beyond this “matrix” of getting and spending (our temporal/material existence) that is determinative of everything else.  I would describe that as a good purpose, to get people to think about this as a real possibility.  Truth?  To some extent the “Matrix” movies touch on issues of truth – good vs. evil, the existence of God, the reality of prophecy, the limits of technology, and so forth.  These issues are broached, but not considered very systematically.  There’s plenty of room for people discussing such issues to inject their own thoughts and ideas.

Jimmy:  All of us have our own “tastes” or personal preferences when it comes to consuming pop culture.  I have different tastes than some of the students I work with.  Am I wrong to say that some of what tastes good to them is distasteful to me?

TM:  No, not at all.  The key is to be able to understand both our own tastes and those of others, and to regard one another with deference and respect in talking about our tastes.  Taste should be regarded as a kind of spiritual discipline, according to Frank Burch Brown.  That is, we can raise the bar of our tastes, broaden our ability to understand and appreciate many different kinds of cultural forms, but we need to work at it.  We should look to our Christian past to see what represented good taste in the areas of beauty, goodness, and truth among believers in previous generations.  We should also let Scripture guide us, as it teaches us how to direct and develop our affections, for example (Scripture does not, for example, glorify violence the way pop culture does – we should nurture our affections accordingly).  And we should look to Christians who are involved in pop culture – as well as to developments in pop culture generally – in order to discern what “new things” God might be doing by His Spirit in that realm.

Jimmy:  What will a “kingdom approach” to popular culture look like in our postmodern society?

TM:  It will look like Christians growing in grace, taking seriously their calling to follow Christ in every area of their lives, talking with one another about what in the world is going on around us, working to understand the times in which we live, as these are expressed in pop culture (among other things), enjoying and creating pop culture forms that are pleasing to God and can advance His Kingdom, and using pop culture as a vehicle with which to initiate dialog with the people around us.

Jimmy:  Sounds like a lot of work.

TM:  Yes, but then the Christian life is a lot of work (Phil 2:12, 13).  We can’t choose not to work hard at being Christians.  There is a yoke to wear and a burden to bear.  We can choose to work hard and smart, however, rather than in a way that has no purpose or bearing on our citizenship in the Kingdom.

Jimmy:  What do you mean by “redeeming pop culture”?  How do we do that?

TM:  Pop culture is a gift of God (Ps. 68:18), but much of it is currently in the hands of the enemy.  We need to “liberate” pop culture so that it can join us in the service of the King and His Kingdom.  We need to pray about pop culture and those who create it.  We should become more intelligently and spiritually involved with pop culture.  We should encourage those Christians who are trying to create pop culture forms of real beauty, goodness, and truth.  And we should enjoy pop culture in a way that helps us realize more of the fullness of Kingdom life as we journey together to our everlasting home.

Jimmy:  Why should youth workers, parents, and students think so hard about pop culture?

TM:  Because pop culture is, above all cultural involvement, the culture of young people.  It will either overwhelm them and “kudzuize” their entire lives, or we will teach them to enter the arena of pop culture as conquerors and liberators for Christ, ready and able to reconstruct the fastest-growing segment of our culture in a way that reflects the honor, glory, goodness, beauty, and truth of King Jesus.
 

Pop Goes the Wizard
For me, reading this book was like watching Dorothy’s dog, Toto, pull the curtain to reveal the Wizard of Oz was just a little man turning knobs and throwing levers.  Many Christians are cowering in fear before the smoke, fire, and thundering intimidation of today’s pop culture, while the world, the flesh, and the devil are urging us to pay no attention to the little man behind the curtain. Redeeming Pop Culture fearlessly pulls back the curtain and shows us that there’s nothing to fear.  Better yet, we can reach out to and redeem pop culture with the confidence that God is our Father and this is our Father’s world.  In this postmodern era we’re definitely “not in Kansas anymore”, but the Author is still big enough to use even pop culture to help us and our students find our way Home.

My good friend Jimmy Davis (founding pastor of Riverside Church in Knoxville) has written an article in the Breakpoint Worldview Magazine on how to ignite spiritual formation in the next generation. You can read it here.

For other insights from Jimmy, you can also visit his excellent blog, The Cruciform Life.