Is the church called to transform culture?
Are Christians supposed to engage their callings in society in the name of God?
Not in the way you would think and yes.
I am passionate about Christ-followers living out their giftings in the domains of society. In fact, I think the church would do well to develop a more robust theology of work for their people (see Gene Veith's book, God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life or Wayne Grudem's Business for the Glory of God: The Bible's Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business for helpful treatments on this topic).
Far too many see the work of “ministry” as relegated to only a select few. Not until we “clergify” everyone will we see culture renewed and restored. But what about the institution of the church?
This may surprise you. I think that the church as an institution should be slow to see itself as a “culture maker.” I do believe the Bible is clear that the church is supposed to champion individual Christians enacting the Gospel through their gifts and callings in society, but to view the established church as a means by which society should be changed is too lofty an ideal.
I like how James Davidson Hunter, author of To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World describes the winsome approach he believes Christians should take in society. He calls it: faithful presence.
Hunter says this:
“Evangelism, political action, and social reform are worthy undertakings, but they aren't decisively important if the goal is world changing...The point is not to change the world but to serve faithfully in our relationships, tasks, and spheres of social influence...the desire for faithful presence in the world calls on the entire laity, in all vocations—ordinary and extraordinary, common and rarefied—to enact the shalom of God in the world.”So how does “faithful presence” change anything? We will look at part 2 of this tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment