Living in a Changing World

As Christians in the United States, we are living in a time of transition. Everything around us seems to be changing. The Church, once the center of the culture, has now been pushed and continues to be pushed, to the margins. We once assumed that the wider culture held to a certain set of beliefs and values, that even if you didn’t attend church you believed in “God” and that most people were “good.” Times, as they say, are a-changing. What should we do as Christians in this changing landscape? I have given much thought to this over the last few years and would like to make a few suggestions. 

1. Stop Whining 

God is in control. The culture you currently live in does not surprise him. Don’t despair and please stop whining. Things are changing, we get it, but whining about it helps no one. How do you think the world view us when, at one point we say, “God is in control and we trust in Him” and out of the other side of our mouths we are whining and living in despair because we don’t enjoy the same cultural influence we once had? The truth is, the church is in a great position to actually be the church again. For far too long the church has been shaped by cultural forces instead of the word of God. Historically we are at our best when we are backed into a corner. I have never been more excited about what God is doing in HIS church and in the world. Stop whining and get on board with what God is doing. He’s not going to let HIS CHURCH fail, so let His joy be your strength and step up and join in with what He is doing instead of whining about our loss of cultural influence. 

2. Stop wishing the good-ole-days would return 

Truth is, the good-ole-days aren’t as great as you remember. We’ve always had problems. If I can be blunt, what you’re really asking for is a return to when people pretended to be Christian. We don’t live in Mayberry anymore and it’s not coming back. We must learn to live in the culture and time where God has placed us. He’s placed us here in this moment for a reason. Wishing to return to a time where the church had more cultural influence is understandable, but it’s not happening anytime soon. Stop wasting your time trying to return and start engaging the culture God has placed you in. 

3. Stop thinking that political or worldly power is the answer 

When our world gets out of control we naturally look for ways to get it back in order. For many, they look to politics and worldly power. They think things like, “If we can just get the right man, party, or…in power, they’ll make things look like they used to.” Slogans like, “Let’s take America Back for God,” are often code for, “let's get a Republican in office.”  To be clear, I’m not against republicans or democrats here. Vote however you want, but as a believer, if you think the answer to our problems will be found in who gets voted into power, you are sadly mistaken. The New Testament is very clear - Jesus’ Kingdom is not of this world. It doesn’t operate like the Kingdoms of this world or look like the Kingdoms of this world. No matter how good government is, it’ll never be the Kingdom of God. If Jesus were here physically today, He would have some very blunt things to say to BOTH Christian democrats and republicans. Stop trusting in worldly power. When we give our allegiance to a political party instead of the Kingdom of God, which transcends politics, the church gets taken for a ride down a path she was never meant to be on. Instead of aligning with a party, we ought to be speaking the truth to BOTH parties and holding them BOTH accountable to be just, humble, and people of integrity. When we give a blind eye because of a candidate's political affiliation, we have lost our credibility as the Church and we have forfeited the right say anything when the culture calls out our hypocrisy. 

4. Start Listening 

Listen to God’s Word 

The first-century church didn’t exactly live in a favorable religious environment. They were hated, persecuted, ran out of town, locked in prison, and killed for their faith. Yet, when you read the letters and historical narratives we call the New Testament, you never hear them despairing or whining about the government. Instead, we are told to pray for our leaders.  We are told to mind our own business. We are told, on multiple occasions, to live such lives that the world around us takes note. We are called to love our enemies (Even our political opponents!), to be hospitable, kind, and gracious. We need a revival of God’s word. We need to learn to slow down and read it, not through our cultural and political lens but read it for what it actually says. If it’s not challenging us we aren’t reading it right. If all we get from God’s word is what others should do, we aren’t reading it right. God’s word gives us a sense of hope, a sense of place. If we want to make sense of our world, we should read God's word. When we read His word we are reminded that he is ultimately in control and that He is working things out according to his purpose and plan. 

Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit 

The Holy Spirit is already working and speaking. Our job is to discover what He is already doing and join in. He’s moving all around the world to point people towards Jesus. Instead of living in despair, we should listen, watch, and be attentive to what He is doing in our culture. He may move and work in ways you do not understand or that make you uncomfortable. He may use people you never thought he could use. 

Listen to History 

The dilemma we face is nothing new. We have been here before. We would be wise to look back on history and see how the people of God are to act in such a climate. We would do well to learn from our brothers and sisters living in places where they are being persecuted. We can learn so much from those who have gone before us. 

Listen to the Culture 

We must learn to think like missionaries. We must listen to and learn the culture of the world around us. We must, with the help of the Holy Spirit, discern what they need and how best to reach them. The “way we’ve always done it,” isn’t going to cut it any longer. The world has changed and we must be open to reaching people who are quite different from us. I am in no way saying that we let culture dictate and tell us how what we ought to believe, but I do think we need a good reminder that many of our blessed traditions are nothing more than outdated methods. We are trying to reach people who do not understand what we are saying. We no longer speak the same language. We are going to have to figure out, with the help of scripture and the Holy Spirit, how to speak the language of the culture and we are going to have to figure out the best method to reach them. We are going to have to do all of this while holding firm to our doctrines and the foundations of our faith.